Hi folks, I'm asking for a friend.

She's in Irvine, California. She has a manual 2011, not terribly sure of the exact trim. Apparently, somehow her transmission fluid drain bolt had gone missing, taking all the fluid with it, and the car is fubared. All I know if that it was making lots of noises. It's parked now, waiting for a tow.

I'm trying to do some research while she's also taking care of this. I'm curious what the options for a used or remanufactured manual transmission would be, and the labor involved. Would folks recommend going that route over trying to fix the broken one?

And if anyone is in SoCal, if they know any reputable mechanics in the area. I'm not sure if any mechanic could troubleshoot this or if it's better to take it to a Mazda specialist.