Fair price to fix a Blown Head Gasket?
 

Hey everyone,

I have a 98 v70 GLT. I have a blown head gasket.
I got a price from a local volvo mechanic (that's all they do, Volvos). He said my car, since it "only" had ~129k, was a good candidate for a HG job; if it had 200k or more he would advise against doing anything to the car.

He said that depending on the cost of the parts, the price would be ~1700 to ~1800. He said he would do the following:

change all gaskets and seals
change valve seals
change water pump
change timing belt and associated tensioner and pulleys
change head bolts
change oil of course
mill the head, or if the head is warped, he would use a different head, previously machined (he has access to a Volvo recycling place).

I asked him if he would do the PCV, since he was already doing all this and he said the he didn't want to take the intake manifold off (he said he only pulls it back when doing the HG).

The shop has been in business for a long time. What do you guys think. Is this a fair price? This kind of job is obviously beyond my abilities (the most I have done is change a radiator and various other small things).
I thank you for you time and I look forward to your input.

I believe that is pretty close.
But I always take the intake out.

How many extra steps is it to take out the intake, like three extra bolts?
I think I will go for it (I have no choice, really), but I will ask him to replace the PCV system.
Tech, with all he's doing, do you think this is a fair price, or is it on the high side? I live in Tucson, so there aren't that many mechanics that specialize in Volvo. Thanks for the input.

I think that is a pretty fair price.

We are really on the cheap side at work and I think ours is around $1300.00 to $1500.00 depending on the machine work needed.

There is not many steps at all to finish taking the intake out.

Many thanks for the reply Tech. I think I will go with them.
One last question though, do you think it's advisable to go ahead and do the PCV, since he's doing the hg? I mean, is it something that you absolutely would do, as a precaution?
Thanks.

I would change it at this time while it is all apart.