1989 240 GL Head Gasket

I'm thinking about buying a 1989 240 GL with 200,000 miles on it for a
couple hundred dollars from a buddy of mine. It's leaking oil from a
crack in the head gasket and I really don't know much about cars so I'm
not sure how much a fix like this costs. Is it something that you
could do on your own with a little bit of help or is it something that
should be left to a mechanic? I heard that the cylinders warp and need
machined in order to replace the head gasket. My only purpose for
buying the car is to drive it to and from the airport a couple of times
a week. Is it worth it to put some money into it or will this car
nickle and dime me to death? Any opinions or help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your replies.

Justin

 

A head gasket is something a moderately skilled shadetree mechanic can
do themselves in a couple afternoons with pretty basic tools. If you
have a mechanic do it, expect several hundred bucks. You should check
the head for flatness but unless it was overheated it will probably not
be warped. You only want to machine it if you have to, you can only do
that just so many times before you can't take off any more metal.

If you enjoy doing basic car tinkering a 240 is a great car to have,
they're very easy to work on and you can keep them on the road nearly
forever for very little money since parts are plentiful and cheap but
remember that it's almost 20 years old, it will need work to fix all the
little things that have likely been neglected. If you have to pay
someone else to do the work it could very well nickel and dime you to death.

 

Thanks for the reply James. That helps me out a lot.

Justin