took my maxima in this morning to the dealership to get serviced, because 'service engine soon' light was on, got a call couple of minutes ago that one of my catalytic converters is out and I need a new one. He told me it's going to be $600 for a new one and $300 for the labor.

$600 for a new converter? was hoping I could get some input on this.

 

take your car and leavethe dealership, give them the finger as you drive off.
Then just buy a new aftermarket cat online. You can get one for $100-150 and it will work fine.

 

you can go to a local muffler shop to get a new cat. and installed for no more than 200..oh and go back to the dealership, see the service advisor that told you that bull5h1t and give him a spoon so he can eat ur ***...

 

That's a good example of how much you can save if your willing to get your hands dirty. $900 vs $150-$200. Just two bolts on each end, but they can be a MF to get off. I'd cut the ends off the bolts with a grinder before trying to unscrew them if they're really rusted. Besides that, shouldn't you have a CEL light if your cat is bad, not a service soon light?

 

Thats what happens when you go to the dealership you get scewed out of your money. Just go to any shop or do it yourself its actually easy to do.

 

I got a Magnaflow cat., $ 120.00 installed!

 

wait.. they said one of the cats were bad.. did you bother asking which one...

obviously the more common one is the main cat. but sometimes pre-cats fail, if thats the case good time to upgrade your Y-pipe... hell actually its still a good time to get a y-pipe while your down there.

 

right on, this is what I was thinking. im gonna call the guy to see which converter it is. i think you're right on the y-pipe, is about time

 

yeah, i thought it would be a CEL light too. i had the code ran a couple weeks ago and was told it was catalytic, he turned it off, it came back on a couple days ago and thats when i took it down to dealer for a diagnostic.

 

check the codes yourself don't trust the dealer. Ever. No matter what... (usually)

 

i work for a dealership. 90% of the time we are right because we have seen these problems over and over again and we will be faster then aftermarket shops.

I just don't agree with the pricing, but then again thats how we get paid. We gotta make our money the same way you make yours. And i hate the rule of if its modded then we blame everything we can on it. If its remotely related we blame it on that. I feel its ****ty.

 

F3cking scam artists, and they prey on women. You guys ever pull the you have XX% left on your brake pads routine? That really freaks them into getting services they didn't even need in the first place.

BTW do you grin while pouring GL-5 in A32s when you know what it does?

 

i went to the local muffler shop and he did it for $90.

 

werd thats what i was quoted....

 

They are probably talking about the main cat, list for an oem y pipe is something like $800-900

 

yeah, thats the reason I've been taking it to the dealership. I figure they've seen the same problems over and over again and are quick to resolution. Their means of profit are no different than any other car maintenance shop so who the F do u trust?
i think its off to the local muffler shop with me though on this one, if they can keep a new catalytic converter installed for under $200 like you guys say, then I'll have saved damn near $700-$800 from original qoute.
appreciate everyones advice. i think i'll take that extra $800 and get something else done, y-pipe and ......? any suggestions????

 

guy at the dealership said it's the catalytic converter on the firewall side, he also clarified the converter @$640 + $68 to get it in two days.

so that comes out to $708+$300 labor = $1008.

i found my local muffler shop http://speedwaymuffler.org/door/ and will be giving them a call tom.

catalytic converter on the firewall side? what is the firewall side?

 

thats the y-pipe pre cats and they have to replace the whole pipe i think....order a budget y-pipe and install it with a local ORG member

 

Yep, sounds like the pre-cat on the right side (rear) of the motor. Time for a new Y pipe.

 

Hey,
I think $900.00 installed for a converter or precat is more than fair!!

Don't forget to ask your dealership for the $295.99 oil change special. If you want mobile 1 synthetic I'm pretty sure it's only $75.00 more!

Oh, by the way, leave them this message.

 

900 for a cat? No thanks... test pipe for 35 bucks works for me, and that aint ever going bad. And if it is the y-pipe, ... a budget stainless steel brand new y-pipe is about 200-250, plus 50 to install at a random muffler shop = 300 bucks tops.

 

warpspeed pipe = 200 bucks
install in your driveway = free
screwing the useless dealer = priceless

i only use the dealer for a few OEM parts that are cheap other wise they are no use to me....

