theaveng said:
The old EPA test rated it 27mpg highway (which is my average too). . But I don't want to get into a debate about how $7000 over 50,000 miles is a lot of gas money, and other cars exist that would cut that expense in half. I want to focus on the Avenger: What about that thicker transmission oil? Is that an option?
You could try Lucas, but that's generally only good if the seals have become hard and are indeed the source of the leaks. Even then it's a temporary fix.
Along the lines of Strat's post you basically have the following options:
1) do nothing
2) try Lucas and drive it until it drops
3) Fix/replace the transmission
4) purchase another vehicle
Ultimately, you are the judge on whether it's worth fixing. I'll admit $2500 on a reman transmission is a good chunk of change to spend, but one thing to consider - Can you purchase a decent used vehicle for that price that will last 2-3 years? My bet is you can't. Back when my son was in the market for a car (2-3 years ago), we couldn't find many good used cars under $2,000 (USD). Those that were listed cheaper than that were basically junk. The break point for a good used car was about $3K. He got lucky though - a coworker sold him a '97 Mercury Tracer LS for $1,000. To date we've only spent ~$800 on it - new tires, alternator, brakes and lower ball joints. And with many vehicles destroyed by "Sandy", used cars have actually risen in value - at least for the moment.
Side note - I received a letter from my dealer practically begging me to trade in my truck for a new vehicle since their used lot is depleted and they don't trust any vehicles coming through the auction houses. At least that's what they claim.
