1995 Chevy Lumina Worth fixing

QCAROLLO1042

MEMBER
1995 CHEVROLET LUMINA
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
189,000 MILES

I bought a 1995 Chevy Lumina that had sat up for 10 months. I talked the guy into $250.00 and took it to my mechanic. He said it was the intake gasket, it was replaced with an all metal one and a head gasket was also replaced for $600.00. It drove great for 2 weeks. I turned a corner and accelerated and the transmission started acting up. It will not shift out of 1st gear and it will not go in reverse. I have bought new fluid and filter but wanted to ask before I waste any more time on this car. Could this be the problem? Should I just take it to a transmission shop? Or should I sell it to get my money out of it? It is in great shape body and interior. ANY IDEAS?

Sunday, May 16th, 2010 AT 4:49 PM

1 Reply

RENAUDTN

MECHANIC
636 POSTS

If your transmission needs to be rebuilt/replace, you will spend more money on it that the car is worth (you already have actually). In excellent condition (which it doesn't appear to be) this car is worth around $900-1000 (private party value per Kelley Blue Book). A rebuild transmission for this model runs around $1700, not including labor.
If you know for sure that everything else is fine with the car, especially the engine, and that you're gonna get many more miles out of it, then you could have a decent car for the price of a transmission, which isn't too bad if you're fixing to drive it until the wheels fall off. However, at 189,000 you're likely gonna have one problem after another, and it can add up quickly especially when you don't fix it yourself. It's hard to know when to pull the plug on a car :-)
My 2 cents: if your transmission is fried, sell the car for parts or as is and try to get some of your money back; look for another ride.

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Monday, May 17th, 2010 AT 3:24 PM