2001 caviler ?

OK I am in need of your advise, I have a 2001 Caviler and it stopped running and I had a machanic look at it and he said it's the timming belt and it would cost 900.00 to fix, I live in Illinois and its a 2.2 engine However when I called the auto parts store they said the belt runs 39.99 for a 3 peice set, I am just wondering if that sounds like a correct price or am I being totally ripped off? I am a single mom who is disabled. Thanks for the advise.

Get a couple more estimates at different repair shops, this time don't tell the mechanics you had it looked at before. See what they say it needs this time. Sounds like that mechanic is trying to take you to the bank !
I hate it when repair shops take advantage of people.
It would be well worth it to have it checked out again at a different repair shop - if it was my car i would have 2 more estimates done on it - try to go to more experienced repair shops - "AC Delco" authorized repair shops instead of the " Pep Boys " or "chain store" shops. Find out the Estimate price over the phone before going ( the diagnosing price - just tell them the car doesn't run - thats it ). Don't let them charge you too much for the estimate. Again - don't tell them about the other $900 estimate, don't tell them about the timing belt, it could be something else wrong entirely different than the timing belt. Got to watch out for the Car Repair Shop Scam Artists.

Better yet, ask around and find a reputable shop in the area. Authorized means nothing, other than they use OEM parts. Says nothing about honesty. You shouldn't have to not tell them something out of fear they'll just go along with it and charge you the same. We have people come in all the time "The dealer just told me I need brakes, can you check it out?", or "Jiffy lube just told me my transmission fluid needs to be flushed, can you take a look?". About 1/4 of the time it needs the work they were told it needed, the rest of the time we tell them it's OK. That's not saying that 3/4 times someone's lying, these are cases where they think they just had the brakes repaired or had the trans fluid flushed recently. There is probably a shop like ours in your area, you just need to find it :2cents:

Also, the 2.2 doesn't have a timing belt, it has a timing chain. So if they said belt, I'd be wary of that shop based on that alone.