Peugeot 106: Head Gasket repair - what to do next?

My R reg Peugeot 106 1.1 had a suspected head gasket problem. The weather temperature was minus 5 degrees, the car heater had not been working during the 12 miles I had driven, the ‘water pressure’ light came on, I pulled over & the car would not start again. When the AA-arranged rescue vehicle got there 5.5hours later the engine started, the guy removed the radiator cap and water came pulsing out which he said had signs of oil in it & he towed it away to a garage he recommended.

The garage rang me ask whether I wanted to pay for a full head gasket replacement at a cost of around £500 or a partial job at around £300 which would include head skimming. I opted for the partial as the car is only worth around £600.

When I collected the car I found ... “The head had not been skimmed or inspected by specialist to keep cost down”. But I had paid for:

Removed cylinder head and inspected
Cleaned up head and block and refitted
Fitted new cambelt kit
Changed oil and filter
Refilled with antifreeze
Road Tested Vehicle
The invoice reads:
Head set = 50.25
Head bolts = 18.52
Oil = 17.56
Oil filter = 9.98
Cambelt Kit = 55.65
3x hours labour = 157.80
=£366 inc VAT

Now the car does not run properly when idle and it loses power & dies when going up hills. When I take the car back what should the garage do next?

Many thanks for your help.

buttonmoon said:

The garage rang me ask whether I wanted to pay for a full head gasket replacement at a cost of around £500 or a partial job at around £300 which would include head skimming.

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Surely, this should be the other way round. You can't do a partial job without replacing the headgasket! I suspect it should read:
Full job including head skimming £500 or partial job head gasket only £300.

buttonmoon said:

When I collected the car I found ... “The head had not been skimmed or inspected by specialist to keep cost down”.

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How do you know? Was this mentioned in the repair bill? In which case it tallies with what I said above.

buttonmoon said:

Now the car does not run properly when idle and it loses power & dies when going up hills. When I take the car back what should the garage do next?

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They could say that they should have skimmed the head and had it inspected. There could be other damage not noticed at the time, e.g. the block cracked. Or the head gasket could have gone again quickly because the head is warped.

buttonmoon said:

Where did my fuel go? Presumably if I had a leak the garage would have spotted this? Therefore is it normal to 'lose' fuel when they are looking into head gasket problems?

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What kind of garage was it? A back street affair or a main line garage?
Take it up with them if it was a reputable company, if not, well you takes your chance.

buttonmoon said:

When I collected the car the tank was empty and because of this, they said, they were unable to road test the car thoroughly.

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A bit at odds with what the invoice says:-

buttonmoon said:

But I had paid for:

Removed cylinder head and inspected
Cleaned up head and block and refitted
Fitted new cambelt kit
Changed oil and filter
Refilled with antifreeze
Road Tested Vehicle

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Take it back and ask them to do it properly, any decent garage wouldnt have done a partial job due to the risks involved