Transmission Dilemma!!

[Prime First]

I have a 99 Eclipse with the 4-sp slushbox. I noticed the transmission slip out of gear the other day when I was nearing my destination. When I turned on my car the next time, the CEL came on and I noticed my transmission was stuck in limp mode.

The car is sitting in Cottman's right now. They told me that they reset everything and went for a test drive. The car was trying to shift into 3rd but wasn't making it. So I was told my 3rd gear may be sheared off or something may be broken in the assembly. They said the job will cost $1600 - $1900 with $500 of it coming just for going in to take a look.

What do you guys think I should do? The car isn't even worth that much but it only has 80k miles on it. So there should be a lot more life left in it. (I've also just put a new set of $500 tires on there and just ordered a pair of new speakers for it, so I don't want to lose whatever value I have in what could be much more life in this car.) Could Cottman's be taking me on a ride for my money?

I'm thinking of calling Aamco and asking them if they can tow my car in and do the job for cheaper...

[Blackcrow64]

How do you know the tranny is in limp mode? I know the ECU has a limp mode but I was unaware of the TCU having it's own limp mode also...

What are their plans for it? Repair it or replace it? You should be able to pick up a used tranny for a couple hundred bucks. That almost seems to be the cheaper route IMO...