"It just stalled" and a dead hole can also mean that the engine overheated, boiled dry of coolant and run until it quit. Just getting hot without loss of coolant doesn't usually harm the engine; fix the cause and move on. But boiling it dry is another matter altogether. If you've ever boiled a coffee pot, teakettle, saucepan, etc., dry, you noticed that the metal warps. Imagine this in an all-aluminum engine block and heads. I won't do head gaskets on engines that this has happened to. The repair won't last.

I've got a 1999 Chevy S-10 pickup, 4 cylinder. I've had it since it was brand new, it's been extremely reliable.

A couple of years ago it suddenly, and I mean within a second, ran so poorly it would not idle, it would die and be difficult to restart.

I got it towed to my local shop that I trust.

They called me back and said one of the 4 cylinders had no compression at all. Could be a lot of things and did not know what the problem is and what it would take to correct it.

It's not worth a lot, but a few years ago any pickup that ran and had AC was worth more than you'd imagine.

Long story made short they said they'd have to pull of the valve cover first and then remove the head for inspection.

I ok'd that, knowing the cost to do just that.

They called me back and said a spring on the intake valve broke, leaving it open and unable to make compression. The other 3 cylinders had normal proper compression.

I was told that what should be done was just an old fashioned "valve job". They sent it to a machine shop (not a lot of those left around anymore) and got the head done.

I got it back, out the door, for $1,700. It ran perfectly well, and still starts immediately on the 1st crank. Drives well, it's truly a one owner 25 year old useful pickup for my needs, paid for years ago, insurance is cheap, still looks very good all washed up.

The Honda needs to be diagnosed properly and then the repair needed to fix it.

It's a bit of a gamble, but I knew my repair shop, they've been there for many years, 3 generations now. I trust them.

Tumcumari? I've been there many times, eat at Del's Restaurant every time, but I have no idea how honest and reputable this repair shop is. Who knows?

It's a gamble. If you can get out the door for $2,000, is it worth it? Car payments suck.

Nothing beats knowing what you are doing and doing it with honesty and no nefarious people, but we just don't know sometimes.

Best wishes to you and your Son & DIL.
.

Epilogue.

The tow guy asked what they were doing with the car. He offered to take it off their hands for a free tow.

While it didn't work out for them, it only cost them the initial tow.

Again, I wish they had better options. I wish they were more interested in trying to figure out better options. But that isn't the case. They're done with the car.

The funny thing is this is the second car to fail them in the past 6 weeks. That's another 20 year old Subaru that I believe had the rear main seal fail, drowning the clutch in oil and making it nearly impossible to drive (can't shift too easy). That car is back at their rental and will be donated. They're starting over with much newer cars.