Transmission Repair Austin, Round Rock & Pflugerville TX

Know your transmission repair options

Your transmission is the most complicated piece of equipment under the hood of your vehicle.  There is never a good time to have your transmission go out, but unfortunately it can or has happened to all of us.  When it does happen it is very important to understand the three available repair options, rebuild, replace with a used transmission, or replace with a new transmission. 

Replacing with a new transmission is the best way to go but is also the most expensive, most new transmissions will cost typically twice as much as the other two options but will come with a great warranty and typical shop time is only 1 -2 days.  Price is vehicle dependant but will typically run between $2,000 & $5,000. 

Rebuilding your transmission is the next best option and typically will be very cost and warranty efficient.  Our warranty here at HK is a 24 month parts & labor warranty.  Most other shops should include a 1 -2 year warranty as well.  The hard part about rebuilding each transmission is that you really can not provide the customer with an exact quote until you drop the transmission from the vehicle and open it up to see the exact parts that need to be replaced.  Many “rebuild only” shops will give you a price range but will not be able to give you an exact price until they drop the transmission.  The problem here is that by approving the shop to drop your transmission you are basically writing a blank check to the shop, once the transmission is down it is very hard to get your vehicle back from the shop without paying a large fee from dropping to give you an estimate.  To avoid writing a blank check you want to make 100% sure you get the worst case estimate including taxes and tow then budget for the repair to cost that amount no matter what you are told.  The parts that should be replaced in every rebuild are the clutches, filter, bands, torque converter, and typically the steels.  Other hard parts and electrical parts will also typically be needed depending on the damage that has been done.  Typical time in the shop is 2-5 days. 

Replacing your transmission with a used transmission is the least desirable but also can be the most cost effective and the fastest way to get your vehicle back on the road.  The hard part when buying a used transmission is trusting the miles listed by the salvage yard.  I have seen a lot of used transmissions labeled as having only 50K miles come in looking like they have sat out in the rain for the past year and a half.  The key when ordering a used transmission is the parts warranty.  No shop will warranty a used part as far as labor goes but will be able to get a parts warranty from salvage yard.  A lot of times you can find used transmissions in the $300 - $800 range. 

The labor to pull your transmission is the same no matter what option you choose.  The way I approach transmission repair here at HK is I find the price of a used transmission, quote you that price and warranty with parts and labor.  For example recently a Nissan Maxima came in.  I found a used transmission for at $450 with only 68K miles and a 6 month part warranty.  We proceeded to then drop the transmission, opened it and were able to provide an exact quote on rebuilding.  In this case rebuilding the transmission came out to $1,472 including tax and tow, and a 2 year warranty.  The used transmission would have been $1,150 with tax and tow but only the 6 month part warranty.  In this case the customer chose the rebuild, but every car and customer can be very different.    

Auto repair service specialties