[] I need some advise.
My sister owns a 97 1.8t quattro with 74,000 miles and her timing belt broke.
towed to dlr and they said some valves are bent and need to send the cylinder head
out for repairs.
What are my options? new head or replace with a used engine. the initial estimate
$4000.00

plz help

 

Yeah... the timing belt should have been replaced around 60K.
The estimate seems a bit high. What are the itemized parts and labor? If you don't know, then get them to break it down for you. I don't know about getting a used engine; you may be opening up a new can of worms.

I'd look into getting a better estimate or another service center to do the job.

 

Imolas4 for is exactly correct i would take it to a couple of places and check there hourly rates. also i subscibe to www.alldata.com which is a subscriber only work database that tells you exactly how to do every thing for every car. im not supposed to do this (under penelty of law) but if you want to do the work your self i can fax you everything you need to do to do this your self

 

Doing engine work like that for novice isn't exactly DIY. Do you really think that's a wise decision?

 

The timing belt can be done with the right tools and a lot of time and patience.
The valve replacement is bit more tricky - I agree.

 

I went to an idependant shop out east for a cv boot replacement and the had an a4 there with a broken timing belt and bent valves and they were charging the guy $2800

 

Damn. Sorry to hear that. Well, granted you do assume some risk buying a used engine, but it's a cheaper option. When I thought I'd taken mine out I priced rebuilds and used engines and I came up with an average of about $3500.00 for the rebuild and about $1600.00 for a used motor with 54,000 miles on it. The problem you are going to have is the same one I had. I couldn't find anyone willing to just sell the head or the block. They all wanted to sell the whole thing. If you want to do some research, you might be able to find someone that's willing to sell you the head only. If you want to look into the used arena, there is a site coming online soon called junkyard.com. Apparently, you can enter the part(s) you are looking for and it'll search out yards that have the part(s) and give you contact numbers and prices. If you go the repair route, definitely check around. That sounds a bit high to me, but then again my pricing was done in Michigan.

 

Thank you all for your advise....
I agree replacing with a used motor is risky, unknowing if that will run smoothly or require additional work. I will contact my sister to itemize the repairs and have her contact a few other places...
I am a Honda mechanic, but I have never worked on Audis.
Also she lives 5.5 hrs away and unable to attempt the repairs myself.

 

If you're a mechanic (Honda or otherwise) and have access to all the right tools, then you can do the job easily and save her a bundle.

 

$2500-$3000 is the typical cost of head repair after timing belt disaster. You can get basically a new engine for $4000. I sat there one morning with a VW manager and he did up the number for me. A Jetta was in for that exact repair - I was in having my tranny oil changed.