Harry
I don't think that even living close to Busdepot will save you on shipping costs for that Trans. Those items are drop shipped from the builder which is located out West. 
If I were in your position the only builder I trust is Daryl and
his son at AA Transaxle. While he is not immune to
mistakes I'd bet that if there is you can count on
him for customer service. 
He went above and beyond normal expectations a few years
back when I broke my leg and had trouble getting an exchange Trans shipped back to him. In my book there is
no one better. 

Bill

On Nov 23, 2012, at 7:46 PM, Harry Hoffman <hhoffman@IP-SOLUTIONS.NET> wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> So, I'm currently investigating new transaxles.
> 
> Bus Depot offers one from Rancho Performance, which from their website
> seem to offer some options for better highway gearing. They also seem to
> do alot of racing rigs and prices seem fair starting around 1100.00
> 
> 
> There's Daryl (sp?) from AA transaxle, who from the mailing list
> archives is well regarded. His prices are also pretty fair starting at
> 1095.00
> 
> And Gowesty, who refurb the transaxles themselves. They are a bit more
> expensive at 1400.00.
> 
> Anyone have experiences with any of these vendors?
> 
> All come with a core charge (refundable) and shipping costs. BD is
> driving distance from me so that would, presumably, save me some coin of
> crate/shipping.
> 
> Cheers,
> Harry