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The longest your car can live is about 12 years, that is, 20,000 to 30,000 miles. Your car’s lifespan can however lessen due to several other factors like faulty car parts, maintenance quality, etc. Among faulty car parts, the worst is surely a bad or faulty transmission. 

When you have a faulty transmission many might advise you to just change your car. When you put forward the idea “I can just replace the transmission, right?” to them, most of them will probably reply to you with the question “Is it worth replacing a transmission?” This is what this article is going to try and conclude so read on!

Is It Worth Replacing A Transmission?

Among the many parts, transmission systems may be the most complex as it consists of a large number of moving parts. These include planetary gear sets, clutch packs, output shafts, etc. which have several other parts of their own. Thus replacing the transmission of your car can be very costly. 

Factors That Determine Whether It Is Worth Replacing The Transmission

There are other factors too that determine the cost of transmission replacement. These include the car’s years, make and model. Let’s check each one by one to determine is it worth replacing a transmission for your car. 

1. Age Of The Car

The age of your car plays a very important role in the cost you have to spend on replacing the transmission. The older or rarer your car is, the harder it will be to find replacement parts for it. The harder it is to find the parts, the costlier it will be to replace the transmission for your car. In such a condition it is only common that your mechanic will increase his fee for replacement. 

2. The Manufacturer 

The manufacturer of your car is another common factor that determines how much it costs to replace your car’s transmission. The availability of car parts in your area depends a lot on whether the manufacturer of your car is domestic or foreign. For example in the US, finding transmission parts for domestic companies like Ford or GM will be easier than finding those for BMW or Volkswagen. 

3. Manual Or Automatic

The transmission replacement costs can also depend on whether your car is manual or automatic. Transmission repair costs for a manual car will be much cheaper than that of an automatic car. 

4. The Maintenance Shop That Does The Work

The cost of transmission replacement depends upon who or where you do the work. The most popular or reputed centers tend to charge you more. 

Transmission Replacement Costs: How Much To Expect?

The cost of a new transmission can range between $1,000 to $6,000. The bigger or older the vehicle is the costlier it can get to buy a new transmission for your car. To compare the prices of two different sized vehicles, the minimum cost of a new transmission for a sedan is $2,300 while for a pickup is $2,800.

Another factor that determines the cost of a new transmission is, whether your car is a normal or a luxurious one. For a regular car, the manual transmission cost ranges from $1,500 to $3,000 while for a luxurious car, the replacement costs can get as high as $10,000. That sure is a huge difference, right? 

Is It Better To Just Sell My Car?

Is it worth replacing a transmission? Your car’s condition has the final say in this matter. Is your car old enough? Does your car have other issues along with the transmission problem? Here are some factors that can help you decide if it is worth replacing a transmission. 

1. Car Is Showing A Lot Of Issues Lately

Did your car visit the repair shop a lot lately? Is your car showing a lot of bad symptoms of different failing parts? Then it may just be better to replace your car than just replacing the transmission. 

Replacing your car’s transmission alone will cost thousands of dollars and if it has a lot of other issues, full maintenance may cost you an amount almost close to a new car. And this high maintenance cost may not be worth the trouble as most issues can start appearing again. 

2. Your Ride’s Value Isn’t That Much Anymore

Check the market value of your car without the transmission. Say it is about $3000. Now think about how much it will cost to replace your transmission. Say that’s also $3000 and replacing it may increase the value of your car but not much. Imagine getting hardly any profit after doing all the repairing and replacement in your old car and selling it. It is not worth it, right?

Or are you planning to continue using your old car after replacing the transmission? Of course, you can do that but there is no guarantee as to how long your car can go on without causing any issues. If you continue to drive it may only depreciate its condition. If you consider these, it would probably get a better deal junking your car than trying to continue using it or selling it after all the repairs and replacements. 

3. Your Car Is Getting More Dangerous To Drive

Vehicle malfunctions are a major cause of accidents all over the world. For instance, if your car has a wearing-out brake system, it will be difficult to make your car stop or slow down when you want to. Similarly, a failing transmission makes it difficult for your car to stay in gear which can lead to the stalling of your vehicle. All these situations are hazardous for both your and others’ lives. 

Yours and others’ safety and well-being are very important. If you feel unsafe while driving your vehicle, it is best to just sell it off rather than spend a lot of money on maintenance services like replacing your transmission. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

This article has given you all the factors and reasons regarding transmission replacement. Is it worth replacing a transmission? You probably can conclude now that question considering the several factors and reasons discussed in this article. Always remember that your and others’ safety comes first so never compromise them.