[madamy]

Please take it easy on me as I am a girl and know little about cars except buy Japanese.

MY STORY
I was just in a bad wreck and totaled my civic and a few body parts so I had to get a car.
I am a poor college student :givebeer:and just bought a 90 Maxima SE for $500. It has 128,000 mi. Body and interior are in very good shape,decent tires and a bunch of new parts, however the timing belt is BROKE. I had a $2000 car budget but most of the Jap cars were POS in my price range or need tires, windshield etc. which put it out of my price range. The Maxima looked really good and well taken care for its age.

SELLERS STORY
The car supposedly ran fine on his way home from work in the evening and wouldn't start the next morning, he believed it was the timing belt. My dad originally thought it could be a few other things, but has now verified it is the timing belt.

Here goes my questionS???? What are the chances the car did not sustain engine damage if it was not moving when the belt broke? How much are new valves? I am hoping for the cheapest fix possible. My dad can do the work as long as I am willing to go home for a weekend and help him(get in his way is more like it) He can do the engine work if necessary too. My 2 biggest problems are one-he is really busy for the next month so getting anything other than the timing belt done may not happen for a while two - I am a POOR college student, so I would like to keep as much of my money as possible. I am hoping for good news, but would prefer honesty. I need the car to last 2 1/2 years

:cheers:
Bre

 

[guinnessmike]

I bought a $400 Maxima with a similar story and it ended up needing Fuel injectors (not to expensive but a fair amount of work). More often then not the timing belt breaks when driving not at start up (but it is still possible). If you have a little technically savvy you can pull the timing belt cover to see if it is actually shredded. The problem could be a host of other things from a $50 sensor to total engine failure. If it is the timing belt you will most likely need a new head which would be outside of you budget unless you can pull one from a junk yard. I would suggest having a mechanic look it over if possible or just keep looking. You can often find some pretty good deals on E-bay and craigslist.

 

[internetautomart]

when the timing belt breaks, the valves hit the pistons and bend. doesn't matter how fast you are going. The only time damage doesn't occur is if the belt breaks while you are attempting to turn it by hand.