My 2001 Daewoo Nubira SE has broken down. A mechanic friend in California believes after my description of the problem that it's a broken timing belt. Does anyone know how to work on these? I've spent far too much on it to keep it running and can't afford another trip to the repair shop. I can afford the parts and  some for labor, as long as it's not too unreasonable. I would be willing to wait until after Cat Days for the work as I get paid then and can order the parts myself if someone is able to look it over and verify what needs replacing. If anyone can help with this, please contact me through here. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer this troubled wolf.

Well, the car has given me problems from the day I bought it. In just the last month, the back brakes went out, IMMEDIATELY followed by the wheel that turns the belts for the power steering pump and alternator, then 2 new tires, then the front brakes and lower control arms, then the tie rods and wheel allignment to fix that when the prior place badly screwed up my allingnment working on the front brakes and control arms. This breakdown happened only about a week after I got it back the last time. The car has almost literally been disintegrating on me, so I don't think it's worth fixing at this point, despite the $1700 all of this has cost me within a month's time.

So coworkers with experience in car repair tell me that Honda Accords from the 90s are solid running cars that are cheap to repair, as are Ford Escort ZX2s. I think it's time to go for a different car and junk the Daewoo, but I'm not sure what do do. Should I buy from a dealership and be nearly broke for the next year or so as I make payments as well as payments on my 401K (which I borrowed from to pay of the Daewoo), or buy a cheap one on Craigslist that I'll own outright?

Any helpful advice appreciated.

well, the Daewoo is history. I could've gotten it fixed, but that would have been very expensive and the car wasn't worth it. Bought a '92 Honda Accord Runner with full records of all repairs running back to the original owner I boutright for $1300so I have wheels again for work and shopping. Not too sure about it making the trip to furmeets often as it's rather old, but I'll take it to a mechanic this weekend to have it looked over better. Runs well (as far as I can tell) and the muffler makes way less noise than the daewoo

It does have some rust around the edges and on the back of the turnk. That and some dings from parking lots, but is in pretty good shape for a car that's 20 yrs old.