Long story short after several weeks of tows, a replaced starter, diagnostics at several shops and being told he needed to replace his flex plate (or flywheel— I’m not sure I’m doing my best here lol) my husbands 2017 Ford Escape 1.5L engine with roughly 65k miles on it had the transmission condemned today. The dealership mechanic stated that there was catastrophic transmission failure and to pinpoint the exact cause would be even more costly. He was told he could get a new transmission for roughly $6500 or maybe a like kind one but either way he’s looking at $3500-$6500 in repairs best case scenario.

He just bought this car (financed) in mid July. It had 58k miles on it at the time. It’s out of the lemon law in our state and is not under warranty. Is there anything else we should be asking the mechanic or dealer? Is he basically SOL and that’s what it’s going to cost him?

The car wasn’t a great choice from the beginning but I feel super bad because he’s in early recovery and had managed to build up his credit enough to buy a car. It was a major accomplishment for him in his sobriety and now he’s so screwed. I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this… I’m just hoping to get any insight on his repair options because I feel really bad this is how it’s playing out for him.