07 Yaris S Blown Head Gasket?

[ylerT]

According to the mechanic, everything checks out fine. He's gone over everything and he claims that he had a Honda that would do the exact same thing. Normal driving around town is fine but once the vehicle is on the freeway (high rpm, etc), it starts to overheat. He says there may just be a small section of the gasket damaged and when the engine is under a heavier load, the higher combustion or what not is what's causing it.

My main concern is on what I'm being quoted for the repair. I fully expected somewhere in or around $1,000 but his prices seem questionable to me. Before I get into it, I want to explain this is a guy I've known since high school and he's doing the work out of his home. He's done work for me in the past and I normally take everything to him so normally I don't question it but it seems leery. Anyway, here's what he's quoted me...

$675 for labor (9-10 hours)
$400 for machine shop work & parts

He claims the gasket set by itself is $231 but everywhere I look online, the gasket is nowhere near that. For example, on this site, it's only about $70 + shipping. Like I mentioned, I have very little knowledge about this type of stuff but if several sites list head gasket sets for around that price...what is it that he's saying cost triple that for just parts?

I'm also concerned about the labor costs. From doing a bit of research online, I see a lot of mention that a head gasket replacement should be about 6 hours. Am I just not reading enough or understanding what's involved? How could he possibly need 3-4 more hours? Also, is approx $70 an hour what I should expect to pay for a home mechanic? It seems most dealerships are in the $100 or so per hour rate so that seems pretty high to me.

I'm not trying to be nitpicky or cheap...but I also don't want to be ripped off. I've yet to call around for other quotes mainly because I prefer to give work to guys I know, etc. At this point though, I feel I have no other choice and need to start looking around. Also, just want to say thanks for all your guys' help and input!

[Geoff Peace]

Originally Posted by ylerT

According to the mechanic, everything checks out fine. He's gone over everything and he claims that he had a Honda that would do the exact same thing. Normal driving around town is fine but once the vehicle is on the freeway (high rpm, etc), it starts to overheat. He says there may just be a small section of the gasket damaged and when the engine is under a heavier load, the higher combustion or what not is what's causing it.

My main concern is on what I'm being quoted for the repair. I fully expected somewhere in or around $1,000 but his prices seem questionable to me. Before I get into it, I want to explain this is a guy I've known since high school and he's doing the work out of his home. He's done work for me in the past and I normally take everything to him so normally I don't question it but it seems leery. Anyway, here's what he's quoted me
$400 for machine shop work & parts

He claims the gasket set by itself is $231 but everywhere I look online, the gasket is nowhere near that. For example, on this site, it's only about $70 + shipping. Like I mentioned, I have very little knowledge about this type of stuff but if several sites list head gasket sets for around that price...what is it that he's saying cost triple that for just parts?

I'm also concerned about the labor costs. From doing a bit of research online, I see a lot of mention that a head gasket replacement should be about 6 hours. Am I just not reading enough or understanding what's involved? How could he possibly need 3-4 more hours? Also, is approx $70 an hour what I should expect to pay for a home mechanic? It seems most dealerships are in the $100 or so per hour rate so that seems pretty high to me.

I'm not trying to be nitpicky or cheap...but I also don't want to be ripped off. I've yet to call around for other quotes mainly because I prefer to give work to guys I know, etc. At this point though, I feel I have no other choice and need to start looking around. Also, just want to say thanks for all your guys' help and input!

Have you conducted a compression test? if so what were the readings? I would be seeking a second and even a third opinion.
Regards Geoff Peace.