98 Ford Taurus, cracked head, $1000 repair- help?

Cracked head? usually the head gasket goes before the whole head cracks...

Anywho... yeah, any kind of repairs involving a head or a head gasket can easily get into four digit costs of repair. A head gasket is a cheap part, and a new head is maybe a little over $200, but it takes a ton of labor to put either of them in, and labor is expensive.

Is it worth it to that kind of money into it? Depends on how much you really want the car. Have you fixed anything else on it already? The taurus wasn't very reliable to begin with, and if you haven't fixed much on the car already, you're probably going to soon.

Dollars and cents, you're probably better off ditching that car for what you can get for it, and putting $1000 towards something else. Unless that car belonged to your dead grandma, and it's all you have left to remember her by, and the sentimental attachment to that car is worth more than any amount of dollars can express... your probably just reaching the beginnings of a money pit

I feel your pain.

$1000 sounds too good to be true. My guess it's unrealistic.

He's telling you it's "$1000" because (lets face it, none of us can afford expensive repairs), and it sounds much better than $1500 or MORE that it will be.

I believe that repair would cost more than $1000 just for the parts. (Labor not included.)

Find another "cheap" used car. One that is not need "thousand dollar" repairs.

Try http://autos.yahoo.com/

That's where I have found good deals on good second hand cars. (I have bought 2 in that way). Just search for cars in your area, through reputable dealers, and weigh the price against the blue book value.

It's way easier than going to a dealer, that is just trying to get the most money out of you.

Have you met the really friendly ones who will "finance" anyone, and always ask "well are you looking to spend?" (As if they are looking out for "your" best interest.)

If you need a loan to purchase a car, go to a bank, or better yet a credit union and arrange for financing before you even go looking to buy a car. Then you will know what YOU can personally afford for yourself, NOT how much the dealer can manage to squeeze out of you.

As for your eleven year old car with mechanical problems, it's not worth anything at all with mechanical problems, and not worth $1500 even if you put that much money into it.

1. Yep. That's pretty reasonable. Normal prices I've seen are around $1500 for head repair.

2. Your car is barely worth more than $1000, whether it's worth the repair or not, is up to you.

3. Yeah, and? Welcome to the same economy that everyone else is in.

As a side note, you don't buy a car that doesn't screw up. All you're doing is buying a car. How well YOU maintain it, repair it, etc, will ultimately show how reliable the car is. Don't maintain it properly, and a brand new car can break down on you within a year.

Maintain it well, and it'll last to 300,000 like two of my cars have.

$1000 sounds like a good deal for that repair! The good news is, it sounds like you have an honest mechanic. The bad news is the repair is worth more than the value of the car. I'd sell the car for parts and find a better car rather then shell out the grand for the repair.

If this car has a 3.8 V6 engine this is a common problem. So common that Ford was forced to address this along with blown head gaskets on these engines. Contact a local dealer or Ford regional rep. they can make arrangements to fix it at a Ford dealer. May not be free but reduced cost

If you can do the work yourself, or someone that will do it for you at a reasonable price, you may be ahead to replace the engine with a low mileage used one.

I bought a used engine with 45,000 miles on it for $750. Since I do my own work it cost me only time to install.

It may be possible to get a local tech school to do the work, or even a high school auto shop.

Try here for engine prices:http://www.car-part.com/

Good luck