The transmission has gone out on my Honda Odyssey and the cost of repair is more than I can handle. The van still has 16 months of payments on it and it is currently sitting at the garage. I was just wondering if there are alternatives to having it repaired...has anyone sold a vehicle in this condition are there resources out there to help people in my situation? I was just looking for advice from someone who has been in my shoes. Thanks!
I know that there was a recall on the transmission of certain years of the Odyssey, but I don't remember the specifics. Maybe it would fall in the category and Honda would pay for it. Try googling it, you never know!
I had this happen in my Honda Pilot (and the dealorship told me it's common, more so in Odyssey's, so in my opinion they should do a recall--is yours an 03 or 04 model?) If you are under 100,000 miles, the Honda power train warranty will cover it. This is what saved me. No problems with it after that.
Sorry, I don't have any advice on selling a vehicle needing that repair. All I know is, in the long run, it's cheaper to fix a car than buy a new one. I hope it works out for you.
We had the same thing happen with my Odyssey this past summer. What year is your Odyssey? Honda has had major transmission issues with the Odysseys and there are class action lawsuits out there. I had a great dealership that went to bat for me and contacted Honda America. They ended up paying for most of the transmission! I was quoted something like $5000 by the first dealership that I went to. You should put some pressure on the dealership and let them know that you know about Honda's issues with transmissions. Good Luck! I know exactly how you feel. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
S.
What year is your Odyssey? Mine had this problem last spring so we took it to the dealer and they didn't help because it was just over (1000 miles) warranty. After doing research on the web I found it was a major problem with Odysseys. Also found out that Honda America was discounting the repair of these depending on service record and year of vehicle. Through the web I learned what the average rate was for replacing these. So I got the number of the regional service manager and told him my problem and what I'd found out. Even though mine was outside of warranty I automatically got 25% off because I had the knowledge. I called the dealer and let them know and asked what the price would be. I let them know that it was substantially more than what I had read that other Honda dealers charged (granted they weren't in this area) I've never been happy with that particular dealer. So I called another local Honda dealer and found out that they charged over $500 less to replace the transmission. So they got my business. It ended up that I needed one or two more things done to the car as well and even with that it ended up being about the same as what they originally charged me. So do your homework on this. Some Odyssey owners were getting the full price of the transmission discounted and all they had to pay was the labor cost. Here's one website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0fa11e/42
Good Luck!
If you try to sell you probably won't get even what you still owe on it since it needs a costly repair. Have you asked the shop that it's at if they'll take payments? If they don't, try calling around to other local shops and explain your situation and see if you can find one that will take payments. Since you know what's wrong with your van, you could also get quotes from other shops while you're at it and maybe find one that doesn't charge as much. This is one of those times it's great to have a credit card "for emergencies". I know going into more debt isn't really a good solution, but for me it was worth it since I couldn't be without my car (single mom, need to get to work!). Sometimes I've had to put large expenses like this on multiple credit cards since I didn't have a high enough limit on any of them to cover the expense.
I know none of these ideas is ideal and doesn't really address your question of wanting to sell, but hopefully you find a solution that works for you. Maybe other mamas will have some better ideas!
Those cars have a good rep. I would take out a loan from the bank and have it repaired. Get it pd off and drive it till it falls apart. Repairs are always less expensive than new and payments. If you can't handle it and have to get a new vehicle, they will take it on trade, but then, you will have payments for another 5 yrs.
Call junk yards.We saved %70-80 compare to what dealership quoted us.
You can find used transmissions some with limited warrenties at www.car-part.com for a lot cheeper then a new or even rebuilt transmission. We buy a lot of cars to "flip" and we find most of our parts from this site. Also dealers will charge a lot more then a private auto shop cause they have an overhead to pay to honda so call around or ask around fo a good shop. You usually know its a good shop if its busy.
My friend traded hers on Craig's list. There's reconditioned transmissions out there too you can look into.
Good luck!
Have you gotten several opinions on it for costs? I am just wondering if all the repair shops are as expensive. You may want to call around and see. I know that the transmission is a costly repair. If it out ways the payments to have it fixed it might be better to offload it. There may be places that buy that sort of thing for parts as I have seen signs around where I live looking for junk cars. Maybe there is an agency in your area that could help you. Contact a volunteer center as they deal with non-profits or can tell you where to get your answers. Hope this helps :).
Maybe try emailing out to friends or church members, etc to see if anyone works on cars and would do it at cost. Like in out situation our neighbor works at Firestone and has agreed to do our work on the side. He charges $20/hour when the company charges $70/hour. We both win that way.
Maybe you can find someone who does it for a living, not the owner, who would do it on the side at their home.
