WWGRMD - 80k miles but needs timing belt job OR 110k miles already has it?

2004 Sienna AWD LE. Both are the same price. Both have the same interior, features, overall condition, and equally un-sketchy sellers. Timing job interval is 90k miles/9 years. The 80k mile van is on its original, so that needs to be done sooner than later. I will probably hire out the timing belt/water pump job, which can be upwards of $600.

TL;DR: Is $600 in needed maintenance worth having 30k less miles?

Going to see both tonight after work with cash in my pocket.

Curve-ball: There's also a 98k mile one nearby, with timing belt done, not AWD, but $300 more.

I vote 80k, but that would be because I could do the timing belt and make sure it was done correctly with any extra parts needed (tensioners, seals, etc).

What about regular trans fluid services? That's usually my big concern with any auto car.

Does total mileage ever matter on a Toyota?

I vote lower mileage, explain the timing belt and the cost, offer to split the cost (i.e. reduce your offer by $300). If you're standing there with cash and make a reasonable offer like that, if he doesn't take it he's an idiot.

Assuming both have been well maintained, the 80k.

Lower miles. If you can get a complete timing belt/water pump service for $600 on that vehicle do it. Timing belts on transverse-engine vehicles suck for DIY.

Brokeback wrote: I vote 80k, but that would be because I could do the timing belt and make sure it was done correctly with any extra parts needed (tensioners, seals, etc).

+1

Yeah, count me in the lower-mileage camp, and dicker a little based on the TB work.

The 100,000-mile mark is a notable milestone in depreciation. The lower-mile van is a couple years farther away from running afoul of that.

Agree with all of the above. I've heard that the timing belt on those is made more complicated by bolts that break off, requiring a bracket to be cut off. Best let a pro deal with that.

The lower mileage one for sure.

80K

80K makes more sense if all else is equal

Even if I opted for the one with a TB change, I would plan on doing it again without documentation that the waterpump, tensioner, and idlers were replaced at the same time with OEM parts. If they used the Toyota kit, it will have a Toyota sticker on the timing cover that was the odometer reading written on it. If not, it was probably a parts store Dorman kit...probably not necessarily a bad thing, but I prefer to use OEM parts and replace ALL of the parts.

Between 80 and 110k, let condition dictate. I've seen some REALLY grungy families destroy a van in 80k miles. Kids are gross.