Manual Transmission Column Shift problems of the 1998 Saturn SL1

My wife's '98 Saturn Sl1 has approximately 80,000 miles on it. About a week ago, she was no longer able to shift out of 1st gear. After taking the center console out, I noticed that a rubber grommet that attached the shift rod to the shift cables had rotted and broken in half. Normally, this should have been very easy to replace. A new grommet could very easily be popped in with around 1/2 hour of work. When I approached the local Saturn dealers, they said they did not have the . 50 cent grommet available, and that the entire shifter cable would have to be replaced (there is nothing wrong with the cables themselves). The person working there said they have to replace the whole cables very often. Total cost for the cables and labor is around $600. They do not sell the grommet seperately. Getting suspicious, I went on the internet to research the problem. . Read more...