Did I just got ripped off?

Dear posters:

My mechanic just charged me $1200 for a new Catalytic Converter for my

2001 Toyota Corolla. Did I just got ripped off? If yes what was the fair price to pay?

Thanks!

Reply to
Dan
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Check your manual. It may have been covered by warranty.

Reply to
Art

I have over 110,000 miles in my car, too late!

Reply to
Dan

My last one was about $150.00 PARTS +50.00 LABOR (3/4 HR) Generic brand - that passed smog. j

Reply to
joe

Call your local Toyota dealer to find out the price for the catalytic converter. The flat rate labor time to change the converter, probably somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours, times your mechanic's labor rate will give you the labor cost. $1200 parts and labor does not sound that outrageous.

Reply to
Ray O

$1100 parts, $100 labor

That doesn't compute....

Reply to
Dan

$300

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Not for a Toyota anyway.

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

FYI & reference:

In MAY '04, at a downstate New York TOYOTA dealership on '91 Camry V6 ( 2VZ-FE ):

TOYOTA PARTS:

1 ea Converter assy: $597.23 p/n 18450-62050 2ea Gasket, exhaust: $ 6.50 p/n 90917-06045 4ea Flange bolts $ 5.12 p/n 91512-81035 4ea Nut, lock $ 6.88 p/n 94180-41000 ______ $615.73

Toyota Dealership LABOR: $133.50

Is there any resale value for a CAT Converter assy, p/n 18450-62050 removed after 58,154 miles ?

Reply to
Vince

I just paid $1036 for a new cat converter from a Toyota Dealership in Ohio. It's a 2003 Corolla with 114,000 miles on it. Labor was $175. The cat converter is expensive in these cars, I had parts prices from $800 to $1100 from 3 places.

V>

Reply to
BM5680

This link

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Street price is about $201 Am I missing something?

j
Reply to
joe

The opportunity to make a 300+% markup by selling them? (Exits, stage left) ...

Reply to
Noneyabusiness

Well, I do expect them to make a profit. They didn't open car mechanics to do community service, they got to eat you know.

Thanks BM5680 for sharing. I just wanted to make sure that was the market price for fixture from mechanics.

Reply to
Dan

Why would an '01 need a CAT already.

The price is a bit on the high side, but I gotta wonder if you need the part at all. And, the CAT is part of the Exhaust Emissions System, and this is required by federal law to have a very long warranty that covers the parts and labor for the LONGER of time or mileage. If, for instance, the warranty was 7 years or 70,000 miles, and you did 70,000 in the first year, then you'd still have 6 more years. Or, it if took 10 years to go 70,000 miles, then the warranty would go for the entire ten years.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Anyway, thanks for all the info. Sounds like I got ripped. The car already has 120,000 miles, that may be why it needed a new CAT.

Reply to
Dan

The basic factory and emissions warranties are for time OR mileage, whichever comes first, not whichever is longer.

Reply to
Ray O

Does the term WOF, ring a bell? ;)

mike hunt

Reply to
Mike Hunter

This morning a ASE certified & Calif Smog Tester (God only knows the significance of this) picked up my Ford van (purchased) and I took the opportunity to ask him about this case.

He estimated part $125 part plus 1/2 hr labor if all pipes were in good condition. I suggested 2 hrs of labor ... Doing what??? I will not be holding a hot torch for that long. You got to know what you are doing and things either work or they don't. Mentioned the $1200.00 here .. he was outraged ... &^%$%%^&*&##

Ray with all sincere and due respect is this not a low-tech application where no proprietary part would be significantly better than generic?

Had this happened to me I would go and see the manager and suggest to him that his price structure - in this case was way off the wall of honest sound business practice that we should all aspire to and hope that the public knows - and frankly you trusted them and only later did you notice etc. Ask for about $800 back .

j Had

Reply to
joe

I think that the guy who picked up your van is assuming that the catalytic converter is under the car for the OP's car. In the OP's car, the catalytic converter is located in the engine compartment. A torch should be used to remove the old cat as a last resort, not the first resort. A lot of independent shops that install aftermarket exhaust parts go straight to the torch, cut off the old parts, and use what looks like a hose clamp to install the new parts.

The OEM converter uses companion flanges to connect to the exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe.

That said, it probably would take about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to remove and replace the catalytic converter if there are no problems with the operation; flat rate time to R&R a converter is probably 1 to 1.5 FRH. Flat rate means that the consumer pays for the same flat rate time whether the job takes 1 minute or all day.

The first thing an incompetent shop would do if a code scan indicated a bad catalytic converter is replace the converter. A competent shop would perform an emissions check, so add .5 FRH to the cat R&R time, which is how I came up with my estimate of 1.5 to 2 hours. I have not looked at a flat rate book in a long time, that is just my guess.

The guy who picked up your van seems to agree with Jeff Strickland's view on O2 sensors - change the part first to see if it solves the problem, and if it doesn't, then check to see what is wrong. If you're willing to pay for someone to gamble with parts and labor, then go to the guy with the torch (known as a "flame wrench").

Yes, there is a huge price difference between OEM and aftermarket converters. There are some decent aftermarket converters, but you get what you pay for. Take a look at how your cat is connected to the exhaust system, then take a look at an aftermarket installation. If cannot tell the difference and are willing to bet that the hose clamp the shop used will not leak CO into the passenger compartment, go with the cheapest place you can possibly find. If you would like to protect your $30,000 investment in transportation, then perhaps a little better quality is in order.

Reply to
Ray O

Actually $18,888.00 net cost.

Just one point of correction - our discussion was strictly for "replacement - assuming needed and good pipes".

Nothing about running tests all day etc.

j
Reply to
joe

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