- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
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- 10,767
Given that many of us here keep a car for a good many years (not wanting to take a big depreciation hit very often), I thought I'd ask about timing belt replacement strategy.
Obviously if the replacement cost exceeds the value of the car, it's not advisable to do this expensive preventive maintenance, irrespective of the interval set by the manufacturer. But what would be the point at which it makes sense?
One factor in the equation would be the likelihood of failure between the current mileage and the mileage when you dispose of the car. Another factor, smaller for me, is the inconvenience of a failure. And of course the total loss of the car's value if a failure occurs (a new engine is required after a failure so probably means not worth fixing ).
I imagine that going 10% longer than the recommended miles for belt replacement has a miniscule chance of failure. Anecdotally, I've had two cars that passed 100% longer, and didn't fail. It would be nice to know about the fraction of failures on the specific engine by mileage, but I haven't found a source for that.
Usually I "self insure". Is this a case where it makes sense? My history with two other cars suggests yes, or was I just lucky?
Obviously if the replacement cost exceeds the value of the car, it's not advisable to do this expensive preventive maintenance, irrespective of the interval set by the manufacturer. But what would be the point at which it makes sense?
One factor in the equation would be the likelihood of failure between the current mileage and the mileage when you dispose of the car. Another factor, smaller for me, is the inconvenience of a failure. And of course the total loss of the car's value if a failure occurs (a new engine is required after a failure so probably means not worth fixing ).
I imagine that going 10% longer than the recommended miles for belt replacement has a miniscule chance of failure. Anecdotally, I've had two cars that passed 100% longer, and didn't fail. It would be nice to know about the fraction of failures on the specific engine by mileage, but I haven't found a source for that.
Usually I "self insure". Is this a case where it makes sense? My history with two other cars suggests yes, or was I just lucky?