Im looking at thsi car taht is a 98 with 89,000 mi and it has a new tranny in it. Is this a bad sign. I knwo these are some pretty good trannys not weak like some of the cars have around so what does this mean? How could i tell if he damaged the engine and couldnt drive stick?

 

Not necessarily, yes a broken trans. can indicate past abuse by the previous owner, but then again, when you are dealing with anything mechanical, there is no guarantees. My father bought a brand new car and 3 weeks later the hydraulic pump in the trans. failed and he never beats on his vehicles.

 

You might consider getting a new tranny as a bonus. Otherwise, you'd get one with 89K miles on it.

 

Absolutely. When living in the south, unless you've got a good tranny cooler on an automatic vehicle, it's not a question of if, but when. My 95 Formula A4 was sparkling under the hood and ran perfectly until the tranny went out (Texas heat) at 113,000 miles. It'll happen. I would consider it a bonus if I were you.

The one thing I would look at, is oil condition, engine noises, coolant condition, rear-end noises, bald tires, things like that. Check the rest of the car out for abuse. If it looks good, go for it.

Hope this helps.

 

Also, check for moldy old discarded timeslips under the seats

 

It wasnt a auto its a manual tranny. Does that matter? Is teh manual stronger than the auto.

 

I guess you still can't argue with a new transmission..