[Jgresch]

Originally Posted by RiceIntegraRS

cap, adapter and thermostat with a discount should be $50. i know they are trying to make money so i can see them charging u $150... maybe $200 but $450? jeez.

Are u prepared to spend $3500+ for everything they wanna do to ur suzuki? With how they are doing everything, i wouldnt trust them. They sound like the type of shop that fixes what they "think" is wrong with the vehicle and if it doesnt fix it, charge the customer anyways and then go try and fix something else.

Tell them to blow the spark plug well dry(they should have done that already) Then u can monitor it urself. Its extremely simple and it takes a minute to do if u do have a 10mm and a sparkplug socket and a flashlight. If the coolant comes back then go from there.

edit* sounds like u like ur vehicle but u dont want to dump a crap load of money on it, id try using headgasket fix in a bottle first. Some people think they are alll snake oil products and some are. But some actually do work. $50 vs $3500+, i would atleast try it.

I think I'm leaning towards just picking up the car and finding another place, and either re-diagnose or follow the things others have been saying here. We do like the car - although have a new vehicle on order that should be arriving in the next 6 months. Obviously I want it to last us until then, and also be able to sell it when the new car comes if possible.

I can ask them to blow it dry if they haven't and will monitor. Would this be a 5 min of driving kind of thing, or an hour?

Originally Posted by GS8

I know a really good shop but it's in Poco if you're willing to go that direction. I've been going there for years and take all my vehicles there.

PM me if you're interested.

Thanks, will PM you!

Originally Posted by underscore

That was my thought as well. Did they just find existing coolant, or are they actually observing coolant appearing in there after cleaning it up and running the engine? Because they might just be seeing some coolant that was spilled there by the leaks or during the work that was done.

I can ask when I pick the car up.

Originally Posted by yray

any foam in the coolant tank?

Not reported and I did not look, I can ask though. Would this be in the reservoir?

Side note: they say the car is drivable as it is now if I want to take it home (about a 3 minute drive). Should I just be monitoring the temp gauge as I drive? Anything else to be aware of to know it's time to pull over?

Thanks again everyone for the help/advice