Most used car dealers would have to deduct the costs of repairing your bad transmission before paying you. This is because selling a car with a bad transmission to another buyer might land them in legal trouble. Most car dealers won’t pay above $500 – $1,500 depending on your car’s year/mileage/model/make.

Usually the part will cost $500 to $2,000 depending on condition. On top of that usually labor costs are $1000 to $1500 since it is usually about a week of work to completely swap a transmission. That combined creates a price range of $1,500 to $3,500 to have a transmission replaced by a shop.

Can you trade in a car with a bad transmission? In many cases, you can. Dealerships are often equipped to fix the problem, but it’s going to cost you on your trade valuation. Because your car doesn’t drive — or at least, doesn’t drive well — the dealer can’t be sure of the rest of your car’s condition.

Is driving with a faulty transmission okay? Short answer: no! The only thing you should do if you think you have a faulty transmission is go for a quick jaunt to your local mechanic. If you have a bad transmission it’s only a matter of time before your vehicle literally won’t be able to drive anywhere.

If it’s severely messed up it can’t break much more than it is and needs to be rebuilt. However, it can if it’s still drive-able, operate until your 150 or so miles from humanity before it completely fails leaving you with a 150 mile tow bill plus service charges.

Total Transmission Failure It is also possible your transmission can totally fail. In this case, your car could refuse to move, change gears, or there could be decreased or total lack of power while driving. If you are experiencing these problems take your car in immediately.