Q: How can I tell if the water pump has been replaced as the previous owner claimed?

Hi, thanks for your question. The best thing to get when purchasing a car are service records. If the seller doesn’t have them in hand, you can go to the shop that did the work and they will have records of the repair details. If the car looks meticulously maintained, that is a really good indication of the condition of the car. And yes, the timing belt likely would have been replaced along with the water pump.

To add, an experienced technician can tell if the timing belt has been replaced. A timing belt with 100,000 miles on it will look significantly different than one that has been replaced. There will need to be some disassembly to see the belt, but it isn’t that much work to be able to take a look at it. The water pump on the other hand takes significantly more work to see. I can say that almost all shops, including YourMechanic, will advise a customer to replace the timing belt and water pump at the same time. This is standard in the industry.

If there is any question, ask for the records. It should be an easy thing to go to the shop that repaired it and get the information. Sometimes the customer will have to call the repair shop to allow them to release the information.

Good luck! Sounds like a good car.