Can I sell a car with a blown head gasket?

EdGasket

+1 for K Seal. If the leak is gas into coolant (and not coolant to oil) then it is ideal for a K Seal fix. If it does fix it, carry a spare bottle with you plus some water in case the repair gives up when you least want it to!

koselur

just want to say thank you all for the useful replies.

just goes to show how little i know and how much that can screw you over!!

reeac

Many years ago I had a Jag xj6 which developed a habit of the coolant system remaining pressurised for days after being driven - a gas to coolant leak. I drove that car for a number of years with no problems. Eventually Jaguar set up a local agent and offered discounted labour rates so I got them to change the gasket. Initially they were doubtful that it was HGF but finally agreed once they got the head off.

colino

Of course they agreed with your diagnosis, you were paying them to do the head on an XJ6!

reeac

But, as I stated, they were initially doubtful so I don't think that they were desperate for work and, anyway, the symptoms disappeared after the gasket change.

Hoof_Hearted

An elderly friend had the HG go on her Rover 25. It was crazy economic sense to get it done, but she reasoned that she knew the car, it was low mileage and a good dog-carrier. For the money she would have, she would be taking a risk on a replacement about which she would know very little. She had it done with an uprated gasket and she is very happy to continue driving her old Rover for a good many years. For her, it was the right decision but most money-savers would think her nuts.

anotheruser

In answer to the question:
Yes. You can sell it. What you'll get for it is a different question. I sold a car with a busted suspension arm for £700. Other than that, it was a decent car.
Listed on ebay with photos of damage for 99p; ended up selling privately.

Strider590

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

An elderly friend had the HG go on her Rover 25. It was crazy economic sense to get it done, but she reasoned that she knew the car, it was low mileage and a good dog-carrier. For the money she would have, she would be taking a risk on a replacement about which she would know very little. She had it done with an uprated gasket and she is very happy to continue driving her old Rover for a good many years. For her, it was the right decision but most money-savers would think her nuts.

These people wouldn't know "money saving" if it slapped them in the face.
In this country we have a very consumerism driven attitude, "new is better".

Cars are now considered old when they hit the 3 year mark, in 1995 "old" was 10+ years.

People want to save money, but they don't want to think about it, instead they blindly follow the advice and guidance of people who have an interest in selling them new stuff OR they listen to friends/relatives who've been brainwashed in the same way.

colino

The K series engine was a great design, badly executed in many of its applications, but nowhere near as bad as the motoring press made out. Still many happy owners of original, untouched examples and other, even happier owners who have rebuilt them properly after buying these, "singing kettles" for buttons.

Horizon81

Strider590 wrote: »

People want to save money, but they don't want to think about it, instead they blindly follow the advice and guidance of people who have an interest in selling them new stuff OR they listen to friends/relatives who've been brainwashed in the same way.

This man speaks the truth. There's a couple of young birds where I work on a few grand over minimum wage, rolling round in £20k cars (on finance of course) just for the prestige, and because they can.