head gasket on used car

[bubba28]

Hi,
i just won a 1995 corsa i was bidding on in ebay, but today i got a email saying that the head gasket has gone and its in the garage getting fixed. Will it be ok after it as fixed or will there be more problems to follow? The seller has given me the option of pulling out, Does anyone have any views on what i should do? i dnt have a clue.
thanks

[pauln90]

It all depends on why the head gasket failed and the quality of the repair.

When a head gasket fails I would expect that any reputable mechanic would check to see if the head is warped and if it is to get it skimmed.

If the job is done properly and the reasons for the failure found and rectified then you shouldn't have any further problems.

I would like to add though that if you know little or nothing about cars then maybe E-bay isn't the route you should be taking to buy a car.Buying a used car is often a gamble and if you can't inspect it before you buy then its even more of a gamble. It may be wise to take up the sellers offer and pull out of the deal.

[Cockney_si]

Probably the best advice is to steer clear...head gasket failure usually happens when the engine overheats (maybe a sign too of not enough coolant or oil or even a radiator problem !) and the cylinderhead then warps with the heat to mix the oil with the coolant, usually leaving lots of nast mayonaise looking stuff in the engine.

I've had a car give up because of this and it cost way too much to repair.

[Loosehead]

Don't touch with a bargepole, as cockney says the most common reason for a HG failure is overheating. This warps the head, if the head is not skimmed and it probably won't be, then you can look forward to lots of HG jobs down the line. There must be 1000's of corsa's out there, just get a better one. Not sure what the rules are on Ebay when something you where previously unaware of becomes known, ou may be able to pull out within their rules.

[woodchopper]

I've had 4 Corsa's - one had head gasket failure - just blew and leaked coolant - there is a problem with the old Corsa's in that the Thermostat was crap as I had to replace 2 out of the 4 I've had.
A proper repair ws done to the one with the head gasket failure ( head skimmed and got the valves and seals done at the same time ) and never gave me any more bother in the time I had with it.

[Keeprockin]

It will probably need the head skimming,and as the car is 11 years old,I can't see the person spending that kind of money to have it done. If it need skimming and doesn't get done,then your gasket will carry blowing. Run while you have the chance.
Take someone who knows what they're doing to a car auction

[bubba28]

Thanks for the help, i'v pulled out of it and on the look out for another wee car.