95 Transmission Issues

I bought a used Neon with 160K kms. When the engine is cold or has been sitting for 3+hours, I will shift the transmission into Drive but it will only sit in idle. Same thing goes for reverse and all other gears. If you give it a minute or two and then shift again...it goes into gear no problem. Once in gear...it does not slip. I had it looked at and the mechanic said the tranny is on its way out. He also said this is common with these cars.

Has anyone else had this problem? How much life do I have left in the tranny? A new tranny is priced at 1750 bucks!

Any help would be fantastic! Thanks.

hard to tell ,but i have a 92 dynasty that does the same thing. i serviced the transmission and no change. this problem started at 165000 klm's and the car now has 240000 klm's and still does the same thing.

I just had it serviced today...I pray that it keeps going! They wanted to open it up and inspect but too much $$$. Plus, I figure if they open it...it won't work after.

Is there any way to "baby" a tranny as much as possible?