How much does a gearbox replacement cost?
Replacing a gearbox in the UK typically costs between £500 and £2,800 fitted. The RAC puts a new gearbox at £500 to £1,500 before labour, and Bumper puts the fitted total for a small car at £800 to £1,500, a saloon at £1,000 to £2,000 and an SUV at £1,500 to £3,000. Automatics usually cost more than manuals, with a twin clutch box such as a DSG at the top end. A repair rather than a replacement is far cheaper, commonly £300 to £1,200, so the single most valuable thing you can do is get the fault properly diagnosed before anyone quotes you for a whole gearbox.
A gearbox quote is one of the few numbers that makes a driver seriously consider scrapping the car. It is also one of the most commonly overquoted repairs on the road, because the symptoms of a failing clutch, a low oil level and an actually broken gearbox overlap almost completely from the driver's seat. This guide sets out what the work costs in the UK, what separates a £400 job from a £2,500 one, and how to make sure you are paying for the fault you have rather than the worst case.
How much does a gearbox replacement cost?
A gearbox replacement in the UK typically costs between £500 and £2,800 fitted, according to Bumper. The RAC puts the unit itself at £500 to £1,500 before labour, and notes that minor repairs run to a few hundred pounds while major repairs or replacements can pass £1,000.
These are market ranges, not a set price. Unlike the MOT, where the fee is capped by law, transmission work is priced by the garage from its hourly rate and how long your particular car takes. The figures below are a guide, and the only number that counts is a written quote for your registration.
| Type of vehicle | Typical fitted cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small car | £800 to £1,500 | Lighter unit, cheaper parts, quickest to drop out |
| Saloon or estate | £1,000 to £2,000 | Bigger box, often more electronics attached |
| SUV or four wheel drive | £1,500 to £3,000 | Transfer case and driveshafts add hours to the job |
| Van | £2,000 to £4,000 | Heavy duty unit, awkward access, longer labour |
| A repair rather than a replacement | £300 to £1,200 | Only the failed component is dealt with |
Manual against automatic
The single biggest factor after the size of the car is what kind of gearbox it is. A manual box is gears, shafts and synchromesh rings, and the fitted range across the market is roughly £500 to £2,800. An automatic carries more inside it and more to go wrong.
| Gearbox type | Typical cost | What makes it more or less |
|---|---|---|
| Manual | £500 to £2,800 | Simplest to rebuild, widest choice of used units |
| Traditional automatic, 5 or 6 speed | £600 to £1,200 | Torque converter and valve body, well understood by specialists |
| Twin clutch, such as DSG, S tronic or PowerShift | £1,100 to £2,300 | Two clutch packs, a mechatronic unit and coding on fitting |
Twin clutch boxes have a further wrinkle worth knowing. A large share of what gets diagnosed as a failed DSG is actually the mechatronic control unit or the clutch pack rather than the gears, and both can be dealt with for far less than a whole gearbox. Ask specifically which part has failed before agreeing to anything.
What is actually on the bill
Roughly half of a gearbox replacement is labour. Bumper puts the job at eight to ten hours on a typical car, and at the UK rates most independent garages charge, between £60 and £100 an hour, that alone is £480 to £1,000 before the unit, the oil or the clutch that usually gets replaced while everything is apart.
| Line on the invoice | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Labour, 9 hours at £70 an hour | £630 |
| Reconditioned gearbox unit | £600 |
| Clutch kit, fitted while the box is out | £220 |
| Gearbox oil, seals and sundries | £80 |
| Total | £1,530 |
Because labour is such a large share, the hourly rate moves this bill by hundreds of pounds. A franchised dealer charging well over £100 an hour and an independent charging £65 can quote a four figure difference for identical work, which is why main dealer against independent garage matters more here than on almost any routine job.
New, reconditioned or used
You have three ways to source the unit itself, and the choice is usually worth more than haggling over labour.
- New. The most expensive option and rarely necessary outside a car still under manufacturer warranty. Ask whether a new unit is genuinely required before you pay for one.
