Transmission issue with 2012 Acura TL with 13600
 

I have a 2012 Acura TL with 136000 miles. I have a transmission issue and needs to be replaced. I have a good friend who knows someone who can replace it for $1600. The replacement is from another car that has 68000 miles. It comes with 6 months warranty but I will have to pay labor if the replacement goes bad within 6 months. Is this a good deal? Please help.

I think it seems pretty good.

Yeah, sounds good to me.

Don't forget to baby the transmission with frequent fluid drain/fills, and don't drive like you enjoy it. :-)

So is it a good deal or too good to be true because I have received quotes as high as $3900.

THanks

Hard to say. The $3900 transmission will probably be a new or rebuilt unit with a 1 year warranty that covers labor costs in the event of a covered failure. The $1600 one is probably just a used salvage yard pull. What's that worth to you?

It also depends on whether or not you feel like you can trust your friend's transmission person.

Acura extended warranty to 10 years 105k miles....

The terms you described are standard fare. They provide a warranty but you'd have to pay labor to pull it out in the case of a failure.

I personally think going with a scrapyard transmission is the way to go vs. a rebuild. New will be extremely expensive. And $1600 for the job is quite reasonable.

And in the future, change the fluid often! I recommend doing a drain/refill at least every other oil change.

Lastly, make sure the mechanic that is doing the work takes the correct steps when installing. For example, most places selling transmissions are going to require the tech to thoroughly clean out (or even replace) the AT fluid cooler and filter. Depending on the seller, they may also require a complete fill and drain followed by another fill of ATF. There aren't as many things that have to be done to a transmission when compared to a new engine to not void the warranty (thermostat, timing belt, spark plugs, coolant, oil, etc.) but there are still those critical items that need to be done.

I'm curious though - the 4G doesn't have a lot of transmission failures. In fact, I don't think I've read of a single one. The torque converter is known to have issues but the transmission itself is pretty stalwart. I just turned 200K on my 2012 and it still runs as good as new.

Are you sure it's not the TC that's the problem? That's a lot less expensive to replace than an entirely new transmission.