Hahah welcome aboard. I just had to replace mine about 3 weeks ago. I took mine to the dealer (although it is much cheaper to get it done elsewhere). If I got it rebuilt (which is what you would be getting at the dealer) from another source, I was looking at approx. $1350, plus the hours of labor to take it out and put it back in. The unfortunate part of this however is that you lose your car for a prolonged period of time. The other downside is you don't get a warranty.
My rebuilt tranny from the dealer (which amazing he had in stock!?!?) cost me $3650 (including taxes) installed. I guess this ranges from about $2800-$4200 depending on where you live. The bright side is you get a 2yr/24,000 mile warranty (parts and labor) on it. The other good thing is that it can be taken to ANY Subaru dealer to get the work done. This is a good thing. LIke for example I'm taking mine to Canada this weekend, if it dies in like Montana or something, get it fixed there with no issues. Local shop and I would be towing it back to Denver to get the work done.
When you weigh it out, I think it's worth it. The other point is that we have pretty rare vehicles. If you have noticed most places have never worked one before. I can almost bet you as well that your dealer has even only worked on a few. I personally want someone that knows what they are doing fixing my car. Seems to reduce the risk of problems later downt he road.
Good luck,
Ryan
Sheesh looks like I wrote a novel.
