I have a 2017 Ford Escape with 116,000 miles and I had a code on a misfire. I tried to replace the sparkplug and one broke off in the head. I had it towed to a mechanic and he could not get it out with the special tool so he took it to the dealer who had to replace the cylinder head ($3,000). I now see that I should replace the timing belt/water pump preventatively which will probably be around $1,500 to $2,000 I guess. I still have the risk that the coolant will leak into the cylinder in the future as these cars are known to have this issue. Should I get the belt and water pump replaced or just run the car until it dies and write it off at that point or should I sell it for a song as I don't feel right not telling someone about the potential issues. I don't want to buy new so I can't really trade it in either.
Thanks.
I would replace the timing belt and drive the car.
With the current condition, you don’t get that much money of you want to sell it.
On these fords the timing belt does snap sometimes even before it reaches the correct mileage.
Not replacing the timing belt is basically “spending a dollar to save a dime”
also I don’t recommend DIY-ing anything on these ultra complex and fragile new cars. Like at this point a lot of mechanics refuse to touch many engine models because of how convoluted they became
Thanks!