I have a couple of questions to run by all you gurus here on PC. I have both a 12 Prius and its cousin a 12 Ct200h. A few years back the head gasket let go on my Prius and I had the motor replaced @ the tune of $3600 when all was said and done, and its happily running with 323k + on the odometer albeit it uses considerably more oil then the original motor did. On my CT I just got news from the mechanic that the head gasket on my CT is done. Car has 178k on it. I've been reading a lot of threads both here, and some of the CT forums concerning having the head gasket changed. A couple of people on the CT forums stated that after the repair, they ended up having the motor throw a rod. Not sure if this a route that I would want to follow, if this is a relatively common for lack of better wording issue. This brings me to the second part of my question concerning a replacement engine. Looking at LKQ they've got plenty of motors available but not thrilled that they are asking over $1900 for an engines with 93k + on the clock, or 1700 with over 130k. Anyone have experience or insight on buying a motor from a JDM importer and installing one? The cost and mileage differences is huge, but not sure of what other problems there may be buying a JDM engine and trying to get it installed. Thank you for any advice or input you all can offer here.
The used engine price seems very high. In my area of northern california there are multiple JDM engine importers with gen 3 motors for $1,000 to $1,200. Ebay also shows similar pricing.
The LKQ prices are from their website, with a few local to me. I've seen the eBay listings, and will probably get one of those. After the initial shock of yet another head gasket going bad, reading some more threads here concerning JDMs seems like the best route to take. Appreciate your response.
