[The Godfather]

My 1994 Mazda 626 V6 has had a good record during the 3 years I owned it. It had the alternator, belts, sparkplugs, and distributor replaced once. Now the automatic transmission is starting to act wacky.

The car acknowledges the position of the stick (P,R,N,D,1,2) but the transmission has difficulty to shift internally from 1 to 2, to 3, and it never goes to 4. So I am stuck with 3, doing 60MPH with the engine at 5000RPM. Sucky.

I am taking it to the mechanic, since I am not in the position to tinker with the transmission. Hopefully the service will be less than $500 (yes the price of a whole Mac mini).

The other option is to expedite the purchase of my first new car: 2006 Civic Hybrid. But I feel it in my gut that my Mazda can go another 112,000 miles before it completely crumbles.

[Volks]

The mechanic is going say: $1,000+ for a rebuilt transmission! Rebuild that biotch!!!


Let's see...hmmm...$1,000 for a new transmission and a car that will go another 100,000 miles

or

$23,000+ for a 2006 Honda that will go the same 100,000.


That's a hard choice, dude.

[Uncle Skeleton]

tranny work is expensive. make sure to take it to at least 4 different places for estimates before you commit to one. $500 would be a great deal for a job like that I think. I hope you find it.

my manual (!) transmission cost me $1700 a few years ago. that was (is) a 1990 acura legend.

[Volks]

$1700 is high. Don't take the car to a brand-name mechanic. If you do, you're asking to have your wallet emptied.

[Uncle Skeleton]

Might be. Every other place in town wanted at least 2500. And the place I went to got good recommendations from a lot of my friends, and they were pretty honest for the next 20 months or so I lived there. A significant part of it was labor, but labor is a valuable commodity when you can't do the job yourself.

[Volks]

It really depends on the car, yeah. Although transmission work isn't that complicated anymore, as mechanics rarely do anything except swap out the transmission with a rebuilt one.

[wdlove]

I wish you all the best The GodFather.

I had a Toyota the lasted 10 years. Now I'm planning on my current Volvo lasted 10 years or more.

[Bandit240]

Dont buy a new car. Price the car you want new and the same car 2-3 years old. Find something a few years old and save up to pay cash for it. New cars lose their value so damned fast it isnt funny.

Or you would get your older car fixed and have somthing you know and love for a few more years. Theres nothing wrong with older cars, ive got 2 cars that are over 25 years old and still going strong. One has 255k with no major work done, and the other has 84k with nothing major done.

[The Godfather]

$1250 for transmission repair. I guess I will be missing those monthly car loan bills

That will tie it up until 2010.

[Athens]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

My 1994 Mazda 626 V6 has had a good record during the 3 years I owned it. It had the alternator, belts, sparkplugs, and distributor replaced once. Now the automatic transmission is starting to act wacky.

The car acknowledges the position of the stick (P,R,N,D,1,2) but the transmission has difficulty to shift internally from 1 to 2, to 3, and it never goes to 4. So I am stuck with 3, doing 60MPH with the engine at 5000RPM. Sucky.

I am taking it to the mechanic, since I am not in the position to tinker with the transmission. Hopefully the service will be less than $500 (yes the price of a whole Mac mini).

The other option is to expedite the purchase of my first new car: 2006 Civic Hybrid. But I feel it in my gut that my Mazda can go another 112,000 miles before it completely crumbles.

If the car is in good shape, engine and body fix it. If you have body issues like rust under it or signs the engine isnt as good as it should be dont waste your money.

[Cody Dawg]

I say go with a Honda.

But, remember, hybrids are hype. I heard that it takes more energy to make them than to just buy a regular car.

I'd buy a regular Honda if I were you.

No, scratch that. I'd buy a Saab if I were you - or a Volvo.

[wdlove]

Volvo would be my recommendation, a solid and safe car.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

But, remember, hybrids are hype. I heard that it takes more energy to make them than to just buy a regular car.

you're talking about just the manufacturing process, right?

[The Godfather]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

But, remember, hybrids are hype. I heard that it takes more energy to make them than to just buy a regular car.

I made up my mind about getting the Civic Hybrid in 2003, I just need the economic stability first.

The Hybrid is produced in much less quantities than the regular Civic. It is understandable that more labor and brain power is going to each hybrid. A battery pack and an electric motor does not take as much energy to produce and recycle as the thousands of gallons saved by one hybrid within its lifetime.

But this thread is closed for new car suggestions. I already ordered repairs for the old Mazda.

[Athens]

Dont, used Hybrids are no good, only new. Remember they are just bigger versions of ipods in the battery sense. Wait for commercially viable fuel cell cars and get a regular Honda. And Honda's are in my opinion near the top if not the top of best cars. If a hybrid is your only choice get brand new.

