Transmission crapped out: 2002 Protege 5
 

Not sure what to do with it now

AT won't shift from 2nd to 3rd gear and slips quite a bit going from 1st to 2nd

Rebuild seems to be too expensive, my friend suggested doing a tranny swap from a wrecker

Trade-in is probably pointless, loads of external knicks and dings that would need addressing first

It was my first car and I'd like to believe there's still a number of years still left on it so hesitant to do anything hasty

you may just better off buying another protege 5. theyre dirt cheap.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...568471321.html

Regular Protégé trans should be the same and pretty cheap.

Why not take the opportunity to do a manual swap

when was the fluid done last?

If you are handy, you can buy a rebuild kit and learn how to do rebuild your transmission yourself. First identify which transmission you have by looking at the casting / labels and then go from there.

It is not that hard with a kit (couple hundred dollars). It is not too complicated, just need a heck lot of cleaning.

It all depends if you're planning to keep the car for another 5-10 years. A used, rebuilt, or manual conversion will all probably be about $1500-2000 unless you have the space, equipment, and time to do it yourself. If the rest of the car is solid (no rust and no other mechanical issues), then the repair might be worth the expense.