Repairs In Progress

I mentioned recently that my car is in the breakdown land with a bad transmission. That's right, I have to go through life backwards, because my car won't go forward.

Seriously, this is a time when being in my career field pays off (so far, it seems). I called around and found that having my existing transmission rebuilt could cost as much as $1400. Buying a transmission that has already been rebuilt would cost me approximately $1000. Picking one up at a junkyard would run me $450 to $500. But a customer I deal with on a regular basis at work was able to procure a used transmission for me for just $200. Admittedly, I'm taking a chance with a used transmission, but I would be taking chances with a rebuilt one, as well. The way I look at it, this used transmission was at least installed in a vehicle at one time and actually worked when it was taken out. A rebuilt transmission has never been tested. And how could I pass up the savings?

And there's more. One of the individuals working at my store does major vehicle repair in his home -- he actually has a garage equipped with a full-service vehicle lift. He'll be replacing the transmission for me. Not for free, of course, but for much less than having it done by a professional repair shop.

All of which left me with the issue of how to get the car from my home to work (a 2-hour drive). My wife's Jimmy has a hitch, but it is not rated for pulling a 3400 pound car. And, we don't have a trailer. Luckily for me, my father-in-law is on vacation, and he left his truck behind. More importantly, he left the keys to his truck with my wife. And my brother-in-law's best friend just happens to have a nice, large trailer that the car would ride on nicely. Did, in fact, ride on nicely as I towed the broken down car into work this morning.

Now I just hope that the repairs are done quickly, and that the transmission I saved so much money on will actually work when it's installed.

Joe