Ok let's get into the nitty gritty...

- 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Lared
- Roughly 60k miles
- In relatively decent shape

Now here's the situation. She took it to get smogged the other day, and it passed emissions but failed due to throwing two CEL codes. I took it to a tranny shop the other day, and lo and behold, it needs a rebuild, and the guy quoted me about $2500 to fix it. If not, it would be about $450 to put the tranny back in the car, and it could go out on us any time, who knows. Problem is that my mom is flat broke (in middle of a bankruptcy) as am I, since I'm the one that's paid for practically everything for her. Also, my assumption is that even if the tranny were perfectly fine, the car could MAYBE be sold for $5k, but I could be wrong.

So my options are pretty much this:

1) Don't fix it, shell out $450 for nothing repaired, hope I can pay off the smog guy to pass it, and try to sell it to carmax or some organization that buys inoperable vehicles.

2) Shell out $2500 to fix the tranny and sell it immediately, hoping to get at least $5k, and walk away with $2500. From there, I don't know.


WHAT, DO, I, DOOOOOOOOOOO?! These past few weeks have been the worst weeks of mine and my mom's life. She was denied unemployment, has no job, can't make rent, is going through a bankruptcy, apparently was overpaid $350 from work during May-June, found out she owes about $900 in taxes from '06, had her $600 stimulus check taken from her and was put towards her '07 taxes, and the list goes on and on and on. Any advice would be appreciated, sincerely.

`John

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I would go someplace else and get a second opinion and go from there.

 

Sorry about the predicament! The first thing I thought of when I saw 1998 Grand Cherokee was "tranny". Sure enough.

Seriously consider a used tranny for that bad boy just to get it back on the road for a quick sale. It will be way less than the rebuild, and you won't eat the $450 that way. Any of your local Jeep/Chrysler wrecking yards will have used trannys for that vehicle.

 

Jeeps and bad tranny are like bread and butter...they go together.

 

I have to pay the $450 regardless, because he took the tranny out of the car, and that's just for the labor. Put it this way, that $450 is a sunken cost.

 

Tow it to Pacoima...problem sovled.

 

^hah!

 

Dump it. Take some $ you get & buy a cheap point a to point b junker. Bank the rest of the $ so she has some $.

 

yeah, but how do I dump it if I can't get it to pass a smog check, and if the transmission is ready to fail any minute?

 

??

 

pay the 450 to put the tranny back in the car and take it straight to carmax?

 

I'm sure you can get like 3K for it in an as is sale on ebay or craigslist.
I vote 1 then

Sounds fishy that a bad trans would cause 2 cel's.
Maybe a bad speed sensor. No trans needs a complete rebuild unless it's a mechanical problem. It may be something simple like a sensor or modulator.

 

I don't think Carmax would buy a vehicle that didn't pass a smog test.

 

+1

Get on the phone and make a few calls to local wreckers. At least one of them will have a tranny for it. Most offer a limited exchange warranty such as thirty days. Find out what they want for it, make a fair offer including DELIVERY to the shop you're dealing with, and have them drop it off. Offer your old tranny to them or the shop doing the work, as it must be worth a few bucks. Make a deal with the shop to put in the tranny at a flat rate and then, depending how it drives, make the decision the either keep it or sell it.

Terry

 

I just called the guy and asked him if he would be willing to install a used tranny. He said yes, but highly advised against it, as you never know the condition of the tranny's in the wreck yards, and also it's very difficult to get a correct tranny for your specific car, even if it's from the same car or some shit. He dropped the price a bit more and said he'd eat half the tax, which would come to $2350 OTD. I'm thinking I should just do this, but I don't know?

 

All valid concerns in theory, except the part about hard to find the same tranny even if its from the same car. That's BS, serial number ranges in service manuals will easily suss out if its an adequate replacement or not. After all, this isn't an early 60's Ferrari we're talking about, where every body panel is different per car.

He makes a lot more $$$ by rebuilding your trans., and not nearly as much by plugging in a used one.

I can't advise you on what you should do with your $$$ or the risks you should take with it, its just my

 

^---I agree


So I just got off the phone w/ a somewhat local junk yard. He has a '98 Grand Cherokee that is running that still has the tranny in it, and it has 80k miles. He said he would deliver the tranny to the shop (about 20mi each way), take my tranny, and it would be $750. It also includes a 90 day warranty. What do you guys think?

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you're planning to file bankruptcy, why does it matter what it costs?

 

Having had several 4x4 transmissions rebuilt, that price is WAY WAY WAY high.
Go here...http://www.phoenixhardparts.com/
Had a few transmissions from these guys.

 

took the words right out of my mouth.

 

I'm not filing for bankruptcy, my mother is. I'm the one who is helping her through all of this...