214 Si 16V, reliability advice needed, head gasket problem?

[dale19]

Hello,

I have recently bought my 214 si a friend has told me that the cylinder head gasket as gone, luckely i have found a guy who is going to get the part skimmed, replace the head gasket and the cam belt, and give it a full service for 250. It's done 70 k miles but the condition is immaculate and it seems a shame to get rid of it as i have fallen in love with it already, bit of a change from my 1 litre H reg nissan micra - lol.

I bought the car from auction for 600 quid, when the auction people tried to start the car it wouldn't start so my bidding competition was none-existant, after a while the car started and i drove it 15 miles home. In the morning the car wouldn't start and my friend had a look, his diagnosis was that the spark plugs were getting wet when it was left stationary for a while because of a faulty cylinder head gasket, also when driving the car home from auction the temperature got pretty high, and we got white smoke coming from the exhaust.

I was just wandering if anybody could give me advice on whether to keep or sell it after the head gasket has been sorted, as i have been told by another friend to sell it and find one with a honda engine. I need a reliable car as I travel 15 miles to uni everyday, and wouldn't mind selling this one to get another similar if its gonna be a wise choice.

Thanks a lot,

Dale

[coxy134]

what year is the car?
if you got it for a good price the it may be woth spending on
has it got m.o.t?

[ashy]

If it's only the HG then keep it as long as it's not been done before. If it's done right it'll last for years.

[dale19]

Thanks peeps, It's a P reg, really good condition inside and out but i know nothing about engines. I think this mechanic knows what he's doing so should be ok, MOT'd until May.