Timing belt DAYCO or Mitsuboshi

Dayco, continental should be fine, as long as it’s not China Amazon stuff. Gates it usually good but as with anything these days quality control is a crap shoot.

Dayco is an OE manufacture for many manufacturers, it's a pretty solid belt. Quick answer is yes you should get it changed ASAP, I've seen a lot worse belts than this one and they drove to the dealership just fine.

I bought my timing belt/water pump off amazon. It’s a Dayco product (part number WP215K1B) and so far I’m happy with it. Obviously I won’t know if it’s some trash until a little further down the road, but I’m 20k miles into it and so far no trouble.

My mother had an '86, then upgraded to a '93 Pajero (so euro) 2.5TDI GLS. Not what you're looking at but I'll share some stuff FWIW. She sold the '93 in 2010. It was a pretty good car. Big and slow, but surprisingly comfortable, especially in the front. These are not as refined as a Range Rover etc, and they feel a bit like farm equipment at times. Got around really well in snow and cold with its advanced 4WD system, could put it in 2WD and get power oversteer too (I managed to smash a fence this way). Interior never felt top quality, but held up really well in terms of wear and tear. Floaty steering feel, squishy manual gearbox, easy clutch, squishy but decent brakes, turbo lag diesel engine. The timing belt snapped (probably because the mechanic did not replace it properly) and the head cracked, which cost a lot of money to replace and was difficult to source. Overall, not a great driving experience, but a decent and solid car that will do whatever you ask of it without grumbling.

my dad has a 97 and that car has been pretty much great to him. never had a tranny issue or a head-gasket. the only problems he has had are have the timing belt snap on him (we think due to improper installation), leaking valve cover gasket (it is a PITA to change) and a heater core leak nothing insane though.