Not to be a smart Alec, but fixing what is not broken is called Maintenance. Replacing a timing belt is not nearly as pricey as rebuilding the top of the engine when a belt breaks. " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!" but thanks for sharing your experience of 150K+ miles with no problems. It's at least reassuring. Although naive when considering critical parts like a timing belt. the approach embraced by phrases like "if it aint broke don’t fix it" is efficient and effective for non-critical parts that don’t effect other critical parts when they fail, but not a critical internal engine component. This is where maintenance pays off. You said yall drove the cars till they were more work than they are worth to repair right? well, my opinion is that this is the zone of a vehicles life where you get the most bang for your buck. you see, I buy these Aveo's because they are inexpensive and almost like a disposable car. I pay cash for them, slightly used (less than 10k miles ) for less than $10k. At that point I drive them for as long as possable. the longer I keep it running in good order the more value I get from it. Once it no longer operates I sell it for scrap and parts and find another one to buy. it is the least expensive way to operate a vehicle according to the NFCU and my wallet. LOL anyway, what Im getting at is if I can get another 80k-100k miles for a $400 maintenance job it is a good value!
Respectfully,
ryan
Respectfully,
Ryan