To Repair 1990 Audi 100 vs Change Cars

[Einhorn Hofmann]

I found a transmission guy in my city who says that he knows and likes
working on the old 087 3-speed transmissions used by VW and Audi as they're
very straightforward compared to most transmissions.

That said, he can't tell me how much the repair is going to be without
taking the transmission out and partially disassembling it.  Thus it would
be 5-6 hours work, or $400, to know how much its going to cost.

Given the symptoms, he estimates "best case its going to need a couple of
clutches and seals...so we're looking at $1500 best case".  More likely
between $1800 and $2200.

He can't believe the condition its in (in Montreal, cars that age-26 years,
universally have rust due to the salt.  This is a California car).  He
can't believe I'd consider scrapping it.  I mentioned I might give it to
another Audi owner for parts...he can't believe that person would consider
taking the car apart for parts.  He seems sincere, but that's his job, to
convince people to get their transmissions fixed rather than buy something
new.

Me, I see an old car that isn't worth much.  Its not rare, its not turbo or
quattro, and it doesn't have much power.  I saw this as an opportunity to
move to something smaller and newer, such as a used A4, or even a used TT.
But the consensus seems to be that the average repair bills on a used A4 or
a used TT are likely to far exceed the repair bills on my Audi 100.

Sorry for rambling, but I'm quite lost.  I'd really appreciate any words of
wisdom or advice that anyone could offer.

Thanks in advance,
MC