Recondition, replace, or fit a used unit
How much does gearbox reconditioning cost?
Nobody publishes an official price for this work, so treat any single national figure with suspicion, including ours until you have a quote in hand. What we can give you honestly: typical 2026 UK quote ranges of roughly £800–£1,800 to recondition a manual gearbox supplied and fitted, £1,500–£3,000 for an automatic, and £400–£1,200 for a used unit. The spread is that wide because labour and the vehicle drive the number. Tell us the car and the symptom and local specialists will quote you.
£800–£1,800
typical 2026 quote to supply and fit a reconditioned manual gearbox, varies by vehicle and labour rate
3–8 hours
typical labour to remove and refit a gearbox on a common car, before any repair work
30 days
short-term right to reject faulty goods, such as a reconditioned unit that fails, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015
Gearbox repair routes and typical 2026 UK quote ranges
Last updated
Four routes out of a failed gearbox, what each one actually buys you, and the range of fitted prices quoted for common cars in 2026. Read the ranges as bands, not prices: the same job on a transverse front-wheel-drive hatchback and on a four-wheel-drive estate are different amounts of work before a single part is bought.
No official body publishes gearbox repair or replacement prices: there is no regulated fee, no manufacturer-independent price list and no public dataset. The ranges below are typical 2026 UK quote ranges for common passenger cars, fitted, including the labour to remove and refit, and they vary widely by vehicle, gearbox type, parts route, region and garage labour rate. Prestige, four-wheel-drive and low-volume vehicles sit above the top of every range. They are a sanity check for a quote you have been given, not a price we can honour. Get quotes for your own car.
| Route | What you get | Typical labour | Typical 2026 quote, fitted | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used (second-hand) gearbox | A salvage unit of unknown internal history, usually with a short warranty of a few months | 3–8 hours removal and refit | £400–£1,200 | Older or lower-value cars where the sum has to stay small |
| Reconditioned manual gearbox, exchange | A unit stripped, inspected, and rebuilt with new bearings, seals and worn synchros, usually with a 12-month warranty | 3–8 hours removal and refit | £800–£1,800 | The default for a manual worth keeping on the road |
| Repair of your own gearbox in the shop | Your unit stripped and only the failed parts replaced; keeps matching ratios and casing | 3–8 hours removal and refit, plus bench time | £700–£1,600 | A single identified fault, for example one bearing or one synchro |
| Reconditioned automatic (torque converter) | Rebuilt gearbox, usually with the torque converter replaced or reconditioned and the fluid and filter renewed | 4–10 hours removal and refit | £1,500–£3,000 | Automatics where the fault is internal rather than electronic |
| Dual clutch rebuild or replacement (DSG, DCT, PowerShift) | Clutch pack, mechatronic unit or full box, plus the coding and adaption the car needs afterwards | 4–10 hours removal and refit | £2,000–£4,000 | Where diagnosis has isolated the failure to the box rather than a sensor |
| Clutch and dual-mass flywheel while the box is out (manual) | New clutch kit and flywheel fitted during a job the labour is already paying for | Shared with the gearbox labour | £400–£900 on top | Almost always, if the car has done serious mileage |
- No official UK source publishes gearbox reconditioning or replacement prices: there is no regulated fee and no public price list, which is why every honest figure is a range.
- Typical 2026 UK quotes to supply and fit a reconditioned manual gearbox run about £800–£1,800, against roughly £1,500–£3,000 for an automatic and £2,000–£4,000 for a dual-clutch unit, all varying widely by vehicle.
- Removing and refitting a gearbox on a common car is typically 3–8 hours of labour before any repair work, which is why the labour rate of the garage often moves the bill more than the choice of part.
Cite this page
“Gearbox repair routes and typical 2026 UK quote ranges”, Gearbox Reconditioning Cost, https://gearboxreconditioningcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15). No official body publishes gearbox repair or replacement prices: there is no regulated fee, no manufacturer-independent price list and no public dataset. The ranges below are typical 2026 UK quote ranges for common passenger cars, fitted, including the labour to remove and refit, and they vary widely by vehicle, gearbox type, parts route, region and garage labour rate. Prestige, four-wheel-drive and low-volume vehicles sit above the top of every range. They are a sanity check for a quote you have been given, not a price we can honour. Get quotes for your own car.
The process
- Tell us the car, the gearbox type and what it is doing. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to gearbox specialists and garages covering your postcode, and to no one else.
- They contact you with a real price for your car. Compare, choose, or walk away.
Gearbox Reconditioning Cost is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We pass your details to local gearbox specialists and garages who quote you directly, and we may receive a fee from those providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are not a garage. No official body publishes gearbox repair prices, so every figure on this site is a typical 2026 UK quote range that varies widely by vehicle, gearbox type, region and labour rate, and is not a quotation. Nothing here is legal advice.
The questions we get
How much does gearbox reconditioning cost in the UK?
There is no official price. Typical 2026 UK quotes to supply and fit a reconditioned manual gearbox run about £800–£1,800, an automatic about £1,500–£3,000 and a dual-clutch box about £2,000–£4,000. A used unit fitted is typically £400–£1,200. All of these vary widely by vehicle, region and labour rate, so treat them as bands and get quotes.
Why do gearbox quotes vary so much?
Because most of the bill is labour and access, not the gearbox. Removing and refitting a gearbox is typically 3–8 hours on a common car, more on four-wheel drive or where a subframe has to come down, and garage labour rates differ by region and by whether you use an independent, a specialist or a franchised dealer.
Is a used gearbox worth fitting?
Sometimes. It is normally the cheapest route at typically £400–£1,200 fitted, but you are buying an unknown internal history with a short warranty, and the labour to fit it is the same as for a reconditioned unit. It makes most sense on an older car you plan to keep for a short time.
Should I replace the clutch at the same time as the gearbox?
On a manual with high mileage, usually yes. The gearbox has to come out for a clutch anyway, so doing both together costs typically £400–£900 more rather than a second full labour bill later. Ask for the clutch and dual-mass flywheel to be quoted as a separate line so you can see the real difference.
Does the price include removing and refitting?
Not always, and this is the commonest reason two quotes look miles apart. Ask whether the figure is supply only or supply and fit, whether oil and seals are included, and whether any coding or adaption the car needs after fitting is in the price.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to gearbox specialists and garages covering your area, who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded.
Go deeper
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
Reconditioned, replacement or used gearbox: which is worth it?
Reconditioned exchange, repair of your own unit, a used gearbox or a new one. What each costs in typical 2026 quotes, and the warranty question that decides it.
Automatic and DSG gearbox repair cost: why it runs higher
Automatics and dual-clutch boxes cost more because of the torque converter, the mechatronic unit and the coding afterwards. Typical 2026 ranges, and what to check first.
Gearbox repair gone wrong: your Consumer Rights Act 2015 position
A garage must do the work with reasonable care and skill. If it fails you can require repeat performance at their cost, or a price reduction. Parts have own rights.
Sources
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49: service to be performed with reasonable care and skill
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 55: right to repeat performance
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 56: right to price reduction
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22: time limit for the short-term right to reject
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, full text