[jdmccright]

There are a few routes you can take, but add in any labor costs if you don't plan on removing/installing the TC yourself:

1) Buy used - Reliability is basically a guess, but could be gauged by the donor vehicle's condition, if known. Some used parts yards have mileage and will let you remove it yourself so you can see if the truck was trashed or well kept. The cheapest option if you just want to get the truck working again, and some yards will even offer a guarantee against DOAs or short-length warranty.

2) Rebuild - This would give you some level of reliability (depending on the shop's reputation) plus probably some type of reasonable short-term warranty on the work done, backed by the shop. Probably in the middle of the pack as far as cost. Adding stronger components is an option here too, depending on the shop's skill level and the cost for them. If you use it alot for hard work, then make sure it'll take the stress...once a yr snows typically don't justify it.

3) Buy remanufactured - Reliability would be higher than a repair since a reman is supposed to be completely redone internally and would carry a warranty better than a shop, but likely honored by the mfr, so you'd only be stuck with any ancilliary costs. Cost would be more than a repair job, but go by the mfr reputation here. These are mostly OEM-level units, with a few niche custom mfrs like Monster Transmission that'll up your performance if you're willing to pay for it.

4) Buy new - Save for a high-performance custom unit, this is the costliest option. But you get OEM or better reliability, warranty, and the seller to back it up. This is the no-brainer option.

Guess it boils down to how much you can spend and what you want out of it. Hope this helps!