I just got the call from the mechanic . . . my car has a leak in the head gasket. But he told me that because the car has 150,000 miles on it, he doesn’t suggest even fixing this problem. It’s a 98 Saturn SC1, and I expected to get 200,000 miles out of this car. I am planning on getting a second opinion. So is it worth it to fix the car? It has some other minor problems (the electric locks don’t work, the horn doesn’t work, it probably will need a new muffler soon, etc), but generally runs well.
Blown headgaskets are a Saturn specialty. If he’s suggesting simply driving it like that, you should know that the breech will erode and grow, you’ll start wishing you had oil company stock, and performance will slowly deteriorate.
10 year old high mileage Saturns do not have great market value. And even worse trade in value. Even with good headgaskets. I’d keep driving it until I couldn’t live with it anymore and then sell it as a “parts car”. I agree with your mechanic.
I can’t second guess a mechanic who actually has had a chance to look at the car.
What symptons are you having (what caused you to ask the mechanic to look for a headgasket problem?)
Is the car in need of more work than you are relating? (brakes,trans,tires,suspension,interior,bodywork,poor service history)
What price for the headgasket? will he warranty the repair?