Need cheap dependable AT car. Or AT tranny repair

[Alpinfox]

 

My girlfriend's car has lost it's reverse gear. I told her what Winston Churchill said ("Never back up! Never back up!"), but she says I'm misquoting him and he wasn't talking about Mazda hatchbacks anyway, so she wants to be able to use reverse.

 

Repair shop says a new tranny is $1800 which is more than her car is worth.

 

Anybody have any advice on how/where to get a cheap tranny repair? Alternatively, anybody have a cheap, dependable, automatic transmission car they would be willing to part with? My GF is a student and doesn't have much money.

 

Thanks.

[catbirdseat]

Call the junkyards to see if there is a used tranny you can buy at a reasonable price. There may not be, but it's worth a try.

[sobo]

check the shops that carry rebuilts. You trade your old one in for one of their rebuilts (the trade counts as the "core charge"), mebbe pay a bit, and they'll install it for ya for a little more ca$h. Should be able to swing it for about half of what you've already been quoted.

 

Or break out the JC Whitney catalog...

[DirtyHarry]

There's lots of used and rebuilt auto parts stores on the interweb that would probably have a tranny for you, but obviously unless you're going to tackle it yourself labor cost might still make it cost prohibitive.

[Alpinfox]

... unless you're going to tackle it yourself labor cost might still make it cost prohibitive.

 

Yeah. That's what I thought.

 

I'm gonna make some calls.

 

I wonder if Colin knows how to do transmission work. $12/hr would be a heck of a deal.

[catbirdseat]

You should teach your GF how to drive a manual. It saves a lot of money in the long run, in terms of both repairs and gas mileage. Being able to drive a stick also increases your options when looking for cheap used cars.

[Alpinfox]

You should teach your GF how to drive a manual. It saves a lot of money in the long run, in terms of both repairs and gas mileage. Being able to drive a stick also increases your options when looking for cheap used cars.

 

She can drive a manual (my car is a manual), but spends a lot of time in traffic in Seattle commuting between different clinics, so AT is better. Besides, she wants an AT and she gets what she wants.

[sobo]

...and she gets what she wants.

 

Ahhhhh, Grasshopper... it is wise that you learn this at such a young age. Hold true to this ideal and your life will be filled with happiness.

[JayB]

If you take the car to a transmission specialist they may be able to diagnose the problem more accurately and just replace a component instead of putting an entirely new transmission in the vehicle.

 

If they open it up and discover that it'll cost more than you want to spend to fix whatever's wrong, then you can send it to the junkyard and buy a replacement with a bit less remorse.

[Cobra_Commander]

I thought AT was austrian for "can't tele"

[cj001f]

I thought AT was austrian for "can't tele"

Oe, you've got alot to learn