I drive a 2002 Mazda 626 with 115k miles on it. A belt in my transmission is slipping, and I’ve been told I need a new one. It also has a noisy serpentine belt (but the mechanics says it’s fine and it’s made that noise since they replaced it), the rotors are warped, and the car seems to make a lot of noise in general.
Here are my questions: Should I replace the transmission? How much will it cost? How many more miles will it get me? What is the next big-ticket repair I should expect?
To give more perspective, I use public transit to get to work, and drive this car maybe 8 times a month for errands or long car trips. This will be the first big repair I’ve had to do on the car.
Look up the NADA value of your car. Take it to an independent, family owned transmission shop and get a rebuild estimate. Make your decision. Usually, with Japanese cars, a failed transmission means off to the shredder…But your case may be different so do the math yourself…
By all means get a second opinion from a qualified independent transmission shop. I doubt if Mazda transmissions have “belts” in them! They could mean “bands”.
If the transmission is truly shot, only a good used one makes sense. Rebuilds on these are very expensive; a friend of mine was just quoted $4500 and decided to scrap the car.
Mazda’s are very durable cars otherwise.
If not already done, you should change the timing belt and the water pump, that will be about $500 at an independent shop.
Some Mazda owners just keep driving until the car quits running ; we don’t recommend that, since it may happen on a busy freeway when you are in the left lane.
It’s worth about 3 if I sold it privately, and carmax offered 1500. All the transmission shops want a minimum of $50 to tell me it’s shot, which seems ridiculous if they want my business. Thanks for the help!
“Some Mazda owners just keep driving until the car quits running”
It’s not just Mazda owners Doc.