My daughter just called and said that she wanted to borrow our extra vehicle while they repair her Chevy Venture Van. She said it needs a head gasket. The individual (not a dealership or repair shop) gave her a figure of $2100.00. This sounds high to me but I fully admit I'm out of the loop when it comes to repair costs. Does this figure sound in the ballpark? Thanks.

it would only cost you the price of a gasket set if you did it yourself. about a 4-5 hr job.

that's pretty high by the way

My car wrenching days are over. I was never very good when I did things myself but poverty was good motivation. Maybe if it were summer instead of the dead of winter my son-in-law might take a crack at it but with no heated workplace......I don't think so. It's been 38 years since I've tackled a job like that so my comfort level wouldn't be that high. I guess that I've been lucky and haven't had the need for those type of repairs for a long time so I really don't know how much a job like that should cost. I just thought some Campfire guys might be able to comment on the price being quoted. I'll have my daughter do some calling around in the morning and see if that is a reasonable cost for that work in todays market.

May not be so high it needs machine work to deck the head and check for cracks and man its buried in that tight spot. It �s not the good old days any more.

Three times what I know one cost here, but different areas have different costs.
Take it to a reputable repair shop, or the cost to fix what a back yard mechanic did wrong could be more than what a good mechanic would be to do the job right the first time.
Seen that happen too.

Hearing things like that is why I'll stick with my '93 Roadmaster wagon.

If there is a community college nearby, see if they have an automotive program... they will do quality repairs, done by students but mentored by teachers who are usually retired auto techs with impressive resumes and tons of experiences..

I know our local community college will do a job like that for a flat rate of $25.00 plus parts... plus warranty the work...

the $25. just covers shop incidentals...

That's a high price, but not sure if the Venture requires anything funky to get at that rear cylinder head. IIRC the Safari vans/Astro Vans GMC used to make required you to remove the front suspension to drop the engine far enough to do that repair. Stupid design.

I would say a head gasket repair on average should cost around $700-1000.

Then again, I once took a junked Mazda 626 from a girl for $125. Head gasket went up. Price to fix it? $1100. Cost of head gasket? $900. No kidding. Dealer-only part, and the gasket was almost $900. Not worth the price of admission in that case.

Haven't seen one of those boats in years.. Those things shoulda come with 'Oversize Load' signs in the trunk..

sounds high to me.
Is there another garage in town?

Head gaskets usually run around $1K +/-

Sounds extremely high to me. For $2100 you might be able to get a brand new crate motor from your local Chevy dealer and have enough money left to pay someone to swap out the motors. The new crate motor also comes with a pretty good warranty.

First thing you need to do is diagnosis problem. Which
cylinder blew the gasket. On the rear bank or front bank.
Is there water in the oil, how long was it their. The rear
head takes 3 times as long as the front head to change.
Many mechanic,s pull engine to do rear head. Some just
drop cradle at rear to make more room to pull rear head.
If water is in oil it may have damaged rod bearings.
Engine won,t last after you replace head gaskets. what
made engine overheat in first place. How many miles is
on vehicle? The rear head is usually beyond your
backyard mechanic. Possibly getting close to repairs
exceeding value of vehicle.

That's one of those nightmare deals -- all that plumbing and various crap in the way -- packaged construction so everything important is buried.
Then, when you finally pry everything out of the way and open sesame, there's an EXPENSIVE SURPRISE.
Already is going to cost a zillion dollars, go ahead and see about getting a warranteed rebuild or dealer engine replacement.