97 Civic HX w/Whining Noise

A few years ago I posted a message here regarding a strange whining
noise coming from my daughter's 97 Civic HX. Finally found out what
was the problem (nearly 3 years later) so I figured I post it here in
case anyone else needed it.

Frequent transmission fluid changes will help, as will frequent oil
changes. However, they won't clear it up. The local Honda dealer said
they finally traced it back to a service bulleting issued in 2000
regarding a "cooing" noise coming from the transmission.

The problem is reported to be that the transmission clutch starter
assembly is wearing out and needs replaced. The dealer quoted me $1500
parts & labor but when I checked with the local AAmco, they warned me
to be careful. They said they had recently done a similar one, and
encountered a number of other issues after they "opened it up" that
ended up costing almost $4000. They also advised that parts / rebuilt
transmissions for this car (CVT) are very rare and hard to come by. A
new, automatic transmission for the 97 Civic HX was then quoted at
just over $4400.

Needless to say, with the car being 7 years old, having 70k miles on
it, and having transmission problems, we decided it was best to trade
it in.