1992 Maxima GXE Brougham transmission problem - trouble shifting into reverse

[crayola2]

I've owned it since 1997 and just yesterday morning the car would not move when shifted to reverse. Other gears were ok. It's got 130K miles and I spent close to $2k in March replacing the timing belt and other maintenance. After I drove 30 mins to the dealership, the reverse gear worked again but I was still concerned. The local Nissan dealership/service said there was some internal transmission problem and offered to replace the transmission completely with a new one (upgraded) for about $4.5k (parts and labor, 1 yr, 12K warranty) or replace with a used, refurbished transmission for $2.8k (90 day warranty). I'm not exactly happy with the somewhat vague answers I got from the dealership and I'm leery of handing over more $$ to them. I live in the damp, cool western Canada (rarely goes below 30 or above 80) and the car spends 80% of the time outside - I don't have an indoor garage at home - just at work. The body and interior are still in great shape. I'm taking it to an auto transmission rebuilder shop tomorrow AM - they said they could rebuild the transmission for about $2.1k if that is what it needs with a longer warranty.

If I plan to keep the car for another 3-5 yrs is it worth rebuilding the transmission or just dump it and get a new car? Does anybody know what would cause transmission gear weirdness to occur? Anything I can check in the engine as an owner? Tx.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Honestly, I have no idea what would cause reverse to intermittently work or not work like that. Hopefully someone else can offer some advice there. 130K is a bit early for a "natural old-age" trans failure on the car, though.

The advice I can offer is this:You've got a great car, there. The Broughams are nice, and reasonably rare. To me, it'd be worth fixing IF you plan to keep it for a few more years. The rebuild sounds like the best option to me, as the other two both cost more than the car is worth. But that's all up to you. A brand new or even refurbished transmission installed and warranted by actual Nissan techs is obviously the ideal situation. But that doesn't mean there aren't shops that can do an excellent rebuild--especially since they usually have a longer warranty like you mentioned. Just make sure you find a shop that is actually competent to do what you need and won't try to (or even accidentally) screw you over.