If you don't have the money to fix the engine properly where are you getting the money from to buy the car? Why would you buy one with a problem that you know you can't fix?

Sometimes chemicals work for a little while but if the "mechanic in a can" does what it claims, why are shops full of cars getting new head gaskets? Why wouldn't the mechanic just dump the magic elixir in and save a lot of time, expense, and the need to identify the cause of the leak? Cylinder heads need to be checked for cracks and they have to be checked for flatness within .002". Any more than that and the new gasket won't seal properly.