Toyota Repair: 01 Camry 90k miles scheduled maintenance, helicopter noise, engine noises

Question
Hi-

I've got an '01 Camry w/ 91k miles on it.  The Toyo 90K scheduled maintenance guide recommends replacing the timing belt in addition to usual oil & coolant change, rotate tires, etc.  B/c the timing belt went out in the '93 Camry I had before this one, am heeding this maintenance suggestion.

The local Car-X shop told me today that it's not widely disclosed but it is highly recommended that the water pump be replaced along w/ the timing belt.  He claims this is b/c it, too, is likley near the end of it's life, and if I only replace the timing belt and then the water pump went out later, I'd have to replace the timing belt again.

My three questions are: in your experience, have you heard of this/recommend that I indeed do this?  Is a quote of $500 to replace both the timing belt and the water pump a reasonable one in your opinion?  Am I running a huge gamble if I do not replace either of them right now?

Thanks for sharing your expert advice!  I know a bit more about cars than the average woman, but still feel like a target when I visit a mechanic to get a quote...it's nice to have some advice in advance.

Thanks again!

Answer
The water pump can fail anytime after 100,000 miles, there's no way to really predict when, in other words there is no pattern when they fail, they do so at random, if the water pump shows even the slightest amount of leakage it should be replaced with the timing belt, I would even go as far as to say it may be a good idea anyway. Suppose it lasts another 30,000 miles, at that time it would be necessary to take everything apart again, so yes, it's a gamble but I wouldn't say the repair shop is out of line in recommending it. The $500 seems normal for this operation.
Could you wait a little to do both, probably, especially if there are no weird engine noises, if the belt is worn it will make a kind of helicopter noise, I wouldn't go much over 120,000 miles though.