The eternal question..when do you stop spending money on car repairs?

98 Honda Civic DX with 175,000 miles (original owner)

Symptom – coolant ‘disappears’ over time. Down about 1-2 liters in 500 miles. Temperature ‘creeps up’ when hot and idling. Temperature returns to normal when driving. No sign of leak. Slight sweet smell when hot. Haven’t noticed any performance issues. Oil looks normal, not creamy.

I’ve replaced the radiator and fan (it was cracked), hoses too and from radiator, thermostat. I'm pretty sure I'm looking at a head gasket.

I can do basic mechanic work, but I’ve never undertaken any repair like this. The shop I’ve gone to in the past gave me a ‘ballpark’ quote of $1500, including the timing belt and water pump, and machining the head.

Now my question...is it worth putting $1500 into this car? Over the past six months I've put in the radiator, alternator, and shocks. All that I did myself. I haven't really needed anything other than basic maintenance otherwise. But I fear that I'm getting into the 'bottomless money pit' zone.

Anyone else with similar milage who can tell me what I can expect in the top of the second decade of this car's life?

 

Make sure it's not leaking to the outside. If the head gasket is leaking you may be able to confirm by looking for bubbling in the radiator when you rev the engine with the cap off (do this with it cold).

Slap in a new head gasket. Costs about $30 if you do the labor yourself. If that cures the problem you can look at other maintenance.

 

Thanks for the reply, but the cost of the gasket isn't the problem. From what I've read it's a hell of a job, and at least 7 hours labor for someone who KNOWS what they're doing. Probably take a semi-mechanic like me three times that. I'm not sure if that's something I want to, or have time to, undertake.

 

The questions I ask myself is do I like the car? Do I want to buy another & face worse problems possibly? Most of the time it is cheaper to fix than replace. Since you have owned it from new I would pay to fix it. Cars these days are good for 300,000 miles if taken care of. What $1500 two months payments on a new one not to mention increase in license fees & insurance. Or the tax on a new one. A dealer charges DOC Fees of $300-$500 alone. Then buying another might be a great big headache of more problems.
I'm kind of in a spot with a 98 Blazer 4x4 that I bought this Spring. It has cost me way too much but now I'm in a place of continuing to fix it or loose my butt & start all over. So I will continue to fix it. My wife & I joke we have a new Blazer one piece at a time.

 

Decided to spend the money and get the head gasket replaced. As it turns out, my belts and water pump are in good condition and don't need replacement yet. Cost should be around $800 which is a no brainer on whats been a great car. Thanks!