Is it worth it for you to spend 2200 replacing a head gasket on your 1999 Subaru which has 134000 miles?

Yes its worth replacing the head gasket if the rest of the car is in good shape, but 2200 is rediculously high. Find another shop(s) and ask for a quote. Dont get be wrong, it will still be expensive, but you should be able to do better than $2200. That price seems high, but I am the perfect person to answer your question. Last August I had the head gaskets replaced in my 2000 Forester with the same mileage. It was leaking between cylinder and the water jacket on number 3. Subaru dealer in Lansing, MI quoted $1300 for the job but I had mine done by someone else for the same price but I trusted him more than the dealer. Hal's in North Carolina will do the job for about half that. You have to judge how well the vehicle has been maintained or abused. Is the body still nice? Transmission working okay? Interior still good? Do you still like the car? If you have a manual transmission, be sure to have the clutch, timing belt, and water pump changed at the same time. They should pull the engine to do the job so there is little if any additional labor. Good luck! --Ken

I'll second Ken's answer. I paid $2800. for both head gaskets on my 2000 Forester. They were leaking a very small amount. I had everything that Ken mentioned done except the clutch, which is still a lot of $$. The shop, Advanced Auto in Redding, CA, is known for their high prices. If I had it to do again, I might not take that "do it all" route. I had 140,000 on the beast, and I am the original owner! MountainMike