99 Concorde heater core replacement

Hi. I've just been quoted approximately $1500-1800, to have the core and 
timing belt/water pump replaced.
    I've been scraping together the money to do the belt myself, but since

the core is
starting to "va****", that getting it all done at the same time would be 
good.
    Looking at the Allpar account for this model vehicle, and knowing that

Allpar can
be wrong, it shows hours flagged for the core replacement at 6+ hours for
a 
competent
tech.
Is the price worth the expense quoted? The shop rate is $83 p/h and they 
offer a
18k/18m warranty.
Thanks.