Anyone know if $600 for labor for a transmission replacement in a 1995 buick skylark is a fair price or cheap?
Seems a little high, but labor rates vary by region.
Do they say how many hours?
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No they didn’t. The guy is in Grand Forks ND
If it includes a guarantee – i.e. that’ they’ll redo the job if it doesn’t take – then its a pretty good price. But with no guarantee, just that another transmission will get installed and it is your problem after that, my opinion $600 labor is within reason, but not a bargain price.
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Thank you!!
That’s a little low for just the labor to replace the transmission on this vehicle.
The factory manual shows on average 9 hours to replaced the transmission.
Is this an indie shop?
Tester
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No, the guy who sold the car offered to do the repairs. He knew it needed a new transmission and said either my bf could buy the car now and he would do the repairs later, or he could sell him the car after the repairs, and include the cost in the price of the car. The guy selling it is a mechanic.
This sounds like a really bad deal. If you can, walk away from it.
I’d buy the car only after the repairs are completed and my mechanic checks the car. Otherwise you are buying a pig in a poke (whatever that meand).
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With thousands of used cars in the market why even consider one that needs a transmission right now?
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Even if the car was free after you pay for a used transmission, the fluid, gaskets, seals and labor you will have spent $1000 before taking it for a test drive.
I hope this 22 year old Buick isn’t also a rust bucket, on top of needing a transmission overhaul
In the back of my mind, I’m wondering if OP lives somewhere extremely rural, very far from any major cities, and maybe an extremely limited supply of used vehicles for sale. Maybe also no used car lots or car dealers anywhere nearby
Yeah . . . all of the stars would have to align, for it to make any kind of sense to buy this old car, which needed a transmission overhaul, and they KNEW that going in
Lithia has some great deals right now… look in their back lot… I’m from Thief River…
Yeah I was going to say that’s pretty low. It’s an all day job at best. No way though I would go to all that work and expense and not spend the money for the overhaul kit and other parts to rebuild it.
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The 600 dollars is fair enough as the car is a FWD and those are generally more difficult to do than a RWD.
The question is whether or not a '95 Skylark is worth 600 dollars and certainly not worth the expense of installing a used transmission which may develop hiccups either immediately or soon after the installation.
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The car was kept in a garage and only has 72,000 miles on it. Its in really good condition. I don’t think it has any other problems. Thanks for all the help everyone 
Please let us know how it all turns out!
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If you don’t mind me asking . . .
How much did you pay for the Skylark?
You already told us the labor cost, but not the cost of the transmission itself
As is, he paid $1,250 for the car. I don’t know how much the guy is going to charge him for the transmission or if he is going to rebuild the one already in the car. Thank you all so much for your help!!!
I’m sorry, but IMO you got a raw deal
$1250 for a 22 year old Buick
plus $600 labor to replace transmission
plus unknown cost of new/rebuilt transmission . . . possibly $1500 or so, unless he’s installing a junkyard part
So that’ll be around $3000 or so for that 22 year old Buick
I think you could have gotten a much newer, and probably nicer and safer, car for $3000
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1995 Skylark-1250.00 + 600.00 + transmission cost
Maybe I can sell the Brooklyn Bridge after all.
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