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This is a subject that unfortunately comes up far too frequently with our Aveos. You will find multiple opinions on this, and one important factor is the repair estimate. For those of us who DIY, it's usually a no-brainer to try the valve replacement or just pick up a reman head. Not a big $ risk going that route.
Outside of DIY, the shop price for this repair has recently been posted at 1.5 - 2K, which includes the required timing belt job redone again. At that price, I believe the better choice would be a rebuilt engine that includes a 1 year warranty. I feel that taking care of the head (one way or the other) is a crapshoot. The valves get bent by smashing into the pistons. And because of that I wouldn't have any comfort level putting that kind of $$ into an engine which took that kind of a pounding - bearings , rods, etc.
Now having said that, I also need to add that I'm in the minority, because most guys have no problem throwing on a new head. You said that the shop will "work" with you, so maybe with a reduced price it may be reasonable to go with the head only. Good luck with it, regardless of which way you go!
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I think the question is at what rpm did the belt or tensioner fail? If it failed on start up I would not be concerned about the bottom end damage. At 75 mph under load I might have a different feeling. We have replaced two aveo engines one for timing belt failure at 70 MPH, and its replacement engine for idler failure on start up. The latter engine had no piston top damage. I have a second block in my garage which came from another aveo that threw an idler at start up, it too has no obvious piston damage. I pulled the head off a wreck, got a kit of bits from e-bay and had the head rebuilt. That way when I pulled the head off mine it was not full of crud from sitting there while I figured out what to do and got it done. In the end my car sat in the garage for 11 months before getting back on the road. Rocky
