highspeed6

I have a 1995 lexus es300... the automatic transmission started acting up out of nowhere, it wasn't wanting to grab gears...I had to press & hold the gas to a certain point before it would hit the gear and move, when it went into gear it shifted very hard and painful to me. I drove it to Advance Auto was going to buy a transmission filter kit hoping that was the problem...as I pulled into my driveway, reverse stopped working!!! I changed the filter the next morning and it was for nothing... my lexus has no reverse... am I gonna have to buy a new transmission?

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

Sounds like you need to either rebuild your transmission or replace it with a new/remanufactured one. Does the fluid look dark and smell burnt?

highspeed6

no... the fluid looked okay... thats what I was afraid to hear. My mom talked 2 some ppl she knows and I reckon Im gonna buy a tranny from them for $1750...labor and all.

Caoboy

iTrader: (2)

Did you just recently have it powerflushed? If so, it could have been that that caused the plm. With this new transmission, make sure to do drain and fill every other oil change or so to keep the fluid fresh.

fallabel

Here's a related question: I've got also got a 1995 ES300; mine has 140000 miles on it. I think that if my car needed a similar repair, I'd probably be looking at just buying a new car. Is that unreasonable of me? I'd be worried about putting alot of money into a 14 year old car, but I suppose that if it then ran for a few more years, the money would be well worth it.

What do you guys consider is the "cut bait and move on" point? According to www.kbb.com, the trade-in value of my car is approximately $2800.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

Whats it worth to you? Who cares about what KBB says its worth...

Assuming the rest of the vehicle is in decent shape, personally, I would repair it... what other car can you buy for the cost of the repair?

Unless you were budgeting to get something nicer to start...

My car has all kinds of suspension work done, new paint, CF hood, wheels/tires, tan/black interior thats in pretty decent shape... It's worth a lot more to me than what it's worth on paper...

highspeed6

Good answer bud... I paid $3000 for me 95' es300 and it still retails for around $6000... It all depends on what your plans are for the car... my lexus I am going to fix up and drive everywhere lol not planning on selling or trading it. I appreciate all the advice though ppl... I have got a buddy of mine getting me a brand new tranny with all hardparts and the labor to put it in for $1750... I believe thats the way Im gonna go.

fallabel

Yeah, it definitely depends on your situation. I bought mine about 7 years ago, so I'm getting to the point where I'm itching for an upgrade.

I guess my question was really this: is there a way to tell that you've hit the point of "cascading repairs"? I'm guessing the answer is 'no', but does the expected life of a number of components fall of a cliff somewhere? For instance, do there happen to be a number of major parts that tend to die after 15 years?