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I own a 1990 Toyota Celica which has a 4-stage auto trans and the car goes good in reverse but in drive the car needs to be revved up to 3000revs to get it to move. It crawls along at a slow pace but up a slight hill I'm sure the car wouldn't go anywhere. The poor car did get thrashed by a previous owner or owners and I suspect my half brother thrashed it too when he borrowed it. Would the car need a new transmission or can I get away with getting the front band ajusted.

Sounds like a major to me.

Unfortunately, once automatic transmissions fail there are no real short cuts and no garage in their right mind will even contemplate doing a patch-up job. It certainly sounds like its way past a band adjustment for sure.

Some transmission specialists will offer an exchange reconditioned unit but you need to make sure you are getting the exact same transmission back into your vehicle if you take that option. It is not unusual for compatibility problems to surface after the exchange trans is fitted.

The other option is a second-hand transmission from a car wrecker but that is also fraught with danger.

Your biggest dilemma is looking at the costs of any repairs versus the total value of the car.

Thank you for your reply.
I've decided to get another transmission for the car from a car wrecker. I managed to find one cheap in exchange for the old transmission. Also my half brother, who is the owner of the car, has decided to sell the car so I'm getting it going just so he can sell it and buy having it going he can try to get a bit more for it.