Mitsubishi Repair: 1999 mitsubishi eclipse spyder turbo..fair price on timing belt replacementn, mitsubishi eclipse spyder, crankshaft sensor

Question
hi linda
I had asked you a question before about car not starting after my oil cooler and filter came loose and i lost oil and oil sprayed all over everything and then it wouldnt start ...well we came to the conclusion it was the crankshaft positioning sensor ...but on this model its behind the timing belt cover and i figured that was alittle more than i wanted to tackle..so we towed it to a mechanics shop and let them trouble shoot it and quote a price for replacement..so he did and called me back in about an hour..confirmed it was the crankshaft sensor and qouted a price around $400.00 and that my timing belt was soaked with oil and should be replaced also for another $345.00...grand total 745.00...well we had the top cover off of the timing belt prior and had turned the engine over several times and the belt was dry no oil...i told him we had looked at it and thatb it was dry...he him hawed around and said that it was underneith on the other side somem somem and then stated that if the belt slips just a fraction of a degree that the valves a pistons would fire out of time and ruin them basicly is what he was saying..so now im a little nerveous...because he's BSen me about the oil soak on the belt...so i put him off for a couple hours on my decision to replace the belt..i thought even if he is bsen me i dont think the old one has been replaced..and sense he's in there go ahead and do it so i agreed ..new cranckshaft positioning sensor,new seals and a new timing belt...$745.00 {parts are supposed to be original mitsubishi parts}
but i was reading a post in here and the expert told them when replacing the timing belt for the first time should replace waterpump also ..how much more would that cost?
and is the 745.00 a good price for the timing belt and sensor...seems alittle high for me
 and now that he has me in the palm of his hand by knowing that my car lost some oil and got a little warm and the fact that he is replacing my timing belt and sensor..and he said it was going to run when he got done..but not for how long...but the buck stops here..unless i want him to do more...im sorry but i dont trust alot of mechanics shops
So what should i be looking for to insure they did a good job and also that they didnt screw with something else thats going to cause something else to break
thanks gary  

Answer
Gary:I hate to say this but then it is because I am a woman but I don't trust male mechanics myself one reason I do my own work or else get my brother to help me with it. But I have learned that you get everything down in writing, always ask to see the old parts and always ask questions. I think the guy is a bit high but then for some reason a lot of places just don't like to work on these import. I replaced a timing belt on an Eclipse well started with the waterpump and decided with that with that off why not the timing belt too. I did not the first few times get the belt on right, then the marks were very hard to read and so in the end my brother had to come up to help me. I did try to start the car more then a few times but it would not run right. But my brother did not think I messed with the pistons or the valves in doing that. Once we got the timing right, the car run wonderful and is still going strong. So this guy is going to try to scare you into thinking the worse, when these little cars will go and go on a small bit of oil too. I know a kid bought his car in, said this funny light was on could not understand what it was and it was his oil light. I thought oh dear but then very low on oil it was still going down the road. The kid as they go did not have much in the way of money and so I just fixed the problem with him loosing oil. Put more oil in and he is still driving this car. Not saying you should drive around with low oil but these Mitsubishi are good cars for the most part. Also this guy is using your love for your car against you.Like you said has you in the palm of his hand.I wish I could help you more, but I guess you will just have to learn to trust him even though he lied to you about the belt. I just never understand why some people have to do this. Of course they will have the waterpump off when doing that belt but still there would be the cost of the waterpump. You might try buying your own waterpump and then take it to him; saying you want the pump replaced too. But you had bought one with the idea of doing it yourself but with him taking the old one off, he could just as well put this one on. I mean the cost of the labor is for removing that pump when replacing the sensor so if you wanted to try this you could. I mean what could he say. Because I get the feeling he is going to call you someplace down the road and say "Hey Gary, the waterpump is bad, so I will need to replace that too". Then try to get you for more labor, even though he has to remove it to fix the sensor. So go get your own pumpwater and play with his head too. The different between me and most people that work on cars, is I want the owner of the car to be happy and I do this work because I enjoy working on cars. But also I am a Christian and so I try not to scare people into doing work and try to be fair with my costs. But I still get people upset and mad at me; it just can not be helped at times. One big reason I have been cutting back on my working on car and answering these questions. But I still get into trouble with some folks. So Gary, I wish I could help you more, I hope this helps and good luck!