Nissan Repair: 1987 Nissan Maxima Timing Belt Repair, nissan maxima, scrap price

Question
My 1987 Nissan Maxima was running great and suddenly just died.  My (new) mechanic said the timing belt broke.  Sounds right.  However, he said that the odds were 75% that the breakage caused valves, lifters or camshafts to be damaged and I should probably consider an engine replacement ($2,500) or scrap it out ($150 scrap price).
Does this sound right???
Thanks

Answer
take off the valve cover to confirm the belt is broke.  if it is broke (you will notice), then yes the possibility of valve damage is very likely...camshafts and lifters...nah.  heres a breakdown of the costs.  you can look this up at www.advanceautoparts.com.  intake valves (part number 0213256) 10 dollars a peice x 6 valves (60 dollars), exhaust valves (part number 0213269) 16 dollars a peice x 6 valves (96 dollars), timing belt (part number 0260274) 25 dollars...total parts list = 181 dollars.  labor (50 dollars an hour) 15 hours at most = 750 dollars, plus parts will put cost you 931 dollars.  thats all extremes as well, 15 hours is a bit much, but thats more than a fair amount of time to do this from a "qualified" garage.  931 will cost you to replace the belt.  a used  engine (with probably lower miles) would cost you about 250 dollars at a junk yard, and about 5 hours tops to install, 500 total price.  i dont know where this guy comes up with 2500, but i think he just lost a customer.  if you were to scrap it out, he would only have to put on another 31 dollars to pay for his parts to re sell this car for 1500 dollars profit.  you could probably by 2 maximas for the price he wants for an engine...heres a list currently on ebay... http://motors.listings.ebay.com/_W0QQa39Z1966QQa41Z10626QQalistZa39Q2ca41QQfromZ... make a few phonecalls to the local garages and see if they have any 87 maximas with a good engine you can get, trust me you will save so much money, and find another mechanic.  let me know how this turns out please, my email is xxp_sebby@yahoo.com.  good luck!