Toyota Lucida,head gasket gone,advice?

Peakma

We were traveling to the MIL house the other day,were almost there(after about 2.5 hours) when the oil warning light came on,,followed by clouds of black and white smoke.We pulled up on the hard shoulder,and smoke was coming through the floor,so got the kids out and went to sit on the bank-at this point I was really pi**ed off with myself ,because the night before I was looking into the best breakdown cover,but ended up not buying any!!!Obviously forgot about sods law!
Anyway had to join AA on the spot(MIL texted us the number)which cost a fortune,over £200 to join and get towed home.They deided the head gasket was broken.
So now I don't know what to do,from searching the net for similar cases people seem to of paid from £500- £2000 to get it sorted at a garage.
The car cost us £1000 on Ebay 4 months ago,so we always new it was a bit of a gamble.
So we have several options
1.Buy the parts(about £120) and my partner try and do it himself?!
2.We have a friend who is a mechanic,pay him £100 a day to do it-no guarantees it will work.
3.Sell it as it is,no idea what its worth in this state.
4.????.....
Has this happened to anyone else,any advice welcome.

crazyhazel

Toyota Lucida? Is this a Japanese import? where in UK are you based?

Peakma

yes it is a jap import,similar to the previa,we're near Sheffield.

rdwarr

I've had a Lucida Estima for six years now. Fortuately I haven't had the head gasket go although it is a common problem with these. But once sorted the car should last many a mile - I'm approaching 200,000 km and have a suspiscion that the real mileage is a bit higher.
Have a look on the UK Toyota Estima Site. There is a wealth of information there as well as a thriving forum. You're bound to find what you need.
The Estima Club is selling a high quality gasket set on eBay. This will be much better than that bought from Toyota or a motor factor.
Hope you get it fixed soon and have an enjoyable summer.

vario

HI,

I would suggest that you take at look at this site. https://www.estimaownersclub.com. They have lots of info and advice. Depending on where you are in the country there is also https://www.rcmvr.co.uk he is a top mechanic and knows estimas inside out.
Good luck