[garylewa]

Hey Leo,
First off; I feel your pain. When I had mine at the painters for 5-6 months sitting I developed a tranny leak; both the pump & front seal went.
$1,600.00 is alot IMO. For the tranny remove and install I was charged $735.00 (I'm staring at the itemized bill in front of me). Since the tranny was dropped he also changed out both rear CV boots and tidied up the exhaust with new hangers, gaskets and vac lines to/from the tranny. He also serviced the tranny; taking it apart, checking everything, etc., etc., New Dexron fluid also. My total bill was $1,002.28 inc tax. Mind you, this is by one the best Porsche mechanics in the Midwest (Bob Popovic - The Shop); people sell cars with his name attached to it as the mechanic.
I was debating whether to buy a lift and do all of this myself but a decent lift would run me over a couple of grand at least (I plan on buying a lift when we break construction on our new garage; hopefully soon.....) and then if I ran into anything I couldn't finish I would have to transport said car and numerous unattached parts to the mechanic, which would suck at the least.......and lets face it; tranny work is awful! Greasy, dirty, on your back for long periods of time, etc.
The upside, which is HUGE: I also have a warranty from the mechanic regarding the work preformed and the parts used.

-Gary