- Reconditioned. The usual sensible choice. The box has been stripped, worn parts replaced and it is sold with a warranty, commonly twelve months. Ask what the warranty covers and whether it includes the labour to fit it again.
- Used. Cheapest by a distance, and a reasonable gamble on an older car you plan to keep for a couple more years. Get the mileage of the donor unit in writing and check what guarantee comes with it, because a used box with no warranty is exactly as risky as it sounds.
Is it definitely the gearbox?
This is the section that saves people the most money. Several much cheaper faults produce symptoms that feel identical from behind the wheel, and a garage that quotes a gearbox before diagnosing one should be a warning sign rather than a starting point.
The clutch, not the gearbox
On a manual, if the engine revs climb but the car does not accelerate with them, particularly in the higher gears or going uphill, that is a slipping clutch rather than a broken gearbox. A clutch is a considerably smaller bill, and our guide to what a clutch replacement costs covers the numbers. A heavy or juddering pedal points the same way.
Oil level and condition
Low or degraded gearbox oil causes whining, harsh shifts and slipping in an automatic, and it is one of the cheapest things on this list to put right. It is also why a leak matters long before the box itself does.
Linkage, mounts and sensors
A worn selector linkage or cable makes gears hard to find and can feel exactly like a failing box, and it is an afternoon's work. A collapsed engine or gearbox mount produces clunks on the change. On an automatic, a failed speed or range sensor can put the car into limp home mode and light the dash without a single gear being damaged.
Any of these should be ruled out first. What a diagnostic check involves explains how a garage narrows it down, and if the car simply feels flat rather than mechanically wrong, why a car loses power covers the other usual suspects. A hot smell after a hard drive is worth reading about in what a burning smell means before you assume the worst.
Will a gearbox fault fail an MOT?
Not directly. An MOT confirms that a vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards, and it does not assess how well the gearbox changes gear, so a car that crunches into second will still pass if everything else is sound.
A leak is a different matter. Under section 8 of the DVSA MOT inspection manual, fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or pose a safety risk is a Major defect, and fluid leaking continuously in a way that poses a serious risk to road safety is a Dangerous one. The tester judges it by whether the leak creates a pool more than 75mm across within five minutes. Engine coolant, screen wash and AdBlue are specifically excluded from that rule. Gearbox oil is not, so a box that drips on the driveway is a fail waiting to happen as well as a repair getting more expensive. You can check a car's MOT history to see whether a leak has been noted as an advisory before, and our MOT checker points you at the free GOV.UK service for the due date.
Is the repair worth doing?
Put three numbers next to each other: the written quote, what the car is honestly worth in working order, and what else is due in the next twelve months.
- Usually worth doing when the quote is comfortably under half the car's value, the service history is good and the MOT has months left on it.
- Usually not when a £1,800 replacement is going onto a car worth £2,000 that also needs tyres and has a test due next month.
- Worth a second quote either way. The spread on this job is unusually wide, and a transmission specialist will often repair what a general garage would replace.
If the sums do not work and you decide to scrap it, the car has to go to an authorised treatment facility and you must tell DVLA afterwards, or you risk a fine.
How to keep the quote down
- Get the fault named, not just the part. A quote should say what has failed, not simply that the gearbox needs doing.
- Ask for the invoice split into labour hours, the unit and sundries, so you can compare two quotes properly.
- Consider a reconditioned unit with a warranty rather than new, and ask whether the warranty covers refitting.
- Do the clutch at the same time on a manual. It is a small parts cost while the box is already out, and a large one later.
- Try a transmission specialist as well as a general garage. How to choose a good garage covers what to look for beyond the price.
- Keep the oil serviced. Many automatics need a fluid change on a schedule owners never hear about. How often to service your car is worth a read, and the Highway Code sets out the routine checks that catch a leak early.
The bottom line
Budget £800 to £1,500 for a small car, £1,000 to £2,000 for a saloon and £1,500 to £3,000 for an SUV, with automatics towards the top of each band. Before you accept any of it, make the garage tell you what has actually failed, because a repair at £300 to £1,200 is a completely different conversation from a replacement, and the clutch takes the blame for the gearbox far more often than the other way round.
