[Mike Gerber]

First of all, it is always important to mention which engine the car has. Assuming you have the more common 4 cylinder engine designated as a 5SFE engine, you have 1 timing belt and 2 accessory belts. We'll assume that's what was replaced.

1. Check for unusual noises or rattles when driving, coming from the engine, exhaust system, suspension and steering.

2. Does the engine accelerate smoothly and without hestitation? How does it idle? Some vibration at idle is normal for this generation 5SFE engine.

3. How do the tires look? Are they wearing evenly?

4. Does the car pull to one side or the other?

5. Check the brakes front and rear. Does the car stop smoothly? Have someone remove all the wheels (and the rear drums if the car has rear drum brakes) and inspect the brake pads and rotors for scoring, and the rear brake shoes.

6. Do all the other accessories in the car other than the A/C? If so, you may want to wait until Spring to tackle the A/C.

7. If all these things check out OK, I would carefully examine all the fluids; oil, coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid (and clutch fluid if this is a manual transmission). Do they look clean? Are their levels up to all the full marks? Sometimes it's better to change these all when you first buy a used car to establish a baseline.

These are the things I would look at. I'm sure others can suggest some additioanl things to check.

Good luck with the new car.

Mike