Car Muffler Problems/Costs or am I being ripped off?

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I have an older car – over 150,000 miles, 2001 Honda Accord, 6 cylinders. The car started getting loud, figured it was the muffler. Brought it in and they quoted me on the high end $3,300. I had them break it down for me with a diagram and the cost of each part. The labor was less than $300 (which to me is nothing considering the $3,300 price tag). It seems they are recommending pretty much replacing everything to do with it. The big cost is (now I wish I had the diagram with me) the piece with the catalytic converter priced at just over $1k itself. The guy explained that the piece is made with (and of course now I forget) but with I forget the material, but he said it would then last for over 10 years. He also said you can buy a cheaper type (more like $400), but it would likely only last 2 years.

We are thinking of just getting rid of the car and maybe leasing something. But what we originally wanted to do, was keep the car and in other year give it to my older daughter (there is no school bus service for our town’s high school) so she can get back and forth to school (for the parents ease). And then I would get a new car in a year (give us time to put some money aside for it too.

Does anyone know about this stuff? Is the guy pulling my leg – would the cheaper version somewhere else suffice? I would hope to keep this car for maybe 8 years more (for both kids through high school) – but just for driving short distances so it wouldn’t pack on a lot of miles. We could of course live without them having a car in high school, but with both of us working full time, it would definitely help the household. So it is worth getting it fixed (I’m not talking about $3,300 price tag – which I wouldn’t do), but do you think I could get this significantly less and would it hold up for 8 years considering it would not accumulate many miles – most likely half the average miles of normal car use?

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@Linkat,

my feeling baed on your info is that you';d be ripped off if you had any work done there.
If the catal conv actually needs replacement, I'd have that verified by another mechanic. You could have other issues like cracked vacuum hoses...and a myriad of other things ahead of the converter that might need a replacement after 150k miles.

That being said, replacement will run about $600 on this vehicle. I would not get it done at the dealer but have a n independent mechanic who would use OEM parts, though.

I have no idea of the extent of what was listed...as you have not shown what was diagnosed in it's entirety. However, about $500-$700 for other muffler and exhaust parts could be a reasonable guess. However $3300 is way over what is customary and reasonable. As an example, I had a '98 Honda CR-V and $500 is what it cost for replacement of my cat. converter 2 yrs ago.

However, as far as the long term keeping, rust often gets these cars somewhere around 150k-200k...unless you live in AZ or dry climate.

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@Ragman,

they were talking about pretty much replacing all the exhaust system -

http://www.hondapartssales.com/lisle/jsp/catimgs/14sdr501_b02.png

This picture looks the closet to what they gave me. So the quote they gave me was the two mufflers in the back - which if I remember correctly were $271 each, the piece in the middle which is the converter at a little over $1k and then those gaskets or bolts maybe like number 24 or 14 and another one that was toward the back was where the leaks are - and then some other stuff.

He said that the converter was expensive because of the material they used and a regular one would only last about 2 years (I think maybe this is crap).

We do live in a bad area - New England so yeah the salt gets us. There is some rust on the car not much. I've had the brake lines replaced a while ago as they rusted and had some leaks (not at the dealer).

Maybe I can ask a neighbor if they know a good mechanic - we have only been in the town a year so really don't know any - maybe they could provide a different quote.

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@Ragman,

This website pretty much seems to sum it up - if I add the prices of the parts it comes close to what they quoted me.

http://www.hondapartssales.com/lisle/jsp/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=ACCORD&catcgry2=2001&catcgry3=2DR+LX+(V6)&catcgry4=KA4AT&catcgry5=EXHAUST+PIPE+(V6)&ListAll=All&vinsrch=no&systemcomp=Electrical/Exhaust/Heater/Fuel&vinnoT=&trim=&trans=&view=normal

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@Linkat,

If I were in your place, I'd go to another mechanic for another opinion. You didn't say whether or not you are at a dealership or independent mechanic.

I'd seriously doubt all that work has to be done. And, even if it all was needed, that's overcharging (unless at a Honda dealership).

In your list I think are items like heater which have nothing at all to do with the exhaust. I can't tell you because your link is inoperative.

The diagram your provided shows parts that (if in that total list of the $3300) would not be needed to replaced.

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@Ragman,

It might not have been all those items listed as I do not have the diagram with me at work of what it entailed, but it was many of these items.

And yes it was at a dealership.

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@Linkat,

I'd find a licensed independent mechanic and bypass this dealer.

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@Ragman,

So I looked up local independent mechanics. I found a few, read reviews and asked some questions. There was a guy here locally just a little over a mile from my home; been in business for years, etc., so I figured what the heck I'd call him.

Brought my car in the next day - he spent no more than half an hour looking at it. Said I didn't need a new converter (I asked him) - he said the dealer likely just wanted to replace everything. He said the four flanges were rusted out and he could replace some pipes and weld/replace flanges for about $400.

The only downside I could see is they don't offer free rides to your home/public transportation - no frills type of place -- so I need to arrange other transportation for the day. About what they have to offer is a couple of plastic chairs to sit in and some old magazines. Not something you want to wait at unless it is pretty quick.

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Car Muffler Problems/Costs or am I being ripped off?

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