Cheaper way/shop to change car's catalytic converter? (Houston: how much, college)

[behtypa]

My car is having P0420 and P0430 error codes. Which is most likely 2 upper catalytic converters (aka "cats"). I wish it was just sensors, but so far mechanic is saying that it is the cats.

The dealer quotes cats at $700 a piece + labor = at least $1800-2000.

Questions:
- Did anyone of you install aftermarket cats? How long do they last? Do they last at least 3 years? (The manufacturers cats have 80,000 miles/8 years warranty.)
- What muffler shop would you recommend for this kind of job in Houston? Any particular part brand in mind?

Thanks.

[DavidAg02]

Pretty much any exhaust/muffler shop can weld in aftermarket cats for much less than what the dealer will charge.

My wife's Toyota Matrix had the same problem... error codes that was diagnosed by the dealer as cats needing to be replaced. Dealer wanted $1,400.

I got the replacement cats from O'Reilly myself, then took them to a Meineke shop. They cut out the existing cats, and replaced them with the ones I provided. Total out of pocket was like $600.

[behtypa]

Here is the story so far:

Christian Brothers are quoting: $1486 parts (2 cats, $709 each cat) + $580.92 labor = *drum roll* $2066.92
O'Reilly's sells each front cat for $565.05 with tax. Which is sure cheaper than Christian Bros. The cats are aftermarket (Magnaflow)

And finally, I was referred to a friend-of-a-friend mechanic working at the dealer. And he quoted it the lowest - $1166 parts + $400 labor = $1566 total.

Now, compare $2066.92 from Christian Brothers and $1566 elsewhere. The "Christian" price is not very "Christian" after all. LOL.

[City Love]

Lol. We had a car that had the same issue a few years ago. We researched online and there was a recall on the factory converters. Dealer changed for free but we had to specifically mention it. Car was out of warranty so most dealers wanted to charge. We got lucky.

[Bozydeaux]

We took our car to Mayco Muffler when we were told we needed to replace our Cat converter. We went there because they are the authorized dealer for Magnaflow and that's what we had on the car. We knew that we only needed to have a bracket welded back together, and they confirmed this. This was after a Firestone tried to tell us we needed a new Cat converter.

If we ever had to do any muffler work, we'd definitely go back to Mayco. They were honest, the price for our minor repair was fair, and the work was done very quickly (car was done by the time we drove back home). I think they were on Bissonet, but if you google them, the name should pop up.

[AlfredB1979]

Sure, you can find CCs for way cheaper, but you get what you pay for when it comes to the metals inside them.

You can try and hopefully it works and doesn't have a CEL staring back at you because the O2 sensors aren't happy with the exhaust output.

[Dopo]

If there's one thing in this World I can't wait to blow up is a mother...... catalytic converter. I don't care if it hits me in the face when I do it.

I was in college in Missouri, broke as hell, driving a beat up 78 Nova
took the car for its annual inspection, I thought everything was fine
until I was given the bad news = "You need a new catalytic converter to pass the inspection"

I don't remember how much I had to paid for that sob, but its been 10 years and I'm still pissed off about that.

[bluelion_ms3]

I would go to mayco , meineke or any muffler shop and get the cats from there. A lot of time they'll give you a better price on parts or labor since you're getting both from them. I think almost all muffler shops carry magnaflow brand.

[GIS_Gordon]

Magnaflow is an aftermarket performance brand. You may be paying for High-flow Race Style Converters at o-reilly. Try asking a local muffler shop for a quote using a standard flow cat.

Also you should have someone confirm that it is the cat and not the O2 sensors.

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by City Love

Lol. We had a car that had the same issue a few years ago. We researched online and there was a recall on the factory converters. Dealer changed for free but we had to specifically mention it. Car was out of warranty so most dealers wanted to charge. We got lucky.

Yeah. I had this issue for a year or so. So I should have though about that at 79,000 on by ODO. They would have changed it under warranty back then..