on a car repair bill before you decide to dump the car. Here's the story. I drive a 2009 Toyota Corolla with 140 K miles
which has proven to be a great, reliable car. I've maintained the car by changing all the fluids before the dates scheduled by Toyota. But that has also created a problem for me. Earlier this year, in the interest of prolonging the life of the car, I also changed the A/T fluid. Last week the check engine light came on so I took it to the local repair shop. They told me that the code indicates that the transmission is the problem. I then took it to the dealer who confirmed that and stated that it's the transmission valve body that is the culprit. Apparently I should not have changed that A/T fluid as they think that caused the valve body to go bad. They want 1,500 dollars to repair it. I'm not sure if I should spend that much money on an 11 year old car but the flip side is that the tires are relatively new, the brakes are new, the body is in good shape and it's an all around great car except for this trans problem plus a new one would cost me 20K. It's not a family car but simply as daily driver to and from work. What say you? Make the repair or time for a new car.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bulldog7972,

Sounds like the rest of the car is in great shape. You won’t be able to financially justify a new car purchase because of repair costs on your current vehicle. $1,500 is a lot less than $20,000 but the cost is even greater because of the amount of depreciation on the new car as well. Just fix the trans and keep on rolling.

I would spend the $1500.00 if the car isn't nickel and diming you to death. That is way less expensive than buying a new or used car. Also your insurance won't go up like it might if you bought a different car.

Considering the reliability you have had with the car in the past I would spend the money to repair it and continue driving it. A single repair that is worth more than the car is also may give pause but 1500 is surely less than the car is worth. I did not see any mention of the car being paid off but I assume it is - and a replacement vehicle at 20k, the payments would easily in months cover a single 1500 repair.

As mentioned above, I agree when it starts nickle and diming and impeding ability to travel reliably without issue then to me that is when its time to replace.

The car is paid for and the only money I've spent is the usual maintenance

Is it not shifting, or shifting in an unusual way?

Get another opinion. A fluid change should not cause that.

Have the code cleared, disconnect battery, then drive and see if it comes back.

Good luck to you.

If I anticipate being able to drive it reliably for an additional Q months where the cost of repair < (car payment)(Q), I’ll repair it.

I spent about $6K on my 2007 Altima after 225K miles, but I drove it for another 2.5 years/100K miles, so no regrets. I came out ahead.

-Rob

I did all that without making the repair but the light comes back on after about 10 miles.

Back when I was a Mazda tech, we put in a lot of transmissions, especially in hot weather. Probably 70-80% had new fresh fluid. The detergent additives break loose all the little deposits of clutch plate lining, etc, and clog the shift valve, and often the filter. Loses pressure, burns up. The instant oil change places like to sell a "trans service", which often kills it with kindness.
If you change the unit, make damn sure they clean the oil cooler and lines with trans flush, a lot of the gunk settles in there.

Unless the cost of the repair is approaching the total value of the car itself (i.e. the car is basically totaled), do the repair and roll on.

A grand or so in repairs and maintenance a year is still cheaper in the long run than the monthly payments on a $20k new car.

And even if you ditch the car and go with another similar used car, you don't know what kind of potential issues you'll be walking into, all of what its maintenance history has been, etc. Better the devil you know, etc.

Just offering a different view.

Looking at Kelly's Blue Book a 2009 140K Corolla is worth about $2700 on trade and maybe $3500 on sale to private party. Should you be investing $1500 into something worth $2700?

Or should that $1500 be invested in a new or CPO warranty car? Don't forgot to figure in value of the comfort along with new safety and other features you get with a new(er) car? Maybe you want something other than a Toyota? What was/is the original plan to replace this car?

And no I do not work or have worked in the auto sales industry

Assuming you're getting the straight scoop, and can be reasonably sure that will actually remedy issue, I'd spend that in a moment.

That's about the tax on the newer car. This defers that process far into the future if reliability continues.

quote:

How much would you spend on a car repair bill before you decide to dump the car.

Why not just make that the whole thread title? Seriously.

quote:

Originally posted by Jamess1:
Just offering a different view.

Looking at Kelly's Blue Book a 2009 140K Corolla is worth about $2700 on trade and maybe $3500 on sale to private party. Should you be investing $1500 into something worth $2700?

Or should that $1500 be invested in a new or CPO warranty car? Don't forgot to figure in value of the comfort along with new safety and other features you get with a new(er) car? Maybe you want something other than a Toyota? What was/is the original plan to replace this car?

And no I do not work or have worked in the auto sales industry

That's the thing. I was going to keep it one to two years at the most.

Fix it, you would spend at least 4k to replace that car.


We replaced the transmission in my sons 09 Corolla (180K) with a used one that was supposed to have about 60k on it. Had them replace the CV axles while they were doing it, they were starting to weep grease. Total was bout $1700. It's a gamble that we hope pays off

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
It's not a family car but simply as daily driver to and from work.

Quit the job.

If the car's in otherwise good condition, which it sounds like it is, I'd spend the $1,500 on it w/o a second thought.

But make certain there are no hidden issues. E.g.: I had a 2007 TrailBlazer I loved. At some point figured I'd get the paint issues fixed, update the electronics (new radio w/backup cam) and get the rear window, the defroster of which was half dead, replaced.

In getting an estimate from the body shop. their top guy came out and to do the survey. When I saw him look, then stop and zero-in on the lower-back corner of the passenger front side I knew it was Game Over. Sure enough: Rusting from the inside out. (Couldn't see if from casual inspection.) If one door was doing it, they all were. Replacement doors, alone, would've been +7,000.

I'm dealing with this. I gave my son at college my 2009 Mazda 3. I replaced the AC for about 1k as it had not worked for a few months, it has a black leather interior, and he works outdoors for the summer.

2 months later, before going back to college, he did about 2k of body work damage to the car but I did not want to report it to the car insurance since no other cars were involved and no police. I figured that would save me 1k+ a year. And I was not ready to get a replacement car.

But then I had to spend $800 to replace the struts and shocks, which had nothing to do with accident, they had been problematic for the previous year.

So I'm 4k into a car that might be worth 4k. Bit of a rabbit hole, and I hope the car will hold up through graduation.

Before you do anything get a 2nd opinion from a transmission shop and not the dealer.
I’d likely put that money into the car but am guessing you’ll be closer to 1k at an independent shop.

Sounds like you got a transmission FLUSH and not a fluid swap.

That car should be able to do another 100,000 miles with normal maintenance. your insurance and any property taxes will be much lower too.
I can do some of the work on my own cars so this is what I'd do in your case.
Drop the transmission pan and clean out anything you can. Replace the filter. Blow out the cooler and lines to remove anything you can. Reassemble, add new fluid and reset the codes a few times if needed to see if they go away.
You may be able to find a smaller independent to do that if you can't yourself. Get a cheap code reader to reset yourself (easy to do).
Worst case if that didn't work, I'd still have it replaced and drive it for a few years.
Also google search the code for your specific year and model to see if any other info comes up.