I have a 2007 S40. My car was leaking coolant, and it ended up turning off on my dad and I. We were close to home, so he figured he could try to turn it back on to make it home. it would drive about a minute or two, and then it would turn off.
Once we made it home, we decided to not move it until our mechanic checked it out. Once he saw it, he immediately said that the leak was coming from the lower radiator hose, he fixed it and he asked me questions about the night it turned off on us.
Since the car had no anti-freeze when we were driving it, he said it could have damaged some other parts. Long story short, what he said would happen, happened the next day.
So now, he said that the head gasket is completely gone, and he gave me two options;
1: Replace the head but expect a certain a noise and the life expectancy might not be as long as we would hope, or
2: buy a completely new motor and replace everything. He said that the repair of the head gasket would cost about $1,200 and to get a new motor it will be around $3,000 with labor and all the parts included, the motor is also a low mileage.
Should I replace the head, or the motor, or should I just sell the car/take it to a junkyard?

 

It all depends. How much is the car worth (book value)? Also consider the condition you feel the car to be in is usually one grade higher than it really is. Not saying that to be mean, but it's usually true. Then, what's it worth you? If it's in good condition all around and needs no other work and it's paid off and you don't want, or can't afford a car payment, then it's usually worth more to you. $3000.00 parts and labor doesn't sound too terrible, for that car, for a low mileage used engine with a warranty. Repairing the engine is a crapshoot. He may get it apart and find it's junk and needs to be replaced anyway Then you have added labor on top of the repair. If you could repair it yourself, I'd say try it. But paying a shop to do it is a gamble because you don't know what you're dealing with until it's apart. And, for the record, NEVER drive a late model car any distance with a coolant leak. Shut it off, have it towed. Modern cars can't take any amount of overheating. The cost and inconvenience of a tow is well worth it.

 

A quick guess is your car is worth $4000 in good condition. You can probably find a replacement head for $300 (car-parts.com search) and $1200 for the install is about right. So if you sell it you'd want to get $2500. The risk here is discovering cylinder wall or block damage with the head off - which would then warrant the short block be replaced. I'd ask if your shop can do an inspection cam to look for any cylinder wall damage.

 

Thank you, this has been very helpful, I think I know what to do now.