Girlfriend's Transmission on its way out

Frapp · 02-29-04, 07:13

My girlfriend drives a 92 VW Jetta GL, with about 150K miles on it. It appears the transmission (automatic) is slipping, so we're afraid of it dying on her in the middle of the highway or something.

How much might a new transmission cost in parts alone? Would it be better/cheaper/easier to fix the existing one or to completely replace it? Keep it automatic or swap it to standard? Money is extremely tight between us, and we don't exactly have the best of credit between us.

Any info yall might have would be appreciated. Thanks!

Slackmeister · 02-29-04, 08:09

Is the rest of the car in good shape? Do you think that it will last a few more years? For example, it wouldn't make much sense to put a transmission in a car with an engine on the way out.

Accumulator · 02-29-04, 09:06

If you want to keep it cost-effective, just find a shop that can fix the existing tranny and offer a warranty. Buying a whole new one will usually be more expensive and might be overkill for your situation (you are not, apparently, after a real high-performance one, for instance). Converting to standard would not, IMO, be cost-effective.

Can't tell you what it would cost though. But it oughta be worth fixing, look at how long the original one lasted. Just keep the fluid and filters fresh with the rebuild and it should last a long time.

Scottwax · 02-29-04, 09:15

If the rest of the car is solid, I'd swap in a manual if a donor car can be aquired. I made the mistake of having the automatic in my Accord rebuilt and it went backt to the shop five times until they seemed to get it right. 15 months later, it went out in one day. I now have a used automatic in my car.

Import automatics can be very tricky to rebuild properly and it is often less expensive to swap in a manual transimission (it would have saved me $400-500 or so, even using a new clutch and pressure plate).