[KrautBurner]

timing belts save the manufacturer a little when building the car (figure $25 per engine, over 500,000 engines/year)
and,
they give the dealers a steady flow of maintenance income ($500-2,000 every 50-100K miles)


many car manufacturers have gone away from timing belts recently
(its hard to offer a warrenty / maintenance on a failure item)

Originally Posted by theicecreamman

I'll take a chain over a belt anyday in a light duty engine, hate changing timing belts, but Gates has really stepped up their offerings with higher strength belts.

Originally Posted by Miller88

I have posted this before (maybe not here) but I strongly dislike belts. They are a completely unacceptable cost cutting measure. The manufacturer saves $20 making the vehicle, only to cost the owners multiple thousands of dollars in maintenance over the course of the car's lifetime. If the maintenance is not performed, it's a few thousand for a replacement engine (assuming interference).

I will not own a car with a belt.