Is this something the mechanic can confirm or does it have to go to machine shop..I don't know how much machine shops would charge for this service..

. . . and yes rods should be done as a matching set, not just replace one at a time . . . unless you are having a really good machine shop do all of the work and they are checking for balance.

With more than one bent rod and more than one bent valve, I have to wonder what else is damaged. It would be worth a machine shop'* time to make sure everything is still straight.

Either have a machine shop do the work or get a rebuilt engine and install it.

So the mechanic has the pistons out and they were all good.. No bent rods. The cylinder head is not warped at all. however, on one cylinder, the edge of 2 valve seats appear to have slight

damage. From your experience, do you think this is something fixable by machine shop ? I have attached pic

I can't believe valve seats have damage and that corresponding piston has absolutely zero damage. You need a machine shop to look at this. If your mechanic does not have answers on this then they need to go to a machine shop as well.

And yes, a machine shop "*>can<*" fix stuff like this if (1) they are capable and (2) it is possible based on the circumstances of the damage.

Yes, I have seen the pistons..They look good except one piston that had a slight almost 0.5 mm deep scratch about 1/4 of an inch long caused by a valve as it is curved..he said it was no big deal just slight sanding out. Also surprising was that the cylinder walls were good with hashes still in tact.
A friend told me that whenever you change piston rings you have to "hone" it. Is this absolutely necessary if cylinders are still good...If I have to hone it then I might consider leaving the old rings on as I don't think the mechanic is keen on doing the honing.

Personally, I wouldn't return a piston to service if it had ever struck anything.

Depends on how worn the cylinders are. I've seen folks re-ring without honing and come out okay. I've also seen them consume oil and have compression issues afterwards. It'* a crap shoot as far as I'm concerned.

You need a new mechanic. that guy is a hack.

He has opened everything up and is in parts so I may have to work with him to the conclusion. He appears to be wanting to do a descent job but he is paid for the job not by hour so the less work the better from his perspective. He has gone to school for this job as he is certified and has some experience.

The water pump is inside the timing chain compartment ..Should I get this replaced while he is in there. My car has only 98,000km on it..How long do water pumps generally last? I am expecting to keep the car for about 3-4 years (approx 75,000km)