Rebuilt vs. New Auto Transmission
 

My parent's RX300 recently broke down, and they tell me they've been having transmission issues up until it quit. The quote was $2,200 for a rebuilt transmission and $3,900 for a new one.

I've never owned a car long enough to need a new transmission, much less an automatic. Anyone have any experience? They're retired and don't drive all that much, but if they're going to get a lot less mileage out of the rebuilt I'm wondering if they shouldn't just go new.

How many miles on the car? Did the tranny fail prematurely due to lack of mantainance or did it just randomly fail? I know in my family a busted tranny is reason for a new car.

Also, remind them that next time fixing issues when they begin can avoi costlier repair bills later on. A stitch in time saves 9.

i believe it's an 8 year old car. my parents are fairly good about maintenance and i'm wondering if it was just the age of the tranny. i just kbb'd the car and it's in the $12k-$13k neighborhood in good condition.