Should I replace the head gasket or sell

newbie here and not very well versed in car knowledge so bear with me.

2010 Prius 189k, no prior engine issues. Last oil change was 3-4k miles ago, less than 2 months ago. Running well, some shaking on startup sometimes.

About a month ago my engine coolant lamp came on, went on and off for a day or two before I decided to do something about it. I did a little research and found the coolant reservoir to be basically empty. I promptly went to the auto parts store, purchased some Zenex 50/50 antifreeze (which I have now been told was the correct stuff), and dumped probably a good 2/3 of the gallon in the reservoir before it was at the full line. I was good for a few weeks, checking the coolant regularly, and indeed saw it depleting suspiciously fast. After continuing refilling it until the rest of the gallon was gone I took it into the dealership crossing my fingers it was just a leak.

They did a pressure check, and found the head gasket leaking, coolant is burning and the engine oil is low. Forgive me if I butcher explaining the next part but basically they said something like most likely the coolant is mixing with oil, leading to issues including stripping the lubricants of the engine, which in turn leads to more coolant being used, thus the rapid coolant depletion. He recommended either head gasket replacement (3k) or an engine replacement (7k- which I’m not going to do).

when he started explaining the head gasket replacement, he seemed confident that should do the trick, provided I am very diligent about checking and refilling the oil as needed after the replacement was complete. He also warned that there was a chance once they got into the repair they might discover more damage that would mean I would either have to replace the engine or cut my losses and forget about it. But he reiterated that other than smelling a bit of burnt coolant upon initial inspection there were no red flags that he saw or sensed that would give support to this, again not diving into the engine, and of course I should remind you I have no idea how easy it would be to be confident about that sort of thing.

I mentioned the engine replacement is off the table for me, I really like this car but not that much. I took it into Carmax before the dealership for an appraisal and was surprised to find out they would give me 3k for it. I mentioned this to the dealership guy and after going through all my options I could sense he honestly thought this was my best option. Naturally he tried to push the engine replacement, especially after explaining how the head gasket replacement might not be enough if the engine is too far gone- and I guess that’s specific question if I had one:

After explaining the timeline of everything, how confident should I be about everything turning out ok (I guess lasting for another few 10k at least if I have to be specific) if I go the head gasket route.

If the used car market wasn’t so inflated/hard to find cheapish decent working cars right now, I’d stop stressing out about potentially going down the rabbit hole of spending thousands upon thousands of dollars and just take what I can get for it and find another car, but it seems right now that that route might be just as volatile as trying to fix her up.

Im leaning towards selling it. But I keep imagining this car going for another 100k+ if I just pull the trigger on the hg replacement and don’t look back.

I appreciate any and all responses/advice, especially in a timely manner. Thank you,

Blake

 

I appreciate your response quick response, I am beginning to reconsider replacing the engine with a new or rebuilt used one. Financially it will just be incredibly tight. I am starting to wonder how much longer I could get by with just continuing adding coolant and oil and just do that till it goes. And then at that point either replace the engine or just get a new car. The dealership guy didn’t seem overly alarmed about it going boom anytime in the very near future, but he said “soon”. But the more I read it sounds like just doing the head gasket replacement is probably the biggest gamble.

 

Very sobering, thank you. Unless I find a gem of used car within the next few days I think I’m going to go with a replacement engine. The dealership said there was basically two options: a yard engine, and an overall engine kit rebuild. He strongly advised against going for the yard engine, obviously pushed the new build. I’ll have to do some research and see if there are any reputable places in the Milwaukee or even Chicago area that can do a used rebuilt engine replacement. I get sucked into dealerships and their swaying probably a little easily, but if I’m going to replace the engine I need to find a way to do it that will balance my wallet and the reliability of the replacement engine- I just cant spend the 7k+ right now. Again, thank you for all the info, very very helpful