OK, so my poor little Hyundai (86,000 miles) called it quits. The transmission needs to be changed, at the tune of $3,200!
But the Blue Book value of a Hyunda 1999 Elantra Automatic in “excellent” condition is $3,100! at “good” condition, drops down to $2,800. (I guess I call mine “good” condition, before it stopped running!)
is it time for a new car, or is it worth it to plop down the 3,200 to keep this guy running?
what do you think?
You did not mention what exactly is wrong with the transmission.
-What is the name of the transmission shop?
-Have you had your tranny serviced there before?
-Where you happy with the service they provided in the past?
-What other service has been done on the tranny before, since 1999?
-Given the $3200.00, didn’t you consider a second/third oppinion ?
Shop around for price,make sure the price includes a new torque converter. Consider a used transmission put in by someone who works with a wrecking yard and will guaranty the result.Un less you can get the price way down it is time to say good-bye
Good questions:
-What is the name of the transmission shop? I took it to a Hyundai dealer
-Have you had your tranny serviced there before? No, nver had transmission problems before. They say that they found pieces of clutch in the transmission fluid and that it needs to be rebuilt
-Where you happy with the service they provided in the past?
-What other service has been done on the tranny before, since 1999? None
-Given the $3200.00, didn’t you consider a second/third oppinion ? I just got the car towed to another garage. waiting for their response.
Street value of a 11 year old Hyundai is more like $2000 in trade in/private sale.
Buy a new car unless you feel like you are going to beat the “house” with a used transmission. Remember the house usually wins.
Future reference, change the transmission fluid every 50k miles if not specified earlier and it will most likely live a long happy life.
My guess is you haven’t had the timing belt replaced, either. So as soon as you spend $3,200 for a transmission the belt will break and the engine will be damaged. Then you’ll be REALLY unhappy.
I suggest you trade it for something else, and then learn to read and follow the maintenance schedule. If you’d had the transmission serviced at the appropriate intervals you could have prevented this problem.
I recommend a used transmission as you are driving a “used” car anyway.
What condition is the rest of the car in? If you didn’t do any transmission maintenance in eleven years, what else has been ignored as far as maintenance? Normally a car in otherwise good condition with a known maintenance history would be worth keeping longer, but in your case that’s probably not going to apply, unfortunately. If you do fix it, get a price from a local independent transmission shop, who will probably beat the dealer’s price.
[b]"Have you had your tranny serviced there before?
No, never had transmission problems before.
What other service has been done on the tranny before, since 1999?
None"[/b]
Another case of a car owner shooting himself/herself in the foot!
Even though the car is 11 years old, that transmission would likely have lasted another 75k-110k if it had been serviced as it should have been.
When trans fluid is changed every 3 yrs/30k miles, it is not uncommon to have 150k-200k miles of trouble-free life from the transmission. On the other hand, lack of that type of maintenance usually spells an early death for the transmission–usually somewhere ~90k miles–so the OP’s transmission died right about on schedule.
I agree with the others who questioned how many other vital maintenance procedures have also been skipped on this car. If the rest of the car has been as poorly-maintained as the transmission, it is time to junk it after 11 years, unfortunately.
When will people learn to open the glove compartment, take out the maintenance schedule placed there by the manufacturer, and use that as a guide to maintaining their car?
Thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it. You are all right. Mea culpa. lesson learned. I now know what to do for the next car.