Toyota Repair: 2002 toyota corolla manual transmission, manual, transmission

Question
My mechanic says that my transmission needs to be replaced.  I bought the car new and it has 269,000 km.  The transmission oil was changed recently.  He says that a bearing in the transmission is causing a noise and if the bearing breaks I'll be stranded.  What do you think? Is this a common problem for the 2002 model?  How much should a new transmission cost?  Thank you very much.

Answer
You may have a bearing going bad.  You have many kilometers on your transmission.  Why did you change the oil in the transmission?  Was the oil contaminated?  Did it have water in it?  Is there a noise in the transmission?
You may want to consider a low mileage used transmission vice a new one.  You are looking at >$2000 to replace the tranny.  Change out the rear main seal while you're at it since you'll have the tranny out anyway.

Vince