Hey Scotty,
My sister's 2014 Toyota Camry Se transmission is clonking out. It has 152,000 Mi on it the engine is good and it has had minor little problems here and there. Do you think it's worth me getting the car from my sister and putting a used or remanufactured transmission and keeping it for myself as a daily driver to save myself some money from buying a car? Or should I just leave it alone because it might be the start of a lot of problems?
Get an estimate on the transmission, and any other work that might be needed - A/C, brakes, tires, suspension, etc. add it up and compare that with the going price for Camrys of similar age and condition. If there's enough difference, and you have the cash in hand, then it might work out. But I wouldn't bet on it. Engine/trans removal is pretty expensive, and remanufactured transmissions are expensive too.
@glen_stet ok $1400 for the used $7k for the remanufactured. And everything else is mechanically okay for now.
OK - the big problem is the cost of having the transmission installed (which you might have to pay twice if the used tranny you buy isn't a good one). Around here, 10 year old 150k mile Camrys go for about what a remanufactured transmission costs. So, do you feel lucky? I'd shop for a nice used Camry or Corolla, and do my gambling with a few lottery tickets.
I had a 2014 Camry SE and absolutely loved it. Very easy to work on and drove great. BUT, I sold it before the notorious U760E transmission failed like the one in my daughter's 2012 did. I paid 5 grand to have her's replaced with a rebuilt transmission, but that was a couple of years ago. Realize that putting a used U760E transmission in your car is a huge gamble since it is known to fail prematurely. If the car has been well maintained it might be worth putting a rebuilt transmission in it, but make sure that the computer has the updated programming Toyota came out with to address torque converter shudder. Good luck.
