Used gearboxes in Christchurch

Not every vehicle deserves a full recondition. On an older car, a van heading for retirement, or anything where the repair bill would outrun what the vehicle is worth, a sound second hand gearbox is simply the sensible answer - and we hold a lot of them.

We would rather you spent less, if less is right

It would be easy to quote everyone a reconditioned unit. We do not, because a customer who is talked into spending three thousand dollars on a two thousand dollar car does not come back, and does not recommend us either.

So when you ring, you get the used price alongside the repair price and the exchange price, and a straight opinion on which one we would choose. Sometimes that opinion is that the vehicle is not worth any of the three, and we will say that too.

Where we will push back. A used gearbox is a used gearbox: it has a history we did not write. If the vehicle is one you depend on daily, or the labour to fit it is significant, we will usually argue for an exchange unit instead, because paying that labour twice is the expensive outcome.

What we check before one leaves

Units are inspected before they are sold, not shipped blind out of a container. We look at the obvious tells - contaminated or burnt oil, play in the shafts, damage to the case or bellhousing, wear in the splines, how it turns and selects by hand - and anything that fails that inspection is stripped for parts instead of sold.

Manual gearboxes across a wide range of makes and models
Inspected before sale, never sold sight unseen
Fitted here or supplied over the counter
Freight available to most of the South Island
Priced honestly against a repair so you can compare

Partial repairs

There is a fourth option people rarely know about. Where a used unit has one known weakness, or where your own gearbox has a single failed component and a limited budget, we can carry out a partial repair - fixing what has failed, without taking the whole unit back to standard. It is not the answer for a vehicle you need to trust for the next ten years, but it keeps plenty of honest cars on the road, and it is exactly the kind of decision Pete will talk through with you.

Parts as well as whole units

We carry a large stock of new and used gearbox parts to suit all budgets. If you are working on a box yourself, or you need one bearing, one synchro or one selector fork rather than an entire assembly, ask - there is a good chance it is on the shelf. Workshops can find more on trade supply.

Ring with the details

Make, model, year, engine and the rego. If you have the gearbox code stamped on the case, even better. We can check the shelf while you are on the phone: 0800 432 726.

Gear cluster and mainshaft from a stripped manual gearbox laid out on a workshop pallet — Checked before it is sold, not just wiped down. If a sound used unit is on the shelf, you are not waiting on a rebuild.

Worth knowing

Questions people ask about used gearboxes

Is a used gearbox a false economy?

Sometimes, and we will tell you when we think so. The cost that catches people out is not the unit, it is the labour to fit it - if a used box fails, you pay that labour a second time. On a low value vehicle that risk is worth taking. On a vehicle you rely on, usually it is not.

Does it come with any cover?

Used units are covered differently from our reconditioned exchange gearboxes, which carry 12 months or 20,000km. Ask when you enquire and we will tell you exactly what applies to the unit in question before you buy it.

Can I fit it myself?

Yes, plenty of customers do, and plenty of workshops buy from us to fit for their own customers. We will point out anything model-specific worth knowing before you start.

Do you buy gearboxes?

We take cores in on exchange as a matter of course. If you have a complete vehicle or a gearbox you want gone, ring and ask - it depends on what it is and what we already have on the shelf.

What we do

Gearbox services in Christchurch

A manual gearbox on the bench at The Gearbox Company, output shaft towards the camera, with a synchro ring beside it ready for measuring

Gearbox Repairs

Manual gearboxes, stripped, measured and reported on before a cent is committed.

A complete manual gearbox on the workshop bench at The Gearbox Company, bellhousing to extension housing

Gearbox Exchange

A reconditioned unit off the shelf, fitted here or freighted overnight. Off the road for days, not weeks.

A new gear set and bearings still sealed in the supplier’s packaging, ready to go into a performance build

Performance & Racing Gearboxes

Over forty years and cars making 1500hp. We have already learned it - not on your car.

Close-up of the synchro hubs, sliding sleeves and helical gears on a manual gearbox mainshaft

Gear Cryogenic Treatment

Deep-freeze treatment for gears, shafts and bearings that have to survive real abuse.

The parts store at Antigua Street - shelving of boxed new gearbox parts and bearings for the trade

Trade Supply

Exchange units, parts and a second opinion for workshops throughout the South Island.

Tell us what your gearbox is doing

Give us the vehicle and the symptom - crunching into a gear, jumping out, whining, a stiff or heavy clutch, or no drive at all - and we will tell you honestly what your options are and roughly what each one costs. Repair, exchange or a good used unit: you decide, and nothing starts without your say-so.

0800 432 726 (0800 GEARBOX)
03 366 0421
info@gearboxcompany.co.nz
156 Antigua Street, Addington, Christchurch 8024
Monday to Friday, 7am to 4pm (some Saturdays)

Christchurch and Canterbury workshop. Exchange gearboxes freighted overnight to most of the South Island.