New head needed for my S3 - brand new, or second hand?

[Greggers]

The engine's out of my S3, and the bottom end is salvageable (had no compression in 3 or 4, v little in 1 & 2, there was loads of sh!te in the sump - metal & plastic (latter from the cambelt tensioner, which got destroyed)), thankfully....the head, however, is mince (8 valves bent).

I've been quoted £1416 incl vat, for a brand new head (exchanged with mine), with new cams, plus £100 for head bolts & gaskets. I've also seen an apparently 18,000 mile head for £450.

Now, there's lots of other work being done on the car to get it running again (timing belt & kit, turbo re-build, new clutch, oil pump, re-map, wheel re-furb....phew!), so, do I save a grand, or is buying second hand heads just too dodgy?

Appreciate any advice, in a bit of a quandry...


Thanks,
greggers

 

[PlebbyChris]

Depends where you've seen the second-hand head. If it's from a reputable dealer then a head with 18,000 miles shouldn't be a problem and you can always inspect the wear on it. Whereas, if you saw it on eBay from a bloke with 3 feedback asking for cash on delivery ................. hmmm.

Personally I'd be inclined to check out the second-hand one and see what state it's in, but I should think it'd be in fairly good nick.

 

[Greggers]

Sounds about right Chris - it's the kind of thing you want to know you're buying off of someone sound, cos of the amount of things that could be wrong with it.

Found myself a complete, newly built engine last week, hoping that it's a good un!

Cheers,
greg