Price check

this is my first post in this forum -- please redirect me if this is the wrong place.

I have a 94 LSi that I've owned since 97. Very good to me, but last week the transmission (I guessed) went belly up. At 30mph or higher, stepping on the gas would just rev the engine without accelerating the car.

So I looked on cartalk.cars.com to find a recommended mechanic. This turned out to be one of the dealerships in the area. Normally I'm a little suspicious about dealerships. However, I'm not a native in the town where the SVX broke down (Sacramento, CA), so I took a chance, got the car towed there, and asked them to look it over and fix it.

The dealership confirmed that the transmission was toast ("burned up" as they put it, although I am not a hard driver, so I'm puzzled by that). Then they said it would cost $4600. My g/f thinks they are screwing me over. I did a quick check on the web and a two-year old web site suggests that it would cost anywhere from $1600 to $3500.

So do I owe my g/f a new set of earrings? or does she owe me a new xbox video game?

TIA,
->Alan

[SVXer95]

You could easily convert to a 5 speed for that amount. I do not know from experience, but a remanufactured auto should cost quite a bit less as well.

On another note, many folks around here have had success switching to legacy autos. You could fine one in working order for very cheap.

I would definitely look for another shop.

[SVXer95]

BTW, welcome!

[immortal_suby]

$4600 is way too much - even at a dealership. An independent shop should be between 1500-2500, a dealer about 2000-3500.

[Mr. Pockets]

Welcome to the site, Alan. I'm sorry that your transmission woes are what brought you here to our site and not something a little more...happy.

'Burned up' is probably pretty accurate. The SVX's transmission isn't 'weak,' really - it's just undercooled. So your transmission has probably overheated a few times along the way and caused the damage. The solution is to install an aftermarket cooler when you have your new tranny put in.

$4600 is definitely way too much, but that's what you get from a dealer. In their defense, some are good - but most are over-priced butchers.

Unfortunately, the repair parts are expensive. I had a friend who owns a transmission shop price the rebuild parts out for me and he said they'd cost him $1500. A rebuilt transmission will run you a couple grand.

I would recommend calling the area independent tranny shops. In my opinion, actually installing the tranny isn't a big deal and can be handled by anybody with a 'transmission' sign above their door. Rebuilding your old one is a big deal and I wouldn't give a job like that to somebody I didn't trust.

Some people have had luck with Aamco shops and some haven't. The overwhelming sentiment is definitely against them, but I would treat them individually. Some are run by knowledgable professionals and some are run by jerks.

I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you stick around on the site.

I talked to the dealer about this. He said that the part itself is what drove up the cost. I'm getting a "factory-rebuilt" transmission, warranteed for 24m/24K. The cost of the that alone is $4100. Then there's some hoses and gaskets... He compared this to other aftermarket transmissions that might be warranteed for 1 year or 90 days, and weren't from the factory.

Still outrageous?
->Alan

[NeedForSpeed]

Alan,

I live close to Sacramento, so I am interested in your dealer experience here. Which dealer are you referring to?

A dealer in Nevada replaced my '92 trans under warranty 40,000 miles ago, but don't know what it cost. So far, so good.

I sent you a PM [private mail], please check there.

Thanks and good luck

[Chiketkd]

I still feel $4100 is a lot for a factory rebuilt transmission. For that price alone, you could buy a new SVX!!!

I would definitely look into supplying your own transmission. talk to people who are parting out SVX's or look into purchasing a used Legacy tranny. If you have inclination of doing a 5spd swap - now would be teh perfect time.

You owe your g/f some earings!

Welcome to the site!!!

-Chike

[SVXer95]

Looks like there is a rebuilt SVX tranny on ebay right now for ~900. One year warranty. Free shipping too.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Chiketkd
look into purchasing a used Legacy tranny.

I don't agree with this. Having been inside both the Legacy and SVX transmissions, I know for a fact that the SVX version has more clutch plates to handle the additional power. If you're looking for lower gear ratios, that's fine, but I wouldn't expect the Legacy tranny to last as long inside the SVX. And remember that those lower ratios mean that you're going to use up more gas on the freeway.

If you swap in a Legacy tranny, you also have to gt the rear diff from your donor Legacy. And that adds cost to your parts, as well as the labor involved in installing everything.

To me, it's just not worth it.

Well, this is how it stands. I live near Fresno, not Sacramento, so I called the Fresno Subaru parts department, and asked for a price on a factory rebuilt transmission for my car. They said it was $3024.68.



So I called back to the Maita Subaru (now you know the name) and told them what the Fresno guy said -- pointing out that it was more cost effective for me to just throw the car on a tow truck and drag it down to Fresno. He quickly dropped the price to $3100.

Glad that my car is getting fixed, and I think I trust the mechanics at the dealership to do it right (based on the cartalk recommendation)... but mad about the attempted fleecing from the parts dept.

->Alan

P.S. Thanks for the welcome everyone. I love my SVX -- so you'll be seeing more of me.

[Chiketkd]

Glad your car is being fixed! Sorry you were jerked around like that. Your g/f was correct definitely correct!

-Chike

Originally posted by RedCrystal
He quickly dropped the price to $3100.

[NeedForSpeed]

Alan,

Better keep that one,
the girl that is!

What's this about X-Box?

Make sure dinner goes with those expensive earrings.

Good luck!

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by NeedForSpeed
What's this about X-Box?

Hey, yeah - are you on XBox Live? I am - my tag is Sir Pockets.

[JeffN]

We had 2 Sube trans' done on warranty, 2450. for the first to Subaru warranty dept. the 2nd one was done cause the 1st was shot in the transfer case from new. 3100.'s decent and they were hosing you at 4200. Good luck and you should get a 2 yr warranty from the stealer.