I have a 99 Honda Accord EX v6 and I was told my a Honda dealership and a transmission shop that I had never been to before that I need a new transmission. The honda dealership quoted me $3300 for a non-Honda transmission and $5600 for a honda trans. The other transmission shop quoted me $1400.

1. Is $1400 too good to be true?
2. Is it ok to get a new transmission from a non-Honda mechanic? If so, are there questions I should ask to make sure they are qualified and honest?
3. Should I just try to trade in the car as-is? Or should i fix the transmission, drive it for another year or so, and then try to trade-in/sell?
4. Do you think I could make up some of the money I spend on a new transmission by repairing it before trading/selling?

 

What do you mean by non-honda transmission? Would this be a junkyard transmission that isn't remanufactured?

The 98-02 V6 transmissions were know to fail prematurely. $1400 is probably a junkyard transmission + labor. Find out what kind of warranty they have. Search sites like Yelp, etc, to read reviews on this shop.

A replacement transmission could last a while or fail. Tough call, IMO.