€900 to replace head gasket?

Snabe

Just wondering if this is a normal price? I've been told that if they don't need to skim (???) it might only cost €750, but i'm wondering if either of those prices are in the normal range for a 04 peugeot 307???

cannot afford this, but it's leaking a good bit of oil at this stage. the price is purely for the head gasket replacement, nothing else.

George Dalton

Is it a quote from a main dealer? Does it include a new timing belt kit and water pump (the old belt is usually contaminated with oil so should be replaced even if not actually due by mileage)

We have done a good few of them and as far as I can remember it usually costs about €650 including a skim plus a new timing belt kit and water pump.

Dempo1

The Bad news is sadly that it will cost a minimum of 600 euro and perhaps more, the gasket itself is not the expensive part, its the labor costs as it requires the engine to be dismantled. I just had one replaced on a vintage car, to be fair I had other work done on the engine but the head gasket replacement alone was 650.

shooter88

Snabe wrote: »

Just wondering if this is a normal price? I've been told that if they don't need to skim (???) it might only cost €750, but i'm wondering if either of those prices are in the normal range for a 04 peugeot 307???

cannot afford this, but it's leaking a good bit of oil at this stage. the price is purely for the head gasket replacement, nothing else.

Sounds like a cowboy charging 750 and not skimming the head at that its only about 60 to get it skimmed in wicklow..

George Dalton

shooter88 wrote: »

Sounds like a cowboy charging 750 and not skimming the head at that its only about 60 to get it skimmed in wicklow..

And what about the time spent stripping the head down for skimming and subsequent re-assembly? What about the time spent and fuel burned bringing the head to the machine shop for skimming and picking it up afterwards?

You need to engage your brain before you post in future IMO.

ba_barabus

shooter88 wrote: »

Sounds like a cowboy charging 750 and not skimming the head at that its only about 60 to get it skimmed in wicklow..

I don't think it's a cowboy price. Don't forget it's labour intensive to do the head gasket. That price could include everything George listen. The price is still pricey but if its a main dealer or Dublin garage rates tend to be on the salty side.

Edit GD got in before me

George Dalton

ba_barabus wrote: »

I don't think it's a cowboy price. Don't forget it's labour intensive to do the head gasket. That price could include everything George listen. The price is still pricey but if its a main dealer or Dublin garage rates tend to be on the salty side.

Edit GD got in before me

The OP says the price is €750 with no head skim or €900 with a skim. My point was regarding the extra €150 if the head needed skimming. The aptly named Shooter in his post above seems to think it should only cost €60 extra to get the head skimmed. On the face of it the €150 extra seems expensive but when you actually think about it then it is easy to see where the extra money goes.

shooter88

My main point was not getting the head skimmed which suggests cowboy to me and charging 150 to do it at that rate it would be better for op to get head skimmed himself..if 750 included everything that would be fair still more than I'd pay..parts aren't particularly expensive for them either...
Op check out the parts on ebay timing kit etc and compare to the garages...you could supply all parts and get Someone to just fit them

George Dalton

shooter88 wrote: »

My main point was not getting the head skimmed which suggests cowboy to me and charging 150 to do it at that rate it would be better for op to get head skimmed himself..

Technically there is no need to get the head skimmed in this case as the engine hasn't over-heated. The gasket is just leaking oil (common problem with those engines). We would get it skimmed anyway just to be on the safe side however.

I don't see how you would be better off getting it skimmed yourself rather than paying the €150. You would have to:

1. Find out about local machine shops who can skim it for you.
2. Collect the still fully assembled head from the garage.
3. Either strip it yourself or pay the machine shop extra to do it for you.
4. Drop it to the machine shop.
5. Pick it up from the machine shop.
6. Possibly reassemble yourself.
7. Drop it back to the garage for them to refit it.

All that hassle and running around wasting your own time and burning your own petrol (assuming you have use of a second car while your own is in the garage remember) to save yourself a maximum of €90? Not worth it IMO...

biko

George Dalton wrote: »

You need to engage your brain before you post in future IMO.

I'm sure you can get your point across without having to resort to this stuff.

Kotek Besar

Oh jesus..

Snabe

didn't mean to start an argument!

it's not a dealer garage, it's a well known chain of repair garages. would i be better off to go to a peugeot dealer?

timing belt was only replaced in august (as was water pump i think) when i got the car fully serviced. i do remember them at the time telling me the head gasket needed replacing but i couldn't afford it then, on top of the charge for the service. can't afford it now either but needs must!

A-Trak

Snabe wrote: »

it's not a dealer garage, it's a well known chain of repair garages. would i be better off to go to a peugeot dealer?

If that well known chain has "Quick," or "Advance," in its name I'd avoid.

Atlas are the only crowd I'd trust for that level of repair, one branch in particular.

Otherwise I'd look for a decent Peugeot Indy. I'm sure you'll get a recommendation from someone here.

George Dalton

If the full timing belt kit and water pump were replaced in August then you will probably be ok to just replace the belt itself this time as the rest of the parts in the kit will not be affected by the leaking oil.

If I were you I would get some prices from some local garages and see how they compare. Just make sure you get a full breakdown of parts and labour so you know you if you are comparing like with like.

Bigus

A few years ago re torque ing heads was quite common,

a can of oil seal softener and a re torque the head bolts a week later works well on a these PSA engines , but un crack the head bolts near the leak first, it works ,

Worth 50 euro to try it, cams don't even need to be removed just rocker cover.

dgt

OP this might give you an idea of why it costs a lot to do such a job

Not just the job itself but cleanliness around the engine is king

visual

Price around a few independent garages.
Dealer price will be too expensive

MAJJ

dgt wrote: »

OP this might give you an idea of why it costs a lot to do such a job

Not just the job itself but cleanliness around the engine is king

Yeah compare that to Nissan Doctors "operating theatre" :-)

Nissan doctor

Snabe wrote: »

Just wondering if this is a normal price? I've been told that if they don't need to skim (???) it might only cost €750, but i'm wondering if either of those prices are in the normal range for a 04 peugeot 307???

cannot afford this, but it's leaking a good bit of oil at this stage. the price is purely for the head gasket replacement, nothing else.

That price is certainly not a rip off. The job may be considered as 'purely replacing the head gasket' but in fact to do that, there is labour time which varies depending on if its an 8v or 16v engine, head set(full set of gaskets for all components of the cylinder head), new head bolts and new timing belt at least although a kit is advisable as its not an area you want to skimp on, plus all the various measurements required as well as fresh coolant etc. It's its a 16v engine there is also extra extra care required when refitting that the VVT is set correctly.

When you say the quote is from a chain, are they Dublin based and did you call for a quote in the last couple of days?

dgt

MAJJ wrote: »

Yeah compare that to Nissan Doctors "operating theatre" :-)

"That" is my livelihood. My hobby. It's a damn sight better than what people most have access to, I don't run a business. Purely for ourselves

I don't know why I even bother trying to help sometimes...

I was giving the OP an insight as to why it may cost so much to have the job done

Esel

MAJJ wrote: »

Yeah compare that to Nissan Doctors "operating theatre" :-)

Weird how the link doesn't work in your quote of dgt's post, when it works OK from dgt's post itself!

Snabe

Nissan doctor wrote: »

When you say the quote is from a chain, are they Dublin based and did you call for a quote in the last couple of days?

yes, it's a dublin based chain and was last week, there's no quick or advance in their name!