I have a 2004 TL thats in need of a tranny. My mechanic gave me two options. Get my tranny rebuilt for 2300 or get one from salvage for 1600. Both prices include labor. I'm going to sell the car in 5 months. What experiences have you guys had with rebuit trannies as well as ones from salvage?

 

Salvage is a crap shoot. Rebuilding an '04 trans will likely be better but you still have the lube issues unique to the '04. Using your transmission as a core and having them rebuild an '05-'06 trans would be ideal. If you're not keeping the car and don't care about the new owner, you can do the slavage trans as long as they give you a short warranty.

 

If I were doing the work myself, I'd opt for the used trans, but if you're paying someone to do the job, spend the extra for the rebuilt unit.
Reason being is that although the used trans comes with a warranty, that warranty is only good for the trans, the extra work to have it removed and replaced again is going to incur more labor costs.