NA, no turbo. Rough running on start and slow engine response (slower than usual even) are kind of pointing the way. It’s a weird single cam engine but I still don’t want the timing belt to go out on me and that’s my main concern with it. I had that happen on a Chrysler product and it was a pain to sell afterwards.
I love the Baja but not enough to not get rid of it if maintenance is too much money to be worthwhile. I’ll prolong my payments for another year and pick up an XV Crosstrek and wear that out playing rallycar for a while.
I don’t know. Sounds like it might be worthwhile to replace the timing belt, water pump (because it’s the same labor, basically), and maybe some sensors such as Cam Position Sensor or others, if your vehicle has them.
In this way, if the repair at 125,000 miles was not done, you’re doing it, and the remaining danger to the engine might be a bad head gasket, which is not immediately fatal to the engine.
I don’t know if a mechanic can tell if the head gaskets have been replaced without pulling the heads, which is the same as replacing them. But compression tests could be done. If all cylinders have good compression, there may be a dance in the old dame yet.
These repairs would run a few hundred, and will insure that you can continue with the same vehicle for a time. It’s your choice, but the symptoms you’re describing might be fixable at a relatively modest cost, in comparison to swapping vehicles. Even if you later decide to swap vehicles, the maintenance done should fetch a better trade price.