My 1999 BMW 328i will not go in reverse?

[Muccimooch]

Hello, I have a BMW 328i that drives forward perfectly well, but will not go in reverse. I brought to the BMW service center, and I was told that the entire transmission needs to be replaced. I have never brought my car to a private mechanic. Apparantly, BMW only replaces the "entire" transmission and will not fix a "part" of the transmission. The tranmission costs $4400 and with labor the the whole thing will cost just over $6,000. According to BlueBook, this is approximately the value of the car. Has anyone had this problem with a BMW before? Did you go to a private mechanic? How much did it cost? Thank you! ANY advice, including recommendations for getting this fixed or a possible replacement vehicle would be greatly appreciated.