Transmission went out on 2005 Honda Odyssey. I’m estimating the rebuilt transmission to run about $3k. I owe exactly that on the auto loan. What would you do? Fix it or sell it? Or not fix it and sell it for junk? Would love to hear opinions, thanks!
We need more information. What’s the mileage? Is the car otherwise in good shape (especially the motor mounts, which might be leaking at this point)? Was the timing belt replaced on schedule? Do you like the car or are you looking for a reason to dump it and move on?
Assuming the car is in good shape, it will most likely keep running long enough to make this repair worthwhile. I do recommend using a good local transmission shop for the best value here.
Another way to look at it is, how much can you sell it for as is? If u sell it for 3k, you are free of debt. No van and no loan
If it were mine and was otherwise in good shape, I’d fix it.
Where else can you find a good Odyssey with a known history for $6K?
And if you can find a good boneyard tranny, you might even lower that cost to $4500.
If you’ve let the vehicle go bad, well, consider it an expensive education.
If it is otherwise in pretty good shape, the routine maintenance has been kept up to date, and --this is important – you like it, fix and keep it.
it really depends on what you are going to replace it with, a new car fine, another used car, crap shoot at best depening on year and ileage.
Yeah I think I agree. It wouldn’t be the first transmission I ever put in. You have to expect things like that to happen. So unless you don’t like it, doesn’t serve your needs yet, can afford to roll the $3000 into a new car, etc.
Even though it is 10 years old, Hondas do last a long time with proper care. I have a 2005 Accord and I’ve only had an AC repair. All other expenses were for maintenance. If the body and interior are in good condition, you should get a lot more out of it. By now you could easily have 150,000 miles or more on it. But you could easily get a lot more. And ask yourself where you can get a van in good condition (with the repaired transmission) for $6000 plus whatever you get for trade-in.
Would anyone pay you $3000 for an Odyssey with a broken transmission? I doubt it.
I wouldn’t. I’d offer you, maybe $1200, maybe $1000, depending on the condition, swap in a rebuilt trans from the auto parts store for $2300 and sell it for the Blue Book value of $5000 and pocket the $1500.
Pay the $3000, it isn’t a bad price, you don’t have any choices that will make you whole, financially.
Hmm, is worth 1000 and u owe 3000?
Most cars are worth very little without a trans or engine. OTOH if its worth $5K fixed and it only costs $3K to fix it? Key is, money is still owed on it which makes it more of an issue.
An LX in clean condition is worth about $3500 in Trade. Take $3000 off, and you get $500 from a dealer to use towards another vehicle. They will probably finance the $3000 you owe on your next car on top of what you finance for your next ride. But that is a bad idea. Fix it and drive on.
If the car is clean and runs good other than the transmission fault then my vote is to fix it.
You have not stated how often, if ever, the transmission was serviced but doing a fluid change every 30k miles can go a long way towards preventing transmission issues.
A friend of mine who has been in the independent transmission business for over 40 years and who sees them day in and day out has told me that the vast majority of the failed ones he sees failed for one reason; failure to change the fluid regularly.