I own a 2005 Jetta Wagon TDI with 175,000 miles. I take excellent care of the car however I’m now told that it needs a new transmission at a cost of $5k. The car gets excellent gas mileage (40+/gallon) and, except for this, has never given me a problem. Should I fix it or get something new?
Where did you get the estimate? Generally dealers charge more than independent mechanics. I suspect you will be able to get it repaired for considerably less.
Stick around and hopefully transman will read this thread and be able to give you some better informed ideas than I can. Don't give up and accept that 5K estimate yet.
When was the last time (miles and months) that you had the transmission fluid changed and filter cleaned? It is a shame that so many manufacturers have eliminated transmissions from their recommended maintenance list.
[i] The car gets excellent gas mileage[/i]
No it does not. You have a diesel not gas! ?
Good LuckAutomatic Or Manual ?
Have you considered a used transmission transplant from a much younger donor vehicle cadaver?
Many vehicles die an early death and go to the big salvage yard in the sky with lots of usable components. You want a transmisssion from one with less than 100K on it that died from something other than a transmission attack.
A shop that specializes in all VW should be able to swap the transmissions for you. Call some salvage yards. Call some shops. The savings could be huge.
CSA
"The car gets excellent gas mileage . . . "
“No it does not. You have a diesel not gas! ?”
What ? I’d say it doesn’t get much better than Zero Gallons of Gasoline / Mile !
CSA
VW auto transmissions are supposedly “lifetime” fluid transmissions. Problem is lifetime is the rather short lifetime of the trans.
Look for other options over the dealer quote you have, which is very high. When you get a new transmission disregard the “lifetime” BS and have the trans pan dropped and refilled with proper fluid every 30K miles. You should get many more years and miles from your TDI.
VW auto transmissions are supposedly “lifetime” fluid transmissions. Problem is lifetime is the rather short lifetime of the trans.
My Toyota and wifes Lexus have lifetime fluid also…I change it every 40k-50k miles.
Thanks Guys! I’m the original poster and this was my first time posting a question and I really appreciate what you’ve written. I had the fluids changed every 40K which was October 2010. Last major service was at 150k. It sounds like the consensus is to shop around for a better price and stick with the car, which I’m happy to do. What do you think is a fair price for a used transmission?
Do a web search and look for your transmission. You don’t have to buy it on line, but you can get prices.