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Heard a guy at the mechanic shop say timing belts are a scam
I was picking up my truck last Tuesday and this older guy was telling the cashier that timing belts are just a way for shops to make money. Said he drove his Honda 200k miles and never changed a belt once. I just had mine replaced at 90k for $650 and now I'm second guessing it. Anyone else run into people who swear certain maintenance is a total waste?
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price.ray2mo ago
Man timing belts are definitely not a scam but I gotta say that older guy had one thing right - some of those older Honda motors were actually non-interference engines so if the belt snapped you just got stranded instead of destroying your valves. But these days almost everything is interference motors where a broken belt means thousands in repairs. So yeah you did the right thing spending that $650 even if it hurts the wallet. That older guy probably got lucky or had one of those few engines that can survive a belt snap, but thats not most cars anymore.
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foster.tessa2mo ago
Guess I paid $650 for peace of mind plus a free anxiety discount lol.
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kim_ramirez32mo ago
Right? @price.ray nailed it, most people don't realize how rare those non-interference engines are now. I dropped $700 on my Subaru last year for the same thing and it felt ridiculous until I remembered a new engine would cost me five times that.
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ward.jamie2mo ago
Trust the mechanic not the guy with a lucky old Honda. Those non-interference engines are getting rare, most modern cars will grenade the whole motor if that belt snaps. You spent $650 to avoid a $3000+ repair bill, that's not a scam that's cheap insurance.
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