Toyota Repair: estimate, 1989 toyota camry, good luck jack

Question
Hello Jack, I have a question about my 1989 Toyota Camry. Last week, I took my overheated camry to the toyota dealership. I agreed to pay for the estimate. It turned out that basically I had to replace my entire engine...the estimate was approximately $4,500 just for the parts...So I told them I was simply going to pay for the estimate and I would get rid of the car instead of repairing it...The mechanic said he could not put the engine parts back together because it was too much labor. He told me they would place the parts in the trunk and I would have to tow it out. My question is, shouldn't I expect them to at least put the engine parts back together in my car without my having to pay them extra money? I agreed to pay for the estimate only. What do you suggest?  

Answer
I don't know all the details but I will give you an opinion not based on any facts.
I don't know the dealer you went to but if they were any good they would have been able to diagnoise the problem fairly qickly without taking too much apart.
We get these requests and painfully explain that if we take some parts off the engine it sometimes costs more to reinstall the parts so that it will "run" later. I don't know how the diagnosis was presented but this should have been part of the process.
If your engine was that overheated that it needed a new engine it should not have run in the first place. That engine is fairly strong and replacing the head gasket and some related parts should make it run able again. They may have been trying to make it like new which may not be needed.
You may seek more information and find out what you really need not back to new.
Good luck
Jack