[The Godfather]

Maybe I should have been clearer. Since 2003, I am set on buying a new Civic Hybrid as my next car. Since I will keep my old car for a few years more, I might be buying a 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010 model.
I should be getting my car back on Tuesday. I will be shelling out the cost of 6 Nanos, 5 PSPs, or 3 Xbox 360s

[Uncle Skeleton]

Did you ever find out what was wrong with your transmission in the first place?

[The Godfather]

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton

Did you ever find out what was wrong with your transmission in the first place?

The repairman said: gears 3 and 4 welded together due to overheat. The fluid was all contaminated with ash, but should become a good transmission after changing said gears, changing gaskets and whatnot (I can't remember what the exact work to be done is). They will guarantee against tranny malfunctions for the next 12 months.
I suppose they will fix the cause of the overheat too.

[Athens]

When was the last time you changed your tranny fluids?

[The Godfather]

Actually never. I have kept up the fluid level by refilling with Dexron III. I was told that changing the transmission fluid may leave some cavities unfilled and exposed to burnout. I actually brought my car 2 years ago to a transmission specialist and was told that changing the fluid was albeit "opening a can of worms".

[Athens]

Depends on the car, that rule doesn't fit all. While it doesn't need to be changed as often as oil, the same principle is at work. Little bits of grind builds up in the fluid and causes more ware causing more grind and so forth. Some cars you're not suppose to according to the manufacture other cars you should. If its done by a pro shouldn't open a can of worms. A lub specialist shop is ideal. I just got a Jeep, next pay check im getting every fluid flushed because I don't have any idea how often the prev person did it but with 400 000km on it, must have been pretty decent maintenance schedule because she runs good

[ShadowoftheColossus]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

The other option is to expedite the purchase of my first new car: 2006 Civic Hybrid. But I feel it in my gut that my Mazda can go another 112,000 miles before it completely crumbles.

Any car can hit 500,000 miles with regular maintenence and a small saving account ($3000 or so)to cover any big expenses (new transmission for example). New cars are a waste of money. Modern cars are so extremely reliable that the only people buying new cars are the people who enjoy losing lots of money in a short time period.

[ShadowoftheColossus]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

The repairman said: gears 3 and 4 welded together due to overheat. The fluid was all contaminated with ash, but should become a good transmission after changing said gears, changing gaskets and whatnot (I can't remember what the exact work to be done is). They will guarantee against tranny malfunctions for the next 12 months.
I suppose they will fix the cause of the overheat too.

Overheating is usually caused by bad fluid. I'm assuing you have an automatic. Automatic transmission fluid has a temperature ceiling, once that is exceeded, the fluid's life drops drastically. Fluid that would be good for 50,000 miles is only good for 25,000 miles if it overheats by 20 degrees celsius. I'm guessing you didn't change your ATX fluid often, thus the fluid quite lubricating properly, and caused the gears to overheat.

[ShadowoftheColossus]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

Actually never. I have kept up the fluid level by refilling with Dexron III. I was told that changing the transmission fluid may leave some cavities unfilled and exposed to burnout. I actually brought my car 2 years ago to a transmission specialist and was told that changing the fluid was albeit "opening a can of worms".

Well, at least we know why the transmission failed in the first place: lack of proper maintenence. Whoever told you that rubbish is uninformed. Some people feel that doing anything to an automatic transmission is opening a can of worms, which is just silly. They basically just don't understand them, so they feel that doing nothing to them is the best option. That is retarded.

http://www.checkthatcar.com/new_chec...n%20fluids.asp

"Heat is the number one enemy of ATF. As the operating temperature goes up, the fluid’s service life goes down. Oxidation, viscosity breakdown and degradation of the friction modifying additives reduce the fluid’s ability to do its job. Eventually the fluid can no longer provide proper lubrication and the transmission fails"

"So what if the fluid is never replaced? Sooner or later the transmission will fail. Ask any transmission shop what the number one cause of transmission failure is, and they’ll tell you it’s fluid neglect. Not changing the fluid and filter often enough (or ever!) causes more transmission problems and failures than anything else. That’s why most transmission experts still recommend changing the fluid and filter every two to three years or 24,000 to 36,000 miles — or once a year or every 15,000 miles if a vehicle is used for towing or other severe service use."

Read that webpage. Everybody. And change your ATX fluid often, I do a drain and fill every other oil change. It's cheap, and it's not very hard.

[Athens]

The killer of cars are fluids. If I had done a total fluid change on my Prelude when I got her I prob would not have had a single problem. My water pump died on me and when it was replaced, the coolant was like honey, it just oozed out.