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- 2016 CX-9 GT
I’ve heard back from everywhere but independent shops. One local dealer wanted $7,900. The other wanted $15,000. If I can talk them down, I might go that route. I have a feeling they want to remove the engine to fix it.If you go the independent mechanic route, the price will easily go up 2.5x. The dealer route will be even worse - there was a repair estimate for $5k posted elsewhere.
If it were me, I'd fix it and sell it while used valuations are still sky high. I'm always wary of replacing heads on aluminum engines - the blocks can warp slightly over time, making getting a good seal difficult.
Will Carvana or some such site buy a car with a coolant leak? I'd see if they will give you an offer just to see what makes financial sense.
Carvana came out same day to check it out. Offered $1,000 less than I paid for it (not including tax). It was actively dripping coolant while they looked at it. I will never buy from Carvana if they are willing to buy a broken vehicle.
My problem is after researching the other vehicle options, I’d end up in another CX-9! Next generation 4Runner is a contender but still 1-2 years out. Other option is the LX600 but there are issues with that new engine so don’t want to hop in that yet (kind of ironic, I know).
This couldn’t have happened at a worse time in regards to my time. I was talking with my wife and she reminded me that we are taking two trips in the next 6 weeks, I have two work trips in September, and we have guests here for 9 days. I won’t have time to do it myself until November. If a shop can do it for around $4k, I’ll go that route. If they can’t, I’ll sell to Carvana and look at new ones