top end rebuild, fair quote? Options

[TROJANMAN]

my mechanic has been nice enough to store my car for the last year. but with spring around the corner, i realllly want her back. i haven't had it fixed yet, because i can't justify paying him the $2,800 he has quoted me for the repair bill. the engine froze last year (after a valve adjustment he performed). the cause of the problem was a loose valve seat which dented the head. he said these things just happen. ironically, there was another 75 with the same problem, but worse damage i saw there yesterday. now i need to have the heads re machined and the valve seats replaced. Does $2,800 sound fair for this job? he is a true porsche mechanic, and races a 914/6 himself, so i trust he knows what he is doing. thanks in advance.
the rest of the car is mint - considering its age, just some fading on the interior. it's a '75 2.0

[Jake Raby]

If the engine lost a seat- it got too hot. Seats don't fall out unless the heads get too hot. (or unless they were installed really crappy..)

what you don't realize is that he may be making MORE money from doing a top end than a rebuild.. especially since he can do the top end in 1/3 as much time and then go on to another job and make more, and more, and more... 5 smaller jobs in a week will yield more profit than one big one will (I know this)

Then a few years down the road he has you on the hook for a full rebuild, this usually makes more money for him and increases job security...

I'm not make implications about him being a crook, but I worked at alot of import shops when I was a kid and saw how they work. Thats why I don't work on cars just build engines.......