just a bit of moral support --
during a timing belt/valve seal replacement last fall I messed up and bent a bunch of valves. This was my wife's DD at the time, and there was NO excess $$ for a replacement vehicle.
To that point I'd never pulled a cylinder head off any car, and I was pretty skeptical whether I could get it done or not.
To be perfectly honest, it wasn't that bad, and there are a lot of small fixes you can do while you're in there. Rear cam o-rings, valve seals, valve cover gaskets, front cam seals, timing belt etc.
When you finish it will be almost like having a new engine.

Having both my heads rebuilt (including ~$150 for 10 bent valves) cost a total of $485. And they were PUUUUURDY!

The first shop I talked to wanted $600 JUST to remove the heads.

Oreilly auto had my head bolts for $30, and you'll need a new head gasket set - I went to the dealer for that.

To a novice like me it seemed like a ridiculous undertaking at the time, but it wasn't bad, and in the end was money well spent (well, not the bending the valves part).

Be VERY careful removing any bolts in aluminum. Steel bolts will eat up aluminum threads in a hurry. Don't ask me how I know <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />