My car (2000 Toyota Camry) sounds like a lawn mower when I accelerate. I took it into the Toyota dealership and they found the head pipe was leaking. They stated that I needed to replace the entire head pipe, not including the manifold. They quoted me $1550. I am finding head pipes online for $200 to $400 dollars. Am I being ripped off? Where can I go in Chicago to fix this for cheaper? Is driving without getting it fixed harmful to myself or the car?
There’s absolutely no need for a dealer to do this work…that’s the reason the price is so insanely high. Any decent exhaust shop should be able to do this for a heck of a lot less money.
You cannot compare prices of online prices of parts to dealer OEM parts. The dealer is using factory provided parts and these are generally higher in price than aftermarket ones.
In spite of the perception, the factory does not cut the dealers any slack on parts pricing.
It also sounds like you’re comparing a part only price to a dealer labor/part price.
If some of these online pipes you’re looking at are on eBay or whatever you should be aware that a lof of inferior Chinese junk is being peddled there.
Whether the part fits without a lot of grinding and pounding is debateable and the longevity of the part may be equally dubious.