I was given a 1992 Honda Civic by my mother which will be used by my daughter as her first car. It has 49,700 miles on it and as I said it's 15 years old. It's been well maintained and is in great condition. My question is, the manual calls for the timing belt to be replaced every 90,000 miles or 72 months. Well I'm well past the 72 months and was wondering what the opinions are on whether to have the timing belt changed and how much should I expect to pay. I know my Toyota's cost about $500-$700 and would expect the same from the Honda.

 

Replace it, rubber wears out. The timing belt is critical to the engine. While you're at it, do the accessory belts, the cam seal, distributor o-ring, water pump and the front main seal. You have to pull the valve cover to do the belt so you need a new gasket as well and the o-rings that go around the spark plugs. You may want to have the valve lash adjusted. I'm not sure about rates in your area, but parts can run $250 or so. If you have power steering now is a good time to flush that as well. Throw in some fresh plugs, wires, cap, rotor and she'll run for a long time. Of course some fresh oil will be in order. Since your doing the water pump, the coolant will be out, why not put in a thermostat and fresh radiator cap. Many of these parts are small dollar parts, but can be major issues later on. For example, the front main seal on the crank is only about $5, but the labor would cost you a fortune later on, just do it now. Over all your $500-700 is within reason for all this. If you're coming to S.W. Florida, I'd be happy to do it. Good luck.