I have a 1999 Acura 3.2 TL. I’ve put almost 200,000 miles on it and according to the owners manual, it’s time for a second timing belt replacement (I replaced it once at around 120,000 miles). I’m trying to decide whether I should sell/trade my car in to get a new one or spend money replacing the timing belt and hope that it will last a few more years. I appreciate your input.
How’s it running now?? Any other issues?? Rust??
200k really isn’t that many miles for this vehicle. Also at 200k you’re averaging less then 20k/yr…so 2-3 more years is only about 50k miles. If the rest of the vehicle is in good shape I say spend the money and get it fixed.
As it is, your car has little value, so don’t spend too much time agonizing over this…If you have not replaced the transmission, that back-breaker can not be far off. If you can afford a new car without taking on an uncomfortable debt load, now might be a good time to start shopping…
Thanks for your response. No, I haven’t replaced my transmission yet.
Usually those timing belts have a 8yr/105,000 mile life. So based off that(last change 120k+105k interval) you are not due until 225,000 miles. I would wait until you hit that mileage and then dump it or replace it. Your vehicle will not change much in value over those 25k miles and a year or so at this point of depreciation.
Thanks everyone for your input.
I’ve been having a little bit problem with the car but it is not getting worse. The problem I’ve been having is sometime I feel like the car jumps like a horse, pauses and hesitates a little bit during the first gear. But it runs just fine after that.
The timing belt replacement mileage for your engine 105,000 miles. So the first thing I would ask if I were looking into purchasing this vehicle would be, “When was the timing belt/water pump last replaced?”. And since the vehicle is very near the mileage where replacement is required again, You’ld have to knock some money off the asking price before I would buy it.
Tester