A 2002 ford escort and the timing belt has NOT been replaced?

I'm looking at buying a 2002 Ford Escort, with almost 64,000 miles. The only issue is that the timing belt has not been replaced.

1) Is this an issue that needs to be taken care of soon, or not?

*The person selling it said that the car runs and drives fine with no issues*

2) How much would it cost to replace it?

*I know timing belts need to be replaced every 60,000 - 80,000 miles, so I'm not sure how much it would cost.

Please if you have any advice at all, leave a comment. I'm supposed to be buying this car today and I know nothing about cars, so I need a lot of help.

1. Replace it, immediately.
2. CALL A MECHANIC, AND FIND OUT HOW MUCH IT WILL COST, then use that cost, as a NEGOTIATING TOOL.

I've driven cars with far more than that on them without timing belt changes, so it would be fine. However it's something that should be done sooner, rather than later.

As for cost, figure about $800-1000.

Should have been done in 2012 on time basis as it needs to be done at no less than 10 year intervals

No idea of cost, no idea which country you are in

Lol 64k and you're stressing about timing belt? I'm at 260k miles and still on the same timing belt… I do plan on replacing…

Check this site out, it can tell you how much to replace it would cost. Print it out and use it to haggle.
http://www.automd.com/