1997 VW Cabrio $900 Labor to Replace Used Transmission

To answer your question about the clutch first. With what you are telling me about the condition of the transmission, I suspect that they will keep things the same on the clutch side of things. That is, your clutch, throwout bearing, actuators and the clutch plate are likely to stay the same, since they seem to be trying to keep things as cost-effective as possible for you (you did say they were repairing your old transmission to keep your car rolling until they found a replacement, right). That said, I think most of the pieces of your clutch will be okay.

Now, as to your main question. You are actually working with two different issues here. The first is the older or used transmission for which they found a part that was used to keep your Cabrio rolling. Indeed, $1,475 to replace the part is relatively reasonable given the possible costs you are facing with any transmission.

The $900 labor charge is for the replacement transmission, the second issue here. The total cost is about $2,375 or the replacement cost for a multi-speed manual (I think your Cabrio had a five-speed, if memory serves me correctly). Now, here’s the interesting thing. You didn’t indicate there would be any more than a $900 cost for the replacement tranny, so I believe that they are giving you a credit for the device itself. They can’t discount the labor, though, as the shop does have to make a bit of money to enable it to pay things like bills.

And, no I don’t think the labor charge for the replacement transmission is too high. If anything, it is lower than some costs I have seen lately.