Wow, there are a lot of strong opinions on here. 
@keith, I will check the CEL, and regardless of whether it’s working I’ll check it for codes. I have an OBD-II scanner, I can do that myself. I’ll reply back with the results.
Lots of good advice here, the need to firm up te repair cost and I agree with the OP as “working under the car to do exhaust work” isn’t something that I’d attempt so it comes down to the cost.
So we’re looking at a “guessing” $2,000 repair on a 15 year old car, 200,000 miles, minimal resale value, that’s needed to get to and from work and keep the income coming in, which is the highest priority.
At that age and mileage even with the repairs we’re still looking at a car that’s approaching it’s “design life”, meaning expected costly repairs, down time and most important, decreased reliability.
The way that I see it is that the benefit of possibly deferring the inevitable for maybe a couple years isn’t worth the expected repair costs and risks to your employment, even leaving aside the benefits of 15 years of technological improvements in a new car.
And before anyone “jumping down my throat”, yeah Toyota’s are very well built / reliable cars, can be kept on the road for a very long time and I personally have a car well over 20 years old and 200,000 miles BUT I don’t have to rely on it to get get me to work on time.
.
Wait what!?!?!?!?!?
We have been talking about this for 5 days now, asking about codes and check engine lights, and you have a code reader and have not checked for any codes yet, history, pending or otherwise??? WTH??? 
5 Likes
Got a scanner but can’t take a flashlight for a look under the car?
A couple miles from home my exhaust got loud. First thing I did when I got home was take a look to see the cat had separated from the exhaust pipe. Instant answer. Muffler shop next day.
I have a car approaching that an I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to put a couple thousand in it to return its utility. I just consider it a delayed expense that is sure to come.
I said a while ago that there was no check engine light. It didn’t occur to me that there could be a code without a check engine light.
You didn’t mention failing the OBD part of the inspection, so it seems that isn’t a problem.
You must repair the exhaust leak to pass inspection, how this gets resolved is up to you.
Your repair shop offered to replace the catalytic convertor assembly, this repair should be expected to last ten years.
You could have the rusted pipe welded/replaced, if it is practical to weld to the remaining old, rusted parts, this should get you by for at least a year.
So, I had it checked out at another shop. They replaced the muffler and the resonator for $450. I’ll be taking it back to the original shop to get the sticker next week. Thanks for all the advice.
8 Likes
Are there other shops that will provide emissions stickers? How sure are you that the first shop won’t still insist that you are out of compliance?
If they do, I’ll just take it back to shop B. Another $40, but not worth making a stink over.
I called shop A and explained, they just said, “as long as it’s not leaking”.
1 Like
That was great. Thanks.
1 Like
It depends on your financial situation. But my thing when it comes to buying cars while on a tight budget is to save a little money each month over the next 10 or 12 years. This way when it comes time to getting a new vehicle, my monthly payment will not be no more than $150 to $200 on a 2 year old and low mileage car.
If I save $150 each month for the next 12 years, that would amount to 21,600 USD, enough money to buy a car cash or down payment to keep my monthly payment on a newer car at approximately $200.
And honestly, $150 in saving per month is doable for most people if they can control themselves.
So my advice would be to start saving and replace your old vehicles when their legs are worn out rather than to keep repairing them.
Sell the car and get some cash