So my 85 year old neighbor thinks because I’m a xxxxxx that I can fix everything. He had two repair shops tell him that the head gasket in his 2001 DeVille is blown but he doesn’t believe them. He thinks it might be something simple because the Caddy only overheats when pushing it hard. Otherwise it runs just fine on short trips around town. It does have unexplained coolant loss.
Neighbor brings the car over and just drops it off. Now this is a really good neighbor who gave my both of sons part time work around his house/barns and rental properties when they were teenagers. He always paid well (cash) and even bought them lunch every working day at the local old-timer hangout. Because of his kindness, I have a hard time telling him “no”. He has already bought a brand new Cadillac but he can’t bear the thought of crushing this one because it is in nice condition and has never seen salty Ohio roads.
I did a block test and confirmed the presence of combustion gasses in the overflow bottle. So I drive the car back over to his house to tell him the bad news. I tell him that even though I have a lift and work on my own clunkers that a job of this magnitude is a more than I feel comfortable attempting for him.
So then he says, “Well, I’m going to give you the car. I’ll bring you the title in a few days. Surely you can drive it or know someone who could.”
I say, “Hmm, well maybe I’ll consider giving it a shot. I guess if I get stuck or fail then I can tow it away for scrap.”
Him, “If you scrap it, just don’t tell me.”
Now you see my dilemma! On one hand I feel a bit obligated to try and fix it up; it would make the neighbor very happy if I were to succeed. And I would end up with a decent vehicle for relatively low cost. On the other hand, it could be a bit of a money and time pit when I have other things I would rather spend it on.
Pros
* Car drives nice.
* No other known mechanical issues.
* Never seen salt.
* Decent tires.
* Well maintained.
* Free
Cons
* 164xxx miles
* Broken grill and crinkled hood and from deer strike. (Hood still shuts and latches. Scheduled repair was put on hold due to overheating issue.)
* A very time-consuming repair that I am not overly comfortable doing.
* Color scheme would be almost my last choice. (Red and gold with whitewall tires.)
My skill level and things I’ve done in the past.
* General maintenance.
* Suspension work
* Alternator and water pump replacements
* Radiators
* Brakes
* Belts
* Hyundai Elantra timing belt
* Clutch and Transmission swap on 2000 Ford Focus
* Head gasket on 1998 Saturn
So this is obviously a very time consuming repair and one that is a bit more complicated than any I’ve ever attempted before.
Assuming I’m capable, do you think I could fix this thing for $1200 in parts?
Other thoughts?
