How much to replace my car's meow?

April 13, 2009 1:27 PM

How much should it cost to replace the catalytic converter in my 94 Toyota 4Runner?

Hello..so my cat was swiped in Brooklyn; I had my car towed to my mechanic in NJ and he is quoting 1125. This seems ridiculous. Does anyone have a recommendation for a mechanic in NY or NJ that will replace it for a more reasonable rate? The piece itself is only going for around a hundred bucks!

Thanks much, hive mind.

posted by infinityjinx to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

The OEM converter is almost certainly much more than $100. Even "universal" aftermarket converters are usually more than that.

I would expect that the job would be in the $400+ ballpark with a generic aftermarket converter, plus the cost to replace adjacent parts of the exhaust system that might be rotten. If you want OEM parts, then the $1100 price point doesn't surprise me. I was quoted a price in the $900 ballpark to replace one in my VW Jetta, and I'd guess that your truck uses a bigger and more expensive catalyst.
posted by jon1270 at 1:33 PM on April 13

If you catalyst was stolen and just your catalyst, then that is a hideous amount of money. I'd expect it to be something like 2 hours of labour max, for changing it. If the old one has already gone, then that is half the job done.

Now, I suspect that there may be some damage or otherwise missing components involved, though. There will be heat baffles and the like, possibly broken off/snapped bolts when the thief took the old one off to deal with - it is unlikely they did this in a sympathetic manner. If they looked at the car and gave this quote, then there may be more to it. If this was done over the phone, then I'm surprised. As in, very.

Is the rest of your exhaust system still there? Is it undamaged?
posted by Brockles at 1:35 PM on April 13

Honda wants $1100 for an OEM cat for an Element. Ouch, I hope I never need one...
posted by Marky at 2:51 PM on April 13

I had the cat replaced in my 94 Volvo (so same year as your car) two years ago and it was $450. In a notoriously expensive town in suburban Boston.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:52 PM on April 13

$1125 is ridiculous. I just had mine done in a '94 Toyota pickup (which is basically a 4Runner without the hard top) for $375. But if like Brockles said, your exhaust is rotten you'll need to deal with that as well. Still though, you should be able to get a sweet stainless exhaust for what they're charging you.
posted by electroboy at 2:53 PM on April 13

A dealer where I usually get my parts has these prices listed: $495 for the 4-cylinder, $778 for the 6-cylinder. There is also a fluid coupling assembly listed for $164, I'm not sure if you need this for your truck or not. If so, and if you had the V6 4-runner, you could see the price for parts alone exceeding $950.

Your best bet is probably to find a shop that will use an aftermarket cat, since the Toyota parts are remarkably pricey. And of course, as Brockles said, the price will be higher if the thieves did any other damage while removing the part (seems likely).
posted by knave at 2:55 PM on April 13

Btw, around here they usually get your cat with a sawzall, so there's not a terrible amount of damage.
posted by electroboy at 3:02 PM on April 13

Did you try repairpal for an estimate? It seems to suggest that $1125 is high, though not completely outrageous.
posted by ikaruga at 9:38 PM on April 13

As a follow up in case anyone was interested, I took it to Meineke and they replaced it for $300.
posted by infinityjinx at 6:29 PM on April 20

Woo, I win! I was closest!
posted by electroboy at 10:45 AM on April 21