Given how much of this bill is the hourly rate, comparing local garages is worth hundreds of pounds on this job rather than a few. You can compare garages near you, see their ratings and opening hours and send a booking request in about a minute. You pay the garage directly, and there is no booking fee. If routine costs are what you are really weighing up, our guide to what a car service costs sets out the usual UK ranges.
Key takeaways
- Typical fitted cost is £500 to £2,800. Small cars sit around £800 to £1,500, SUVs £1,500 to £3,000 and vans higher again.
- A repair is not the same as a replacement. Repairs commonly run £300 to £1,200, so insist on a diagnosis before you accept a quote for a whole unit.
- Automatics cost more than manuals. A traditional torque converter box is roughly £600 to £1,200, a twin clutch box such as a DSG £1,100 to £2,300.
- A slipping clutch is not a gearbox fault, and the two get confused constantly. Getting this wrong is the most expensive mistake on this repair.
- A gearbox oil leak can fail an MOT under the fluid leak rule, even though the test never checks how the gearbox changes gear.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to replace a gearbox in the UK?
Most drivers pay between £500 and £2,800 fitted. The RAC puts a new gearbox on its own at £500 to £1,500 before any labour, and Bumper breaks the fitted total down by vehicle: £800 to £1,500 for a small car, £1,000 to £2,000 for a saloon, £1,500 to £3,000 for an SUV and £2,000 to £4,000 for a van. Where you land inside that depends on whether the box is manual or automatic, whether you fit new, reconditioned or used, and how long the unit takes to come out of your particular car.
Is it cheaper to repair a gearbox than replace it?
Usually, and often by a lot. Repairs commonly run £300 to £1,200 against £600 to over £3,000 for a replacement, and plenty of faults that feel terminal are not. A worn selector linkage, a failed clutch, low or burnt gearbox oil, a leaking seal or a single worn synchromesh can all be fixed without touching the rest of the box. That is why a diagnosis comes before a quote. If a garage offers to replace a gearbox without first telling you what has actually failed inside it, get a second opinion.
Why are automatic gearboxes more expensive than manuals?
There is simply more inside them. A manual box is gears, shafts and synchromesh rings. An automatic adds a torque converter or a pair of wet clutches, a valve body, a hydraulic pump, a cooler and its own control unit, and many need specialist equipment to set up and code once fitted. A traditional torque converter automatic typically costs £600 to £1,200 and a twin clutch box such as a DSG, S tronic or PowerShift £1,100 to £2,300, against £500 to £2,800 across the manual range.
What are the signs of a failing gearbox?
The RAC lists grinding, whining or clunking sounds when changing gear, difficulty shifting, red or brown fluid on the ground, a burning smell and a warning light on the dash. Add to that a car that jumps out of gear on its own, a whine that changes pitch with road speed rather than engine speed, and a crunch going into one particular gear. Any of these is worth a diagnostic check straight away, because gearbox faults get more expensive the longer they run.
Can you drive with a gearbox problem?
For a short, careful journey to a garage, often yes. As a way of life, no. Gearbox damage is progressive, and metal that has already worn away circulates in the oil and wears everything else it touches, which is how a repairable fault turns into a replacement unit. If the car is jumping out of gear, will not hold drive, is losing fluid or smells hot, stop and arrange recovery rather than press on. That decision is frequently the difference between a £400 bill and a £2,000 one.
Will a gearbox fault fail an MOT?
The test does not check how your gearbox changes gear, because an MOT confirms a vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards rather than inspecting the mechanical condition of the engine or transmission. A leak can still fail it. Under section 8 of the DVSA inspection manual, fluid leaking excessively is a Major defect, judged by whether it forms a pool more than 75mm across within five minutes. Engine coolant, screen wash and AdBlue are specifically excluded from that rule. Gearbox oil is not, so a dripping gearbox is a fail waiting to happen.