just got a little more info...i spoke w the owner who informed me (hes an honest family guy which is refreshing) the LR dealership did say his head gasket would need replacing prior to the next checkup, and they quoted him 1300$..is that a good quote to replace the gasket? are there more than one that usually need replacing?...would they fix both (all) or just one?
anyway, so he passed this along to me and aksed if that was a deal breaker for me...i told him, and this is the truth, i can afford 8k but for a clean truck, in other words, if the gaskets were replaced...he said he would have the gasket work done and then talk over that price with his wife and let me know...we shall see...regardless, i appreciated his honesty he could have told me the gaskets were fine and i wouldn't have known any better...my gut tells me he will get a better offer but 8k is all i can afford...we shall see...ill keep you posted...

 

Firstly, it's odd for anyone to be able to forecast when head gaskets will need to be replaced with the acumen of that LR Dealer or tech. They may last only 30k miles, or they may last over 100k miles. You could only say they're going to need replaced soon if they're already weeping a bit.

Secondly, if the local LR Dealer would do it for $1300 that is a fantastic price. I had them done on my truck at 45k and it was covered under warranty, but it was my understanding that were I to have had to pay for the repairs it would have set me back about $3200. You could probably get it done for closer to $1000 from an independent mechanic, but you get a 1 yr warranty on any work the LR dealer does so that would be worth spending an extra $300 on to me.

Good luck on the truck.