What would cause a car to overheat faster- a leaky heating pipe or a bad thermostat?

[wreckedin30s]

(97 chrysler lhs)? I have a 97 chrysler and my car overheated after about 20 minutes on the highway. I took it in and the guy told me that I needed my heating pipe replaced. I left it in the shop overnight and the next day he told me that my thermostat needed to be replaced as well and that it was another $100. Shouldn't he have been able to catch that in the first place. Because to me, I'm thinking my thermostat is what caused the car to overheat and not those leaky pipes. You can drive a car with leaky pipes for a while. I don't think you can drive with a bad thermostat right? With the parts and labor for that leaky pipe, the total was $500. The thermostat and labor was only $100. I think that guy screwed me big time. what do you guys think?

 

[snoopd]

BIG TIME. a new thermostat costs about 15 dollars for that car. when the thermostat is bad, water cannot circulate so the car overheats. easiest way to know this is when you try and squeeze the upper radiator hose. with a bad thermostat the hose will be under great pressure so squeezing it will be difficult. as far as a leaky pipe... i dont know of any pipes on that car that carry any water. maybe a hose? hoses dont cost much more then the thermostat and yes a leak will cause a car to possibly overheat if the fluid isnt topped because a lack of coolant will cause the engine to overheat