2002 MAZDA PROTEGE User Comment / Complaint

My 2002 mazda protege has 61,000. the transmission has completely gone out on it. when i called the dealer to inquire if this was 'normal' because i had only once before had to replace a transmission at 120,000 she said, "oh yeah we get them all the time. then wanted to charge me $4,500 to fix it." i went into the mazda dealer to try and replace the said car and i told him about my situation and he also said, "yeah, 61,000 miles, just after the warranty expires, they timed that right." i can not believe the transmission has gone out so soon.