What to get for reliable cheap commuter

I doubt they're built better since the plandemic . CVT = fine for snowmachines / cheaper than building a real transmission for a car conpany.

I'm wondering what people are doing in my situation? Are people paying $5500 for a transmission for a car worth $2500? Or sell the car cheap and move on? I always thought Nissan to be up there with honda/Toyota but ill never own another one after this fiasco.
 
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I doubt they're built better since the plandemic . CVT = fine for snowmachines / cheaper than building a real transmission for a car conpany.

I thought I would have to worry more about the first year 3 cyl turbo engine than the Tranny, I will be having the CVT fluid changed every 30K. Seems all cars are going CVT now?
 
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I'm wondering what people are doing in my situation? Are people paying $5500 for a transmission for a car worth $2500? Or sell the car cheap and move on? I always thought Nissan to be up there with honda/Toyota but ill never own another one after this fiasco.

I can see why you thought that . Nissan built tough little cars back in the day. But now that I think about it I'm thinking of Datsun1200 , Datsun 510 , and Datsun 620 pickups ! Do I sound old yet !
 
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I was told by a transmission guy that Nissan, and Mazda (I think), CVTs typically die around 80K, which is crazy. Civics started running CVTs (again) around '15, but they hold up. My dad has a '15 Civic with CVT and 240K on it with no issues, and he only does minimal maintenance.

This is the first I've heard of ANY CVT holding up - interesting. Great thing if you like an abysmal driving experience.
 
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Been quite awhile ago now but I also run a beater, 60 miles one way to work. I picked up a 2006 Mazda 3 with 99k for 6K and have put 141k on it and still going at 240k. It has the auto transmission and I did have to put a rebuilt in it but don’t recall at what mileage but was a good while ago. The engine has been solid, 2.3.
 
TDI Beetle. Wife used our 2013 for 7yrs with a 120 mile RT 5days a week for work. Transmissions are good for about 200k plus. 32 to 36 hwy mileage depending on your style..
 
Seems all cars are going CVT now?

It seems like it, at least the low-power smaller vehicles are.

This is the first I've heard of ANY CVT holding up - interesting. Great thing if you like an abysmal driving experience.

I don't have much personal experience with them, but I’ve never heard anything bad about Honda's current CVT. Basically, they seem to be just as reliable and unnoticed as their traditional automatic. My dads' is rocking on fine, which is the highest mileage one I know of personally. A cousin has had 2 now, but she doesn't rack up miles like my dad and I do. Honda put some CVTs out back in the early 90s that I think people said were "jerky". I know CVTs went away for a while, but all automatic Civics '15 and newer are CVT, and I think some Accords and Acuras are too.
 
I'm wondering what people are doing in my situation? Are people paying $5500 for a transmission for a car worth $2500? Or sell the car cheap and move on?

Is your trans currently out? There's no way I’d put $5,500 into a car worth less than the repair. If your trans is out, I’d look for one at a salvage yard with a guarantee program. Most will offer 90 days. Slide one in and find a replacement vehicle. Otherwise, if it's still going, I'd just start looking for my next one.

Also, why so much to rebuild? My truck trans cost $3,500 turn-key 3 years ago from a shop with a 36 month/50,000 mile warranty.
 
I bought a 2006 Mazda 5 "micro" minivan off my son-in-law's mother several months ago. It has 136,000 miles on it, and runs great. However, the rear suspension is toast, and it needed the passenger side half shaft up front. I replaced the half shaft, and will do the other side "just because". The rear suspensions are known to prematurely wear out the rear tires (like, within 10,000 miles!), as they have such negative camber from the factory, and no way to adjust the camber at the back. Also, the rear springs are weak, thereby exacerbating the problem. Add to that the upper shock mounts are cast aluminum, and prone to breaking, and you have a real clusterfuck going on back there. So I bought new rear shocks, aftermarket steel upper shock mounts, adjustable upper control arms, and heavier springs out of a Mazda CX-7 AWD to hike up the ass a bit. By the time I'm done, I'll barely break even when I go to sell it, but at least it'll make a nice little commuter for someone.

As for the CVT transmissions, my wife has 100,000 on her 2015 Honda CR-V AWD, and has never had an issue with it. My son-in-law has a 2012 Nissan Altima with a CVT, and he's pushing 170,000 miles on it without issue. 2012 is supposed to be one of the bad years for Nissan's CVT, but his seems to be just dandy. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Is your trans currently out? There's no way I’d put $5,500 into a car worth less than the repair. If your trans is out, I’d look for one at a salvage yard with a guarantee program. Most will offer 90 days. Slide one in and find a replacement vehicle. Otherwise, if it's still going, I'd just start looking for my next one.

Also, why so much to rebuild? My truck trans cost $3,500 turn-key 3 years ago from a shop with a 36 month/50,000 mile warranty.

My buddy's 2017 Subaru Legacy has a CVT in it with 117,000 miles. It failed big-time. Took it to the dealership. "Sorry, buddy, it's out of warranty." Dealer claimed that they can replace the tranny for $7,000, but they will need to keep the old one as a core for "research", as they've never been able to pin down why these transmissions fail so regularly.

Nice.
 
My buddy's 2017 Subaru Legacy has a CVT in it with 117,000 miles. It failed big-time. Took it to the dealership. "Sorry, buddy, it's out of warranty." Dealer claimed that they can replace the tranny for $7,000, but they will need to keep the old one as a core for "research", as they've never been able to pin down why these transmissions fail so regularly.

Nice.

That sounds like a crock of shit and exactly how a dealership would have a 2017 Subaru Legacy ran (or pushed) through their showroom windows.