How to get rid of car

June 7, 2017 5:05 PM

My partner was gifted a 1993 Toyota Camry. Fun! Unfortunately it immediately blew a head gasket. We need help deciding what to do.

We can't park it where we live (Belltown), so its parked by my practice space in SODO (Seattle's industrial district). It runs but will overheat quickly, so its no good for drives longer than a few blocks at a time. We'll have to move it at least every 72 hours. This is sustainable for the near future but will be a pain in the long term. Plus its just annoying.

Two options:
1. Get rid of it. What would the simplest way to go about that in Washington State? We'd like to recoup the ~$300 we spent on title, tabs etc.

2. The person who gave it to us will replace the head gasket for free. We just have to buy a head gasket. I'm wary of this but it looks like the parts aren't particularly expensive. What am I missing?

One concern: The title is in question so we can't legally sell for 3 years- but we can gift it. So we could donate and write it off. Or sell it to a private party for cash and say write gift on the title.

posted by kittensofthenight to Travel & Transportation around Seattle, WA (17 answers total)

Replace the head gasket. Car should run fine at that point. Not sure how titles work in Washington, but if you cannot sell it, hard to donate it too. When I donated two cars, the title was necessary. They don't want stolen goods or to be involved in anything less than kosher.
posted by AugustWest at 5:21 PM on June 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

The vast majority of the cost of a head gasket replacement is the labor, because you have to get deep into the engine to do it. (You're replacing the piece that seals the two biggest parts of the engine together, which is why it's absolutely critical to the car's function but not all that complex or expensive.)

If your friend's a good mechanic and as extremely nice as he or she seems, and you could use a car, that's a pretty great deal. 1993 Camrys are about as reliable and nice as 25-year-old cars get (speaking as someone who drives a less reliable 25-year-old car).
posted by Polycarp at 5:24 PM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Is this all that's needed for parts? That does seem like a ridiculous deal. The Meineke that AAA towed us to quoted us about 1500 for the work with parts and labor.
posted by kittensofthenight at 6:05 PM on June 7, 2017

That's the head gasket for the 4 cylinder Camry. If yours has the V-6, there will be two gaskets with 3 holes each.

Like Polycarp says, the cost is all in the labor. 10-12 hrs at $125/hr to replace a $50 part.
posted by hwyengr at 6:15 PM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]

Yup. That's it for parts. You'll need some new coolant too. Buy the gasket at your local Toyota dealership. You'll get the OEM gasket for a little more money, but you'll have peace-of-mind that you used original parts.
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 7:22 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Wow. Well ok. Thanks mefi.
posted by kittensofthenight at 7:29 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Well. I'd consider replacing a few gaskets on the way in there. You should be able to buy a head gasket kit, though (also on that page) for around $125, plus a set of head bolts (they are stretch bolts so should be replaced. Even so its' likely sub $200 on parts.

if you're going to get free labour, I'd have all new gaskets and replace them on the way in and out. Why the hell not for the sake of a few extra bucks.
posted by Brockles at 7:57 PM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'll add...you are making some assumptions about the condition of the motor, including that the head gasket failure is itself the primary cause of your motor not running and not the result of some other failure, like a cracked cylinder head. Unfortunately, the Camry's head gasket blew for a reason, and that reason could be something other than a simple failure due to age. If this were my 24 year old motor and I were pulling off the heads for the first time, I'd have the heads rebuilt (or rebuild them myself) as long as I had them off. At a minimum, I'd take the heads to a machine shop and have them pressure tested. Head gaskets are hard to change, and I'd hate to have to do the job twice because I assumed the head gasket was the only issue I was facing.

Also, be aware the timing belt and tensioner should be changed at the same time as the head gasket. Hell, the water pump and a bunch of other stuff should be done as well as long as you're in there, but even if you want to do this as cheaply as possible, I'd suggest changing the timing belt and timing gears while you have it all apart. Complete 3VZ-FE Camry timing belt and water pump kits run about $130, +/- $30, and the kit consists of parts you will need to remove anyway to change the head gaskets.
posted by mosk at 9:44 PM on June 7, 2017 [4 favorites]

One more thing: the Toyota Factory Service Manuals (FSMs) are *fantastic* documents, with clear text and illustrations for maintaining all major and minor vehicle systems. They are pricey, but they are significantly better then the Hayne's of Chilton's manuals, which are less complete and sometimes just...wrong. I am not suggesting you buy one, as they are expensive (sample 1993 Camry FSM set on ebay), but if you or your friend can borrow one, you will be in much better shape.
posted by mosk at 10:07 PM on June 7, 2017

If you donate the car, you certainly won't get your $300 back. You may not actually get anything of value, except some satisfaction. (If you do give, make sure you give to a worthwhile charity; some have very high fundraising costs, as well as high CEO salaries.)

