★★★★★ 5.0 from 177 reviews · North Fort Worth
$3,500 to $9,000 installed for most vehicles. The unit is only about half the bill.
What the transmission itself costs, what the labour costs, and why “new” almost always means remanufactured — plus the cases where a rebuild is the better buy.
1925 Golden Heights Rd, Suite 108. North Fort Worth, just off I-35W near the Alliance corridor.
Unit, labour, installed
Most cost pages quote one number. A replacement is really two: the transmission, and the hours to put it in. Here is how they split.
| Vehicle type | Unit (remanufactured) | Labour | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| FWD car or crossover Altima, Rogue, Civic, Traverse, Impala | $2,000 – $3,500 | $900 – $1,600 | $3,500 – $5,500 |
| V8 truck or SUV Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, F-150, Escalade | $2,800 – $4,800 | $1,200 – $2,200 | $4,500 – $7,500 |
| European ZF BMW, Range Rover, Jaguar, Audi | $3,200 – $6,000 | $1,400 – $2,600 | $5,000 – $9,000 |
| Heavy-duty diesel Ram 2500/3500 Cummins, Ford Super Duty | $4,000 – $7,500 | $1,600 – $3,000 | $6,000 – $11,000 |
The installed column runs slightly above unit plus labour because it also covers fresh fluid to the correct specification, a cooler circuit flush, and control module programming or relearn. Those are not optional extras — they are the difference between a replacement that lasts and one that comes back.
Read this before you compare quotes
Two quotes for the same truck can be thousands apart and both be honest. These are the reasons.
A genuinely new transmission from the manufacturer is rare and priced accordingly — often $6,000 to $9,000 for the unit alone before labour. What virtually every shop and dealer actually installs is a remanufactured unit. That is not a downgrade: a good reman is rebuilt to specification and tested. But if a quote says “new”, ask which it is.
Book time runs roughly four to six hours on a front-wheel-drive car, six to nine on a four-wheel-drive truck, and eight to twelve on a heavy-duty diesel where the transfer case, crossmember and exhaust have to come out. At independent shop rates that is $900 to $3,000. A quote that looks cheap on the unit can lose it all back on the hours.
When a transmission fails it sends metal through the cooler lines. Bolting a fresh unit onto a contaminated circuit pumps that debris straight into it. Flushing the cooler is an hour of work that some shops skip to sharpen a quote, and it is one of the most common reasons a replacement fails inside a year.
Modern transmissions need the control module programmed to the vehicle and the adaptive shift values reset so it learns against fresh clutches. Skip it and you get harsh or hunting shifts on a perfectly good unit. On European ZF and GM TEHCM applications this is not optional, and not every shop has the tooling.
Compare your options
Same problem, four routes out. What each one really costs and what you get.
A unit built back to specification and tested, installed with fresh fluid, a flushed cooler and correct programming. What we fit most often.
$3,500 – $9,000 · 3 year warranty
Keeps your case and salvageable hard parts, and lets us engineer out the specific weak point that failed instead of resetting it. Usually the better value if the case is sound. See rebuild costs.
$2,500 – $8,000 · often cheaper
A yard unit with unknown history and mileage, typically 30 to 90 days of cover. You also pay the labour twice if it fails — and the labour is half the bill.
$800 – $2,500 · plus fitting, highest risk
A factory remanufactured unit at dealer labour rates, restored to the original design including whatever flaw caused the first failure.
$5,000 – $12,000 · most expensive
Plenty of transmissions we see do not. Solenoids, a valve body, a wiring fault or a failed cooler bypass valve can all mimic a dying transmission. We diagnose before we quote, and we will tell you if it is the cheap fix.
No surprises
A replacement price given over the phone is a guess. Here is what happens before you get a figure you can rely on.
Codes, line pressures and a road test where the vehicle is drivable. A meaningful share of “failed transmissions” turn out to be a solenoid, a valve body or a wiring fault.
If the case is cracked or hard parts are beyond salvage, a remanufactured unit is the honest answer. If not, rebuilding your own unit is usually cheaper and lets us correct the weak point.
Unit, labour, fluid, cooler flush and programming listed separately, at no charge, before any work starts. You can compare it line by line against anyone else’s.
Fresh fluid to the correct specification, cooler circuit flushed, module programmed and adaptives reset, then road tested before you get the keys.
Ask any shop to itemise these. The gap between a cheap quote and a fair one is almost always hiding in this list.
Two to four business days for most vehicles once the unit is on hand — a replacement is generally quicker than a rebuild because the transmission is already built. Heavy-duty diesel and European applications can run longer if the unit has to be ordered in.
Free towing brings the vehicle in from anywhere in the DFW metroplex, and free transportation keeps you moving while it is with us.
It depends on what else is tired. On a truck or SUV worth $20,000 or more with a sound engine and body, spending $5,000 to keep it another 100,000 miles is straightforward arithmetic against a $60,000 replacement. On a car worth less than the repair, we will say so rather than sell you the job.
Straight answers
Rebuilding is usually cheaper. A rebuild reuses your case and salvageable hard parts, so you pay for what actually failed plus labour — typically $2,500 to $8,000. A remanufactured replacement charges for a complete unit, typically $3,500 to $9,000 installed. Replacement wins when the case is cracked, hard parts are destroyed, or you need the vehicle back faster. See rebuild costs.
Roughly $900 to $3,000 depending on the vehicle. Book time is about four to six hours on a front-wheel-drive car, six to nine on a four-wheel-drive truck, and eight to twelve on a heavy-duty diesel where the transfer case, crossmember and exhaust have to come out. Labour is close to half the total on most replacements.
$800 to $2,500 for the unit, plus the same labour as any other replacement. The saving is real but so is the risk: unknown history, unknown mileage, and typically only 30 to 90 days of cover. If it fails you pay the labour a second time, and labour is half the bill.
A properly remanufactured unit is built back to specification and tested, and for most drivers it performs indistinguishably from new. The caveat is that a factory reman restores the original design — including any known weak point. That is why, when the case is sound, we often recommend rebuilding your own unit with upgraded components instead.
Two to four business days for most vehicles once the unit is on hand, which is generally quicker than a rebuild. Heavy-duty diesel and European applications can take longer if the transmission has to be ordered.
Every certified remanufactured transmission we install carries a 3-year warranty in writing. Compare that against the 12 months common elsewhere and the 30 to 90 days typical on a used unit.
Yes. We offer financing on replacements and rebuilds alike, because a repair this size rarely lands at a convenient moment. Ask when you call and we will walk you through it.
Yes — free towing anywhere in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, plus free transportation while your vehicle is with us. If it will not make the drive, do not drive it: we will come and get it.
Tell us the year, make and model and what it is doing. Free written estimate, free towing anywhere in DFW, financing available, and a 3-year warranty on every certified remanufactured transmission.
