Sam at Rancho is a straight shooter.  You will not get ripped off on the
core charge.  I have used them for several transmissions in mine and
customers cars and had no problems.  Turn-around time is reasonable even
considering the freight.

Adam P
81 westy (3 of them)
74 beetle
73 Transporter (at paint shop!)
70 Single Cab  "Whitey"
Vanagon Partsmobiles
----- Original Message -----
From: "The Bus Depot" <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: tranny rebuild: AA Vs. Rancho Performance

> > I was just checking out a clutch kit on Busdepot.com and came across
this:
> >
> > We offer rebuilt transaxles from Rancho Performance, one of the industry
> > leaders. These affordably priced rebuilds carry a 12 month/12,000 mile
> > factory warranty.  Transaxle, Rebuilt, Rancho Performance, Syncro, excl
> > transfer case, Exchange (you send your unit to be rebuilt) $999.95.
>
> >  What does excl transfer case mean??? seriously...do they just send the
> > trans without the Low/Rev assy and front output shaft???
>
>
> Of course I cannot comment on AA (except to say that Daryl's reputation is
> quite good).  But with regard to Rancho, I can say that have been dealing
> with them for several years and have had nothing but good experience with
> their work and their professionalism. I have yet to receive a single
> warranty claim.  They have been very honest with core deposits (as
compared
> to some less-scrupulous rebuilders, who somehow manage to find something
> wrong with every core so they do not have to refund all of your deposit).
> In two cases where a transmission reached a customer with signs of
shipping
> damage, they replaced it first and asked questions later.
>
> In the case of the non-Syncro trans, you can either send yours in to be
> rebuilt (for $879.95 plus shipping), or buy one up front for the same
price
> plus a $475 core deposit which is refunded upon return of your rebuildable
> trans. But in the case of a Syncro trans, they rarely have good cores to
> rebuild, so generally you must send yours in first. (Even when they do
have
> a good core to rebuild, they charge a $1000 core deposit because they are
so
> hard to come by!)  The price of $999 plus shipping includes rebuilding the
> trans itself but not the transfer case section. However, it does include
the
> cost of disassembling, cleaning, inspecting, and resealing the transfer
case
> and output shaft, so that they can inspect it for wear or damage.  If
close
> inspection determines that the internals of the transfer case do need to
be
> rebuilt, they quote on that separately based on what needs to be done, as
it
> is not included in the $999 price. However, if the majority of the wear is
> in the transaxle section itself, it's $999.  I can recall one instance
where
> they did contact the customer regarding the transfer case, and several
where
> they determined that the $999 rebuild was all the customers needed (and
> indeed the customers have not reported further problems).
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   (215) 234-VWVW
>   www.busdepot.com
>
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>