Mazda Miata: 1996 Protege: Faced With Repair or Trade-in Question. Advice Needed

Hello

I am posting my question on a this forum (I'm hoping there are some
Protege owners out there) and the auto repair forum hoping to hear
from someone who has some experience with my problem. The car is a
1996 Protege with a 5-speed manual transmission and 80,000 miles on
it. A rattling sound developed about 10 days ago, seeming to come from
under the floorboards.

The dealer took a look today and said that the transmission requires a
$1200 overhaul. They are certain something needs to be replaced inside
the transmission, but won't know which part until they open it up.

The question is, what to do? I'm wondering if this is a one time
thing, I get it fixed and drive the car happily for at least another
three years. Or could this just be the beginning of a steady stream of
repairs?

Does anyone out there have any experience with having their manual
transmission overhauled? If so, can you tell me how long the repair
lasted? Or can you comment about the longevity the Protege in general
- should I be looking at replacing the car rather than sinking $1200
into the transmission?

The car is not abused or driven hard, and has been maintained well.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I posted the question on behalf of a coworker. She did get a second
opinion. The estimate varied from $1200 to $3000, depending on what
they found once they opened up the transmission.

She opted to get a new car.