$600

Have you ever given a prayer of thanks for a bill for $600? Well, we sure are!! Ken was driving our Toyota Camry around a corner when it stalled. We towed it to a repair shop. The news was not good. The mechanic said it was the timing belt, which should not be going out yet. The mechanic said that when timing belts break, they often damage the valves which could mean the engine would need to be replaced (and when you're dealing with a 16 year old vehicle, replacing the car might be cheaper than replacing the engine). Unfortunately, we would have to fix the timing belt, for $450, before we could even know if the engine was any good. Long story short, turns out there was an oil leak that caused the belt to break, but the engine was fine. The mechanic seemed surprised. He said that in his experience the engine almost always gets damaged. We are so thankful (if this had to happen) that it happened now instead of during our move and that it was only $600 vs having to replace the car.