Hi,

I have 2000 magna 3.5 for the past 6 years. On the Grand final day the auto transmission broke down. I had to get magna towed to one of the mechanics in my area. He told me that transmission need to be reconditioned. While he was at it I asked him to make my car roadworthy as well. In the end I ended up spending $2000 on transmission with 12 months warranty and $800 to get my car roadworthy.
Can anyone tell me how long does reconditioned auto transmissions last in magnas? Is it likely to break down soon or will it last few years? I am posting the details of the bill I received below. Pls advise if it's worthwhile to retain the car or sell it. I love my car and it still drives fine.
Details of bill

Remove Transmission Reco Transmission Refit to vehicle and add trans oil road test and check for leaks. Warrant 12 months 20,000 kms

supply and fit rear left tail light lens
supply and fit front bank rocker cover gasket
supply and fit front brake pads set
wiper blades x 2
supply and fit 3 kuomo 205/65/15 Hu17 and balance


look forward to replies.
thanks

With the 12 month warranty I reckon you got a good deal. The price for the reco trans is very good from what I've seen as long as it has been properly reconditioned and not just "fixed up". The other prices seem pretty fair as well.
So like I said at the start, I reckon you did very good.
And welcome to the forum.

Seems okay to me too. Remember you have to service the automatic transmission about every 30,000kms at most, so if you've done anywhere near that many kilometers on it since it's been reconditioned, I would get it serviced.

thanks hako.
assuming it has been reconditioned properly, how long (in years) do you think reconditioned transmission will last given I get it serviced at every 20,000kms?

thanks disciple

thanks hako.
assuming it has been reconditioned properly, how long (in years) do you think reconditioned transmission will last given I get it serviced at every 20,000kms?

Should last the life of the car if it's looked after properly with regular servicing and it's not abused.

+1 a reconditioned transmission should be like new

Trouble is they have been known to fail from new in under 60,000km.....but I'd reckon at least on 3 or 4 years normal use based on my experience with other makes which equates to about 100,000km. It really depends on what was repaired in the box to give it the term "reconditioned". The price you paid ($2000 incl fitting) is very cheap, and usually you get what you pay for....but you can get lucky and with the 12 months guarantee I wouldn't be too worried.
The best way to look at it is to think back 6 months before it failed - you then probably assumed it would last 'forever' and never gave a thought to it failing.....so that's the way you should be thinking now.

Provided the multi-layer wave spring was replaced with a solid one, the life expectanacy is variable on how you drive it. The next likely componant to go will be the clutch packs. These can last anywhere from 200,000km to 600,000km. Mine went at ~300,000.

thanks everybody. this gives me a fair view of how things stand with reco transmission.

There is more to a trans than just a wave spring, This spring is responsible for only about 60% of trans failures, thre are other parts in these transmissions that are known for letting go as well

Dont bother with services every 30k, any good mechanic will keep an eye on the trans fluid for you if you use them on a regular basis and advise when needs to be done next, no need to change clean fluid

As for time till it goes again, there are that many variables in the build is impossible to say when it will or will not go again

thanks all.
My car is 2000 make and has done only 119,000 kms. Say if i consider selling it now, what would be the minimum and maximum price i can expect from it.
as discussed car has a reconditioned transmission and is road worthy. see my initial post where i have put in the details of the changes made to the car to make it roadworthy.
look forward to reply.
thanks

thanks all.
My car is 2000 make and has done only 119,000 kms. Say if i consider selling it now, what would be the minimum and maximum price i can expect from it.
as discussed car has a reconditioned transmission and is road worthy. see my initial post where i have put in the details of the changes made to the car to make it roadworthy.
look forward to reply.
thanks

2000 Magna Advance with 120,000kms - Maybe $3.5k?

The $2800 you've just spent will only add maybe $500 to the resale value...maybe a bit more if the 12 months warranty is transferable. Up here your model goes for 4 to 5K with a roadworthy and decent rego left and you'd need to allow a month to sell it (based on personal experience with 3 cars on Carsales.com over last 2 years). So if you get $4500, less the $2800 spent leaves you with $1700.......based on that, plus the fact that the car is now in pretty good nick you'd probably be best hanging on to it for a few years troublefree motoring instead of trading up (and possibly buying someone else's problems). That's my opinion anyway. Good Luck with what you decide upon.

Say if i consider selling it now, what would be the minimum and maximum price i can expect from it.
As a recent buyer of a Magna, I can say that my attitude as a buyer was not to buy a premium priced one at carsales.com.au but rather to find a cheap(er) one that didn't look like it had been abused and had decent service records and owners.

I figured that a high priced car can and probably will fail just as likely as a slightly cheaper one.

The $2800 you've just spent will only add maybe $500 to the resale value...maybe a bit more if the 12 months warranty is transferable. Up here your model goes for 4 to 5K with a roadworthy and decent rego left and you'd need to allow a month to sell it (based on personal experience with 3 cars on Carsales.com over last 2 years). So if you get $4500, less the $2800 spent leaves you with $1700.......based on that, plus the fact that the car is now in pretty good nick you'd probably be best hanging on to it for a few years troublefree motoring instead of trading up (and possibly buying someone else's problems). That's my opinion anyway. Good Luck with what you decide upon.

Just had a look at RedBook.com.au for your car and it quotes a Private Sale range of $3-$4.5K within a km range of 165-275K. The lower k's on your car may make little or no difference to the selling price.

I agree with hako that for what you've spent on it, better to keep it and keep enjoying it rather than spend more money on a later model that could be in worse condition.

As a recent buyer of a Magna, I can say that my attitude as a buyer was not to buy a premium priced one at carsales.com.au but rather to find a cheap(er) one that didn't look like it had been abused and had decent service records and owners.

I'm looking now. Mind if I ask what you got and how much you paid?

I bought my 2000 tj with 130k kms on the clock for 5k late last year. My gf will be learning to drive in it so it had to have abs, airbag etc. Also has alloys, wing, power windows, newish front tyres, and full service history. The radio mucks up a bit though, thinks its in aux mode randomly.

But other than that it's been a great car. That said, the only reason I went to 5k was the guy called me up the next day with "another offer of 5.5k" after agreeing on 4.5k. I'd already got moving with the sale my current car at the time and didn't have another weekend to go looking.

Keep it mate, if you sell it and buy another and have another gearbox issue, or other problems, you'll be kicking yourself

Thanks all. after reading all the comments it makes sense to keep...i love my magna anyway. hope it will last few 2 more years before I have to switch to another one.