I finally decided to have my auto trans replaced. It was diagnosed as shot, it was pretty obvious. Everything else about the car seems bulletproof and the cost to fix it is about what tax and license is on a new car. I decided to have a local dealer in San Jose do it and not Aamco or some garage. Is this a good decision? It will be a factory remanufactured unit and I perhaps naively requested that their best mechanic do the job. One question I have, is it reasonable to assume that this transmission will last as long as a transmission in a new car? (although mine only went 123,000 miles) This is a huge chunk of change and I just want to make damn sure that this car goes at least another 123K. Thanks in advance for any desperately needed feedback...

 

how much they charge you man??

 

Wow, and I thought I stayed up late cuz of my weird work hours, you're in MN...anyway it's 2100 for parts and about 800 for labor, this is an expensive area to live in, I did not want some yahoo working on it although the dealer is probably no guarantee, nothing else I can do. BTW they do it on 1/07/04

 

That really seems like alot for a tranny even from a dealer. Did you think about buying a used trans and having the dealer rebuild it completely (basically what a reman is). I don't know what you have or your needs but for instance.

$400 for a busted 99 5sp + $700 gears/synchros + $800 labor = $1900. Add a $1200 Quaife while your at it.

$600 for a used 01 AE auto w LSD + $800 gears/synchros + $800 labor= $2200

Shops/dealers who do a complete rebuild will warranty it the same as a reman

 

my tranny also was "shot" about a week ago.
I took it to some mechanics and the most they were charging me for a rebuild was $1500; I looked around and found a place where they did it for $750. I decided to save the money and adding some transmission lubricant fixed all the problems. A $3 bottle fixed a $1500 "problem"


btw, what is the problem ?

 

That's totally insane, what do you mean nothing else you can do? How do you even know the dealer is going to work on it? You pay the dealer $800 for a windshield, what do you think they do? They send the car to the glass shop. I don't even think a 4th gen is worth a 2900 repair, I mean what's the car worth, like 8 grand? Aamco, Cottman, how many trannies do you think they've fixed over the years? I think they can handle a Maxima. Transmission work is just like the auto body world, very shady. The work is only as good as the warranty. Do yourself a favor and get it fixed for a grand plus or minus a few hundred.

 

Nearly $3000 for a remanufactured tranny and install? Ummmm...no thanks. I would take my chances and buy a junkyard tranny. I did a search for an auto tranny for a 98 Maxima auto in the "Pacific" area (Cali, WA, OR) and turned up 4 pages of results with a few sub 40K mile auto trannies going for $500-650 from reputable yards. I'd order a low mileage tranny, throw it in the trunk, and find a reputable shop to install it for you. Install really shouldn't be anymore than $400-500 because it's not terribly hard.


Dave

 

In response to some of the posts, yeah it does seem like a lot of money, however another stealership in Sunnyvale wanted nearly 4K ! Some clutch packs were shot and they said it's not worth rebuilding, better to have the factory do it. Believe me, I am a cheapskate whenever it is logical to be one in that I do all maintainence myself but something this major I did not want to go near. I was toying around with the idea of buying a new SE or an Accord EXv6 but this will cost me only several monthly payments.