It's true that a vehicle donation is potentially a tax deduction. But if you don't itemize (if you're not high income, or have a mortgage, or have high medical expenses, you probably don't), then you can't use donation (which is a charitable contribution). In short, if Schedule A on your federal tax return is a stranger to you - you don't use it - then you probably take the standard deduction (in 2016, $6,300 for singles; $12,600 for married couples filing jointly); if you take the standard deduction, charitable contributions are irrelevant.
posted by WestCoaster at 10:19 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Once you're in for the head gasket there are a bunch of other things you might as well do, as Brockles says. Is your donor a *good* mechanic? What's the condition of the motor otherwise?
posted by spitbull at 4:54 AM on June 8, 2017

Also it may be cheaper to drop in a rebuilt new motor than go through rebuilding yours.
posted by spitbull at 4:55 AM on June 8, 2017

Seconding Mosk, also noting that aluminum heads can warp. This can be corrected by machining at the same place that will check for cracks/install new valve guides etc. The head re-work costs are a pretty small part of the cost of getting the head off and reinstalling with a new gasket.
Running the car with a bad head gasket is in all likelyhood putting water into the oil, so a decision ought to be made sooner rather than later. Pull the oil dipstick - if the oil looks like chocolate mousse, there is water in it.
I'm also recalling that, in many cases, car manuf's tend to quit carrying/making spare parts after ten years. You can still get aftermarket parts for many items (waterpumps, timing belts, etc) though.
posted by rudd135 at 4:56 AM on June 8, 2017

I'd dump the car at this point. Call the local junkyards and have them tow it away. You probably won't make all $300 back but at this point I wouldn't dump any more money into a 24 year old car. (I'm no mechanic but my husband and I have a 97 ford ranger, 99 cadillac deville and 96 corolla. Something major like this is probably the tip of the iceburg.)
posted by pintapicasso at 5:23 AM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]

As others have said, if you're doing the head gasket you should probably check/rebuild the heads, replace seals (valve/rocker arm), timing belt, crankshaft seal (use OEM), perhaps thermostat/water pump.
posted by czytm at 6:36 AM on June 8, 2017

You have a free car. Money is tight. Registration and license costs are sunk costs. You have free labor. Head gaskets are cheap. Have the head gasket done with the free labor, and think of it like a $50 lottery ticket where you have a 50/50 chance of getting a free (albeit old) car that you can drive until a much more expensive repair is needed.
posted by davejay at 7:21 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Have the head gasket done with the free labor, and think of it like a $50 lottery ticket

To clarify, this was my intent. I meant just replace the gaskets and seals (and head bolts) on the way to the head gasket and back, not just replace the head gasket itself and gamble on an intake manifold seal or used head bolts etc. With free labour that's as far as I would go. I'd roll the dice on the heads being warped or cracked. I think that is overkill to get into machining or inspecting heads - you're putting too much money into a gamble. You're trying to get another 10-20k miles out of this car, not another 100k, right? Anything other than 30k is a bonus.

I would MAYBE replace the water pump and timing belt while I was in there, depending on condition. In fact I'd buy a water pump and the belt and if the engine looks good when I have got the heads off, I'd fit it. If not, I'd take it back for a refund and scrap the car.

It's worth the $200 for the head gasket SET and the head bolts, to me, to throw it back together and see if it works. With free labour that is a great gamble to see if the car runs. If that fails, I'd give up on the car and chuck it out. I wouldn't put more time and effort into it than that.

Also, to be even sneakier and cover your arse a bit more, if you don't open anything you bought up (leave it in the packets), and your guy dismantles the engine down to the head gasket it will be much easier to see if there is something obviously wrong. That way you are only gambling with half his time (no need to put it back together if there is an obvious warp or crack), you just throw the rest of the dismantled stuff in the boot and have it towed to the scrap yard. Then take all your purchased parts back for a refund. If everything looks good upon inspection, though, open stuff up, clean things up and rebuild it.

That way if it is a horror show when you get in there you can get a refund for the parts and you can use the money you spent on the gaskets etc on the towing bill to the scrap yard if it looks bad. Which makes it an easier gamble to me.
posted by Brockles at 8:37 AM on June 8, 2017 [2 favorites]