Selling Or Trading in A Car With A Bad Transmission

Blog/ Selling Or Trading in A Car With A Bad Transmission

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AuthorSarah RobinsonCategory Selling A Car

You’re about to drive out of your garage or driveway then your car refuses to reverse when you shift the gear to reverse and hit the gas. What could be wrong?

To find out, you ask your mechanic to come over or you have it towed to his repair shop. A couple of hours later, he gives you the update: “Your transmission has gone bad.”

He informs you that repairs would cost about $1,500 - $3,500. If your car is new or you’ve got a full warranty coverage, this won’t be an issue.

However, if your car is pretty old, there are possibilities of other issues showing up later.

So, having it repaired won’t make financial sense. Your best bet is to sell it.

In this article, we’ve listed the options available to you when it comes to selling a car with transmission problems.

Symptoms of A Failing Transmission.

Here are a few symptoms of a bad/failing transmission:

• Leaky Fluids. If you notice a red fluid color on the ground where you park your car normally and it’s more than a few drops then you need to see your mechanic. The red fluid could most likely be from your transmission.

• Burning Smell. This might mean many other things but could also be as a result of overheating transmission fluid.

• Delayed Response. Switching gears instantly is what your transmission was designed to do. So, if there’s a delayed response and it doesn’t do what you want immediately then you need to have it checked.

• Strange Noises. Don’t ignore strange noises from your car or buzzing sounds from your transmission.

• Check Engine Light. Once you see this notification on your dashboard, it might mean many things but don’t ignore it. It could even mean that your engine is going bad, or that you may have a headgasket problem..

• Grinding Gears. For a manual transmission, you might just need to change the worn-out clutch or one of the synchronizers is faulty. For an automatic transmission, if you notice vibrations while shifting through different gears then you need to see your mechanic.

• Change in Transmission Fluid Color. The fluid from your transmission is generally red if you notice a different color then you need to take your car to the repair shop.

Can I Replace My Transmission with A Used One?

This might seem like the most affordable option for you to try out. However, we strongly advise you not to as it involves a lot of risks. The sellers won’t give you a warranty as they aren’t the suppliers.

So, if the transmission fails again within a short period, you’re right back at where you began. Also, be ready to spend about $800 - $2,500 on parts and labor.

Here’s How to Sell A Car with A Bad Transmission.

Here are some options for selling a car with a bad transmission:

1: Part Out the Car.

Your car having a bad transmission doesn’t mean you can’t make some profit off the other working parts.

This would require you taking out the parts of your car yourself with the right tools and most importantly selling a car for parts takes …a lot of TIME.

If you’ve got a lot of time to spend on parting out your car and a lot of patience to wait for the right buyer to show up with the offer that you want then this option may be for you.

2: Sell It to A Used Car Dealer.

Used car dealers are a better option but they often pay little because of the high overhead. 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.

3: Sell It to A Junkyard.

You can sell your car to a junkyard that’s willing to offer you a decent price for your car. Junkyards are majorly interested in making a profit off your car parts and the metal after your car is compressed.

In this case, you’ll have to bear the costs of towing your car to different junkyards where the car will be examined and quotes given before going with the best offer.

4: Sell On eBay or Craigslist.

There are a lot of people, collectors or hobbyists who won’t mind buying your car off you on these platforms. However, when selling a car on these platforms don’t expect a high payout as they’d also be looking to buy your car at a steal price.

They would intend to repair or replace the transmission themselves and resell or part the car out for parts. Whatever their intention, no one will be willing to buy your car with transmission problems without wanting to make a profit too.

5: Sell It to SellMax.

This is the best option and we’ll tell you why. At SellMax, you don’t have to worry about how to get your car to us…we come to you and tow your car away for free.

It doesn’t matter what condition your car is in…we want your car ‘as-is’. All you need to do is fill out our brief online form and you’ll get a quote from us. If you like what we’re offering you then you accept the offer.

That’s all you’ll need to do. We’ll come to you when you want us to and after brief paperwork, we make your car disappear leaving a stack of cash in its place.

There’s no need to accept low offers from junkyards, dealers or other buyers anymore. We’ve got you covered with our instant fair offer.

Selling a car with transmission problems to us is easy, fast, stress-free and profitable. The best part…we won’t suddenly change our quotes. What you see is what you’ll always get even if you weren’t sure the first time you got an offer from us.

There are no hidden costs as transparency is important to us. Time and convenience are also non-negotiables.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your guaranteed online cash offer for your car now!