Quote Originally Posted by DanGTP View Post
My question is: "Who did the rebuilds on the two transmissions you have gone through?". A properly rebuilt & reworked 4T65E (like one from Dave the Trannyman) can last much longer than a stock one like mine. Also, how hard is the car driven?

I'm no transmission expert by any stretch of the imagination, but a 25K failure on a rebuilt transmission sounds like it wasn't maintained properly in its previous life and most likely wasn't rebuilt properly, either.
For the first job, they put in a Goodwrench unit (the one lasting 30k). The second one, was done by Aamco, it still works. We bought both the cars from my mother in law. She's one of those who drives the speed limit, buys all the extended warranties, and goes in for service fearing the car will explode if she does not. Unfortunately for us, she sells them right about when the warranty expires. We will NOT be getting the next car because it is a Hyundai.

We are fairly easy on them as well. The most severe service the 2000 had was that for about 8 months I took it 65 miles each way to work which amounted to the best part of an hour running up near 80mph provided I was not stuck in the NJ traffic. That was on the Goodwrench unit. These days we probably put less than 100 miles a week on each.

Aside from this expensive transmission issue, the cars are excellent IMO. I always had RWD V8s and these chassis are extremely well balanced for FWD although I do miss the throttle out of a curve. It is a tight car - very well put together. Better than my 60k 91Supercoupe, I reluctantly admit. Even with 135k on the original shocks the 2000 still feels pretty good although the '04 with just 90k is noticeably tighter. The 3800 series II is remarkable as well. Ample power, quiet and smooth. the 25mpg+ is all right too. The disposable plastic intake manifold was an unfortunate choice, however.