Sounds like you might be getting an employee discount on it for that price. I think I’d be inclined to snap it up and like others suggested, just have the dealer do the whole thing. Anything goes wrong or future warranty, its a one stop shop with no blame game.
@db4690 okay, i understand now about the core charge. and i will ask the transmission shops about a warranty on their labor and if they have a problem with installing a part that i arrange to be ordered from GM.*
@Nevada_545 thanks for the info. it is exactly what i have found in my research so far. except for the added part of what i found concerning the pump and valve body. the dealer that my sister works at is about 16miles away according to yahoo maps. so, i will talk to her again tomorrow to see about some more cost and warranty info, such as a tow and labor. great idea. and @ok4450 thanks for your addition on this point. maybe i can actually have them become my regular shop, too. which is one of the main things that i originally mentioned that i need! which would really be great. maybe the tow cost won’t be as much as i think.
@asemaster that is why i want to be sure that i get a 4L60. it seems weird tho that i wouldn’t be given the option of keeping my old part, since it is my property. i only thought about that idea just last night. i should have asked for my old water pump when i had it replaced back around the beginning of august. that way i could learn about it. it just makes sense to me now to keep all of one’s old parts–it’s money to me and knowledge… Cool link, thanks! I’ll ask my sister to ask the Parts Manager about a price and availability of the tweaked out Gearstar. looks cool and sounds stout.
@Bing yeah, i may be getting an employee discount! i didn’t think of that! 
*you know what, guys, after reading all of your comments tonight (together with everything else so far), i really am leaning toward the dealership. I will call my sister tomorrow and see about all of the details. I’m so glad that i didn’t just jump and agree to the jasper quote. i’ll be saving over $1,000 and maybe be getting the trust-worthy four-year-or-so shop relationship that i am looking for. I’ll let you guys know what happens. thanks again for everything!
“it seems weird tho that i wouldn’t be given the option of keeping my old part, since it is my property.”
Any rebuilt part is sold on an exchange basis, you turn yours in as part of buying a replacement. When you buy a rebuilt alternator, you pay $180–$150 for the alternator and a $30 “core” charge. When you’re done changing the part, you return the one you took off and get $30 refunded to you. To simplify paperwork and cash flow, you take the old one off before you go buy the replacement, and hand in your old one as exchange.
Of course you can keep the old part, but you’ll pay the price. If everyone kept their parts, there would be no rebuilt replacement parts. You would have to take off your alternator and send it out to be rebuilt. This way, there are rebuilt units readily available on the shelf.
I’ve seen parts that were in such high demand that the core charge was as much as the selling price of the part.
Are you an auto club member?
A 16 mile tow shouldn’t be a problem if you are. If you’re not a member, it might be worthwhile to join for those tows. Gotta do the math, though
The early 700R4s had a few flaws (input shaft splines, etc) but those problems were sorted out around the end of 1987 or first of 1988 if I remember correctly.
There shouldn’t be an issue with a reman transmission having those flaws.
My youngest son had a 1988 Camaro which was equipped with the later version 700R4 and that transmission was bullet-proof. He had right at 300k miles on the car with the transmission still untouched (other than fluid changes) and operating like new right up to the moment a Crown Vic driver decided to make a left turn across 5 lanes of traffic. So that ended that.
@asemaster makes total sense. very interesting! i did notice that the core charge/credit for the jasper quote was $240, while the core charge/credit for a used transmission was $75.
@db4690 i’m not an auto member. i’ll look into it and do the math tonight. i hope that there isn’t a waiting period. of course, i did say that i’m not in any hurry; although i don’t want to wait too long now that i’m getting even more and more excited about finding such a great situation.
wow! okay, @ok4450 sounds good! I hope your son was okay. i do want to do some towing with the van though, as previously mentioned. idk if that would make a difference in terms of the “input shaft splines”?.. i’m also still going to ask about that Gearstar 4L60 and see what the chevy dealership says.
My son was okay other than a badly sprained foot due to the brakes being applied and the ensuing jolt. He hated to lose the car because it was as dependable a vehicle as could be found. Even at 300k miles it used no noticeable amount of oil between the oil changes and still ticked off 27-28 miles per gallon on the highway; not bad for a V-8 car.
Regarding the input shaft splines, the early model transmissions had 27 splines I believe it was and the updated version has 30. There were several other weak points related to the clutch packs and 2nd gear servo, etc.
An early production transmission should have any weak areas resolved during the rebuild but if the reman transmission has the 30 spline input shaft then I would not worry about anything.
The torque converter (also available in 27 and 30 spline versions) should be replaced also.
@ok4450 glad to hear that your son was fine. poor guy. sounds like he lost a true love!
Okay, i’ll write that down about the splines. thanks!
@db4690 i looked up geico to see if towing was covered on my insurance. it isn’t. there is an option for adding it, but the fine print says that they will only take you to the nearest repair facility and/or 3 miles. I then found GM Motor Club. their fine print says that they will only take you to the nearest GM shop (there are a bunch here in little rock, but the deal with my sister is in bryant/benton ~20miles). Then i looked up AAA. they also will only cover 3 miles, and anything beyond that, the fine print says that the owner covers the hook-up fee and every mile beyond 3miles. So, instead, when i call my sister tmro, i’ll see if she can get me a deal on whatever towing service they use. I think i might look into the GM Motor Club again later though for some of their other services. Thanks for that idea!
Here in Washington we can get either AAA Classic which covers 5 miles,AAA Plus (For another $33) which gets you 100 miles or the Premium with 200 miles. $56-$124 per year. It may be different in your state.
@db4690 okay, i understand now about the core charge. and i will ask the transmission shops about a warranty on their labor and if they have a problem with installing a part that i arrange to be ordered from GM.*
@Nevada_545 thanks for the info. it is exactly what i have found in my research so far. except for the added part of what i found concerning the pump and valve body. the dealer that my sister works at is about 16miles away according to yahoo maps. so, i will talk to her again tomorrow to see about some more cost and warranty info, such as a tow and labor. great idea. and @ok4450 thanks for your addition on this point. maybe i can actually have them become my regular shop, too. which is one of the main things that i originally mentioned that i need! which would really be great. maybe the tow cost won’t be as much as i think.
@asemaster that is why i want to be sure that i get a 4L60. it seems weird tho that i wouldn’t be given the option of keeping my old part, since it is my property. i only thought about that idea just last night. i should have asked for my old water pump when i had it replaced back around the beginning of august. that way i could learn about it. it just makes sense to me now to keep all of one’s old parts–it’s money to me and knowledge… Cool link, thanks! I’ll ask my sister to ask the Parts Manager about a price and availability of the tweaked out Gearstar. looks cool and sounds stout.
@Bing yeah, i may be getting an employee discount! i didn’t think of that!
*you know what, guys, after reading all of your comments tonight (together with everything else so far), i really am leaning toward the dealership. I will call my sister tomorrow and see about all of the details. I’m so glad that i didn’t just jump and agree to the jasper quote. i’ll be saving over $1,000 and maybe be getting the trust-worthy four-year-or-so shop relationship that i am looking for. I’ll let you guys know what happens. thanks again for everything!
I would go with the dealer parts and labor. If a warranty issue did arise . And you bought the trans at the dealer and had it installed elsewhere, it would turn into a pee’ing match on the coverage. The installer would claim defect and the dealer would say botched install. Leaving you in limbo with nothing useable. Just a thought.
OH! @OlyDoug I’ll look over the AAA site again for Arkansas to see if I can find any options for Plus and Premium. Thank you!
Good point, @PvtPublic I didn’t think about that potential “pee’ing match” problem (haha). I can definitely foresee that as a possible now.