 

i was reading the 4th gen FAQs 'year to year difference' thread and came across this which applies to my 99:

"On CA emission 99's Front pre-cat built into header, two extra oxygen sensors to monitor pre-cats (total of 4) Special aftermarket Y-pipe required and only 1 pre-cat can be removed."

i was also reading this in the 4th gen mod FAQ's thread:

"The first "power mod" you want to do is a Y pipe. It's cheap, its effective, and its easy to install. It is the best bang for your buck on a maxima. An aftermarket Ypipe replaces your stock Y pipe, which is the part of the exhaust system that sits between your engine, and your catalytic converter (it eliminates your PRECATS, which are 2 mini catalytic converters, not needed for emissions testing if your car is properly warmed up)."

this left me with a couple of questions, if installing a y-pipe eliminates your PRECATS,
does this affect the 'only one pre-cat can be removed' difference in my '99? and if the y-pipe is only replacing my stock y-pipe, how does the aftermarket one eliminate the pre-cats, especially if it's build into the header? and why would i even need to replace the pre-cat if it is only eliminated by the y-pipe?
i want me this y-pipe for sure, maybe warpspeed, maybe budget, but want to make sure i'm not phucking my '99 maxi up first.

 

the stock y-pipe has pre cats built into it they are extra restrictive and are only usefull for controlling emissions while the car is warming up. After that they are useless and just restrict the flow. An aftermarket Y will give you a noticable boost in power (though i have been too lazy and cheap to actually buy one and experience this for myself) (But I will one day!)

 

That's why they call it the stealership...

First thing you should do after you get your y pipe in is donate to the org. Only fair since you just saved ~$700. Plus you'll find the ability to search quite useful.

 

hm... not too sure on that. i think according to how your reading it, you have 4 total. well actually 5 i would assume. 4 in the ypipe area and 1 for post cat.

2 pre/ 2 post 02 sensors at the pre-cats. and 1 post after the cat.

The reasons why you have the check engine light is because there is a certain value that the post/pre cats should see. And if its out of spec then thats why. But honestly i dont recall ever seeing a fault for pre-cats now that i think of it.

I say hit up autozone and get the code scaned and let us know what the fault is to help you. I have no experience with Cali-emissions and i'm just stating what i know.

 

so my service engine light came on> took to dealership and was told I need knew catalytic converter> qouted outrageous price> i took it home without repair> i went to go get the code ran myself to further elaborate the problem myself and the service engine light turned off.

i **** you not. this code was on for a week> turned off by the guy at ez-lube> came back on a week later and stayed on for 3 weeks> that is when I took into dealer, qouted horrible price, and took home to fix myself.

it doesn't seem like the service engine light would be on and go off like that without repair. I have a feeling that because my car recently reached 91,000 miles that maybe the computer is programmed to send that around that time. Keep in mind that it wasn't the check engine light, it was the service engine light that was on.

Why would the service engine light come on and go off like that without repair??

Wouldn't it be the check engine light that would come on for a catalytic problem??

 

check engine light wont come on for a bad cat, the computer is not hooked up to it and has no idea if its bad or not. Only way you mihgt get a CEL because of a bad cat is because it causes an o2 sensor to go bad and you get a cel for that.

 

[QUOTE=the_3d_man]take your car and leavethe dealership, give them the finger as you drive off. QUOTE]

If you do this regularly as you walk through life, your finger will be very tired indeed. Keep it handy for doctors, lawyers, IT consulting, contractors, plumbers, wedding planners, caterers, the list would be endless.

There are certain components that cannot really be replaced by any dealership or with OEM parts, new or remanuf. Catalytic converter is one of them, others are brake calipers, starters, windshields (except now with rain-sensing, insurance has no choice)....these parts are always much more than aftermarket. And on a 4th gen Maxima, there's no reason to spend it.

We all know that an OEM Nissan muffler has the outer shell rust-out in 4-5 years, but overall the muffler holds up 9 years or so. The muffler shop equivalent lasts about 18 mos. before needing a replacement. Thing is, if you're not keeping the car as far down the road as you can see, you don't need OEM or the price associated with it.

Yes, muffler shop should be 1/4 to 1/3 the price on the CAT.

 

With all the cats on the car it should sound something like...MEEEEOOOOOOWWWW!