Used vs. Rebuilt Tranny, Pitfalls??
 

hey all,

some of you may know, Regenbogen, my 240D suffered some abuse in the hands of a local tow co. that resulted in a deep fried transmission.

Insurance came through, valued the car at $3500 and cut a check to cover the cost of a rebuilt tranny + labor. Dodged a bullet there; at first they had totalled it but perserverance pays off. I've now got $2400 to work with.

The car is waiting now, either for a used transmission to go in or for a SunValley rebuild to ship out. The used tranny would come from my mechanic's shop and he would take all liability for defects. Any problems with the rebuilt tranny itself would rest on me, but comes with a 2 year warranty.

Which would you go with? What's your logic? Pros and Cons for each?

t

If you had some reasonable assurance from your Indy that the donor trans he has doesnt have a zillion miles on it and he is willing to stand behind it I would probably go that way.

You could then use the balance of the $ for other needed upgrades/maint or fun projects.

That's my thinking too. The difference would be about a cool grand. That's alot of jet fuel.

I'll ask him about his guarantee. If I were him though, I wouldn't guarantee much beyond my labor.

We would need to know the economic impact of both options to weigh it properly....

Hey all. I run a salvage yard in SW MO. There are many good shops out there and there are many bad ones. I would be careful though assuming that the mechanic will assume liability for a used transmission. Most I deal with won't. I have even seen some, that I refuse to do business with now, who would love to see a bad trans so they can get paid twice on the job. Used transmissions can be a bargain if the SALVAGE YARD will stand behind them. You could always ask to buy a labor warranty which would cover costs of R&R if it were to be bad. Some yards do this, some don't. See my profile for my # if you have any further questions or if I can do anything to help out. Good luck!

How long will you keep the vehicle?

How many miles are on the "used" transmission?

If the used transmission has 100K on it and you plan to keep the vehicle for another 100K, odds are 50-50 that it won't make it. The "cool grand" is now toast and then some.

The mechanic will "stand behind" the used transmission for 12 months......maximum........some won't go that long.

If you plan on disposing of the vehicle within the next 50K miles, then the "cool grand" savings looks fairly attractive, but, even with this scenario, I wouldn't install a used trans with 150K on the clock.

The problem with "used" is that one never really knows the mileage or the abuse on the unit. It's really a blind crapshoot. The statements made by the salvage yard are pure BS.

Dang Jeremy, sure wish you ran one down here in the DFW area......;)

Salvage Yards and Economic Impact
 

Haven't had any luck finding a salvage yard with a 123 tranny let alone one that will stand behind it.

Jimmy, I'm not sure what you mean by economic impact, but I'll tell you what I know. I bought the car for $1000. I've put about that into it (paint and parts). This tranny issue brings in $2400 for repairs. A used tranny installed will run me ~$1500. That $900 remainder is very tempting to finangle, but incurs a certain amount of risk. The rebuild would give me some real peace of mind, but I'm concerned about any potential defects coming from Sun Valley.

In reality I could walk away from the car right now and come out a little better than break even.

The cost from Sun Valley is about $1300. Add $400. to R & R and you're at $1700.

IMHO, a used transmission from a salvage yard is ridiculous for a savings of $200.

Brian,

Overlapping posts here.

I hear what you're saying. Crap shoot with a used.

I've got 217,000 on the body and engine. Overall it's mechanically sound and I hope to get at least another 100K.

A rebuild from his guy will run $2700 and he will stand behind it, but for how long? It could be very good insurance against defects to pay a little extra.

Okay,

SunValley quoted me $1500 shipped.

Then I have to factor in labor. That's been estimated at 8 hours @ $85.00/ hr. = $680.00

We're up to 2180.00

Contingencies, mounts, flex discs and we're up to the $2400 estimate.

BTW, I've got no desire to do this myself. I'm comfortable with some stuff, but not with this.

For him to stand behind the tranny I need to use his guy. Add $300.00 to the rebuilt.

$2700. for a trans. is an absolute, complete, and total ripoff. Just forget about that right now.

If you want to get a rebuilt unit, seriously consider Sun Valley. Adam recently had a good experience with them. You can contact him for the details.

The entire job should be completed for about $1700.......give or take.

You'll just need to find someone to R & R for $400 or so. Not impossible if you seek them out.

$680. is on the high side. I should be done for closer to $400. No way it's an 8 hour job for a skilled mechanic. I'll bet they do it in five hours or less.

Contingencies, mounts, flex discs, etc. add to the cost of either job. Did the used transmission cost have these items in the price?

The way my indy does it is by charging a margin over the cost of the used piece. This is sort-of like buying an extended warranty from him...it's not written that way, but he assumes the liability of working with the salvage yard to get the best possible unit from them. He warranties engines and trannies for 10k miles or 6 months, and the markup is not extravagant (like 20%).

If the indy will stand behind both the work and the trans with a guaranty, there's no reason not to save the $$$.

Well, the car's at his shop and clearly doesn't go. As soon as I start shopping around I'm looking at paying $100 - 200 per tow. If I could do it myself I would; wish I was as capable as some of y'all.

I don't want to get taken, but I also want to have this done right. This guy (Vanderveer, Norwood, MA) is a good mechanic. Long time MB guy.