Engine repair
Use the parts prices, labor hours and local totals to plan for this repair. Confidence B applies to a broad repair category; this is not a shop quote for your specific vehicle.
Cost and coverage
The low and high parts benchmarks for head gasket replacement differ by $31. Estimated midpoint labor and diagnosis add about $2,022 at the median metro rate of $148 per hour.
Coverage varies even among exclusionary plans, so the component name alone does not settle a claim. Payment still depends on authorization and the recorded cause of failure.
See all engine repairsLocal estimates
These examples combine the same parts benchmark with modeled independent-shop labor rates in four metros.
| Metro | Labor midpoint | Total estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas, TX | $144/hr | $2,286-$3,619 |
| New York, NY | $160/hr | $2,436-$3,910 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $165/hr | $2,482-$3,999 |
| Miami, FL | $144/hr | $2,289-$3,623 |
Machine-shop work, overheating damage and the original cause of failure can move the bill outside this range.
National benchmark: $2,543-$3,337, with $910-$941 in parts and $1,633-$2,397 in labor. Source: RepairPal, updated 2026-06-18. Local totals normalize the published labor range to this site's metro labor model.
Before authorizing a repair
The benchmark price is for per repair. Parts run from $910 to $941; the modeled repair takes 11.1 to 16.3 labor hours, with 0 diagnostic hours in the midpoint calculation.
Machine-shop work, overheating damage and the original cause of failure can move the bill outside this range. Ask the shop to identify which of those items are included before comparing two totals.
This repair totals about $2,950 using a $148 hourly rate from the middle metro in our labor model. We calculate that amount from our assumptions; it is not an observed average bill for your exact car.
This repair category uses a published RepairPal benchmark. Your engine, how hard the part is to reach and the choice of replacement part can still put a quote outside that range.
A contract can list engine coverage and still exclude the cause of this failure. Ask the administrator about diagnosis, labor-rate limits, connected damage and preauthorization before the shop starts work.
Factory coverage and an open safety recall are separate checks. Use NHTSA's VIN recall lookup to check the individual vehicle; a model-level recall count cannot tell you whether your car is affected.
The FTC's repair guide recommends a written estimate identifying the condition, parts and labor. Its service-contract guidance explains why authorization, exclusions and reimbursement limits matter.
These are model-level source benchmarks, not year-specific quotes. Open a vehicle profile to check its engine and drivetrain, along with the public records for that model.
Need to describe a symptom before a diagnosis? Choose the exact vehicle in FixCatalogue and open the underlying source. A symptom match alone does not justify replacing this part.
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