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Thanks all for taking the time to read this one.. I recently purchased a 1997 Honda Accord SE 2.2L NON VTEC, with 143K. I have put about 500 miles on it so far and its been running great other than shaking quite a bit at idle especially with the AC on. The transmission shifts a bit hard under any speed but I did show on the OBDII that the transmission speed sensor was not working. Anyway that's the quick about the car. The issue is I went to start the car two days ago after parking it the night before and the engine just turned and turned but never lit. I turned it off stuck my head out the door and turn the key once and could hear the fuel pump prime and we had plenty of gas. I pushed her in the garage and let it sit over night. Woke up the next morning to troubleshoot and firstly tried to start it again, no dice just spun and didn't lite. I was able to recollect back to an issue I had with my Honda Passport 6 years ago where it sat for 8 months and when I tried to start it the timing belt had stretched enough to jump a tooth on the CAM and I had to replace the belt to get it running again (I was able to verify that by checking the marks on the belt before removal). That was my first plan of attack on the Accord. Got the front cover off and noticed the Honda brand belt was real loose on each side of the cam like it was stretched or the tensioners weren't doing their job. I didn't, but could have slid the belt off the CAM if I wanted without loosening anything else. So next I took the crank pully off to find the marks on the gear behind it. I lined up TDC on the crank and the two marks on the CAM and they appeared to correct. I didn't check the alignment of the balancer belt. I figured I had it this far apart and have been wanting to change the belts anyway. I removed the timing and balancer belt and compared them to the new belts, the old belts looked pretty good, I tried to lay them on top of each other to see if one looked stretched out and held both in my hands while pulling on them but they appeared to be the exact length. I lined everything up and installed the timing and balancer belts tightened the tensioners after spinning the crank a few times counterclockwise. Belts seem tight. I crossed my fingers and attempted to start the engine and it just cranked and cranked then realised I would need to connect the spark plug wires to the plugs for this to work (it was 4:30AM). Cranked it again and it sounded more like it wanted to start but it was hesitant too, gave it some gas and it fired right up. YES! I let it run for 5 minutes, turned it off and cranked it again normally and it fired right up, just like it used to. My problem at this point is trying to figure out what the F is going on.. If all my marks were lined up on the old belt (never did check the balancer belt) but it wouldn't start and now it fires up with the new belt on the same marks what gives here? It's also strange to me that it would be a bit hesitant and not light without giving gas after the new belt was installed, to me it should have just lit. Help me out guys anything would be appreciated...

Hello there, New to this forum and relatively new to the world of cars. I have been trying to get my first car on and off for about a year now. I have decided that I want to get a pre 05 Toyota sienna. My budget is going to be around 5000 im trying to get one for around 3k and then put 2-3k of work into it at a mechanic. That's where this forum comes in! Im in the nyc area so I assume if I search ill be able to find a decent one since there are always plenty listed. Once this happens and after the mechanic inspects it what work would you guys recommend I have preemptively done to it? Obviously ill need to remedy any problems the mechanic and prior owner note. I read somewhere that putting in a new set of sensors and electronics is a good investment. Just putting my thoughts on here. Anyways, just trying to see what others think. Thanks in advance for the help.