Date:         Mon, 20 Mar 2000 11:07:14 -0800
Reply-To:     Josh Monson <jmonson@USWEBCKS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Josh Monson <jmonson@USWEBCKS.COM>
Subject:      looking for advice
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

recently purchased an 85'GL, absolutely love it. The body is in excellent
shape,
interior needs a little work but not much, seats are in good shape,
dash is great, etc. . .
Then engine has 200,500 mi on it. A week and half after purchasing
it($2000),
it started leaking lots of coolant, took it in, heads need to be done.
Mechanic quoted $1050 for the job.

Now i am in a bit of a financial bend here and am looking at what will
be the most cost effective choice for the van staying with me in the
next 5-6 years. With as many miles as it has, 200k mi, is it better to
get the heads done for $1050 now and risk other parts of the engine going
a little while down the line

OR

should I get the engine rebuilt now for roughly $2500 and know that it
is solid for the next 7-8 years???

OR

purchase a used engine with low miles???

I have been struggling with this for 2 weeks and could use a little
"I've been there" advice.

thanks everyone-this list has already been an excellent resource for me,
jm

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