Most car owners are aware of the staggering expense of transmission repair. Getting an accurate estimate before the work is done will help avoid an unexpected number.
If you're an average car owner,
you get the idea that transmission repair costs are incredibly expensive. In fact the repair can cost anywhere from $750 to $6,000 depending on what's going wrong. If you have an older car, you'll probably want to evaluate the value of your car before you go ahead and buy it over again in the cost of repairing or even replacing the transmission! Do your research before giving your mechanic the go ahead, because there are many factors that affect the cost of repairing your transmission.
There's a big difference between manual and automatic transmission repair costs. A manual transmission can cost as little as $450 before labor, while the average automatic transmission costs closer to $1,700 for a basic vehicle. Now, if you own a luxury car or a car that's manufactured in a foreign country, you'll be looking at a steeper range. For example, luxury automatic transmissions average at $4,050. A Mercedes manual transmission costs about $1,500 and an automatic can cost up to $6,000 on average. So, before you call the mechanic, assess your vehicle and prepare for the price!
The World Wide Web is a great resource for finding both the blue book value for your vehicle and the typical cost of transmission repair. Many car repair sites allow you to enter your vehicle make, model and year, and then they pull up a list of typical repair costs that others have paid.
You'll probably want to at least look into the cost of replacing your transmission. Depending on the problem, transmission replacement may cost less than the repair! Once again, the internet provides a great resource for finding the average cost of a transmission for your car based on its make, model and the year it was built.
In addition to the transmission repair parts, you'll need to calculate the cost of labor. The typical repair job cost around $300 in labor expenses. Feel free to call around to various repair shops in your area to find out how much they charge for the average repair job on a transmission. You'll probably need to provide them with the make, model and year your car was built, and also summarize the problems that have cropped up. That way they can give a more accurate estimate based on what they feel could be wrong.
Of course, you'll never know for sure until your car is hoisted up and thoroughly examined. The mechanic can give you a fairly accurate estimate, and you can decide whether to have the shop repair your vehicle, replace the transmission, or if it's time to look into purchasing another vehicle. Often, the other parts of your engine can be salvaged, and the frame can be used for scrap metal. So, if your car has lived its long life of usefulness, it may be time to consider selling it to a junk yard (or someone who wants the parts), and purchasing a newer vehicle to serve you for the next several years.
