Because it is not something my physical condition would allow me to do . Plus I would need a floor jack plus other things i might never use again.
Once again your one size fits all does not mean a thing.
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Shops gotta pay bills. No one works for free.
Obtaining the parts is a small task, but what will you do with them?
I know where to buy the ingredients but serving a meal without complaint is the real challenge. I think I’ll stick to my profession.
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New Hampshire is not a CARB state and you should get by with the least expensive cat that meets federal standards, not the enhanced Cali standards.
I would check a few exhaust shops, that is what they specialize in and normally (around here anyway) much cheaper to deal with… And are better prepared to deal with rusty exhaust, again that is what they do…
You were quoted a fair price. Your repair shop likely has an account with a reliable parts warehouse that doesn’t deal with cut-rate replacement parts.
My wholesale cost for a Walker catalytic convertor pipe assembly is $530, $150 for shipping, $50 for sales tax. Add hardware and seal rings. These prices may be less than what your shop pays from the local warehouse and add markup.
Dude, I don’t even change my own oil. I’ve done a few DIYs like changing a window regulator and once i changed the heater control variable resistor in my 'Burb.
But never done anything underneath the car or in the engine. One time my BIL helped me replace a radiator, but I mostly watched and held tools.
I’m a software engineer, not a mechanic. You need a database, I’m your guy.
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Thanks everyone for the advice.
The place I originally took it to is an independent shop but not specifically a muffler shop. And it’s a crusty old place with a million cars in the lot and you walk right through the bay to get to the counter, where there’s a bunch of random car parts on shelves and old grungy ads and signs on the wall. One literally says “don’t bring us your own parts” - so no help there. And it’s got the best reviews in my town.
That said, there’s an independent muffler place literally right next door to them, so I will call them next week.
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Good. But don’t walk in saying “I need a new cat”. Just tell them about the “broken exhaust sound” (whatever that means - you still didn’t describe it). I’ll just say it again - if you have some “broken exhaust sound” that’s because of a bad catalytic converter, then you’d almost certainly have a check engine light and error code stored. You say you have no engine light or codes, so I’m truly skeptical that whatever sound you hear is from a bad cat.
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That’s A-OK. I gladly pay to have exhaust system work done, it’s a real pain without the right tools.
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It sounds like a “louder”, higher pitched (unmuffled) engine noise.
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Lol!
Look, I already know my 2010 Corolla is boring. But as the Craigslist ad states, it gets the job done. Not gonna get any compliments on it. It is the “S” (ostensibly “Sport”) edition.
The fact that this '99 Corolla looks almost exactly the same as my my 2010 Corolla is scary.
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If the only clue is the sound, I had a cat break or rust at the connection. The muffler guy welded the joint together again. I think I paid $20. It lasted a few years until I needed a new one, ordered from rock auto.
Ya think everyone here is a mechanic that works on their cars?
Tell the shop that and you should get the service you want. After they provide an estimate, ask for an explanation. For instance, if they say you need a new catalytic converter, ask why. It may turn out there is a hole. While it’s on a lift, you could ask to see any holes in the exhaust system.
Glad to hear you’re looking into a second opinion. I live in SE NH and used to live in NE MA. I’ve had a few experiences using local “muffler shops” with excellent outcomes. One was after I scrubbed the flex pipe on my nearly new Camry going over a big bump on a gravel road. The shop in Plaistow told me the OEM pipe was very expensive and that to counter those costs, had developed their own solution. A custom bent pipe with the flex section welded on for about 1/3 of the price for COTS parts. That fix lasted 15+ years until I ended up getting rid of the car. That same place later suggested welding on a new tail piece to fix a leak as in their mind, it wasn’t worth the money to replace the entire pipe. So there are places that take into account the age and worth of the car in suggesting fixes and can do excellent work to get you back on the road without draining your wallet…
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I would only trust an estimate from a shop that heard and saw my car, put it on a rack and examined the condition of the exhaust system. Could be rusted to the point where most/all needs to be replaced.
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I rarely drive my suv as it was a gift from kid when they upgraded. I have 3 now. I assumed exhaust noise was from leaky flex joint but a few weeks ago the muffler outlet broke off. Turns out muffler inlet was no better. A new muff quieted things down. Yes, I still think flex pipe is not great but it is ok, for now.
Not necessarily . . .
I remember when I was working at the new car dealership, there was a very large batch of bad cats, that got replaced at no cost to the customer
The monolith broke free from the shell and obviously made noise, but there was no MIL and no P0420
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Many people have given advice about the immediate repair of the OP’s car, but I haven’t seen advice on the bigger question of when do you give up on your car? I drive a 2007 Mazda3 with 200K miles. I trust it a lot, but it has a long list of repairs that have never been needed. This includes brakes, exhaust, spark plugs. Belts, filters and oil changes have been done. So, I wonder if I am sitting on a time bomb. The trade-in value of the car is less than $1000, and if I am hit by someone else, I would only get retail.
One argument: if the repair gets me another year, it may save me the depreciation on a new car. Buy, of course, I would still e driving the time bomb, so that argument is a little unfair. I see these stories about cars that make the 500K miles mark. They never discuss repair costs. If I stay out of the rust belt and throw $$$ at the car, I guess I also could get to 500K. (I won’t live to see that.)