800 F-ing Dollars? It's a F-ing Focus!!

"Deal Killer - Powered by Focus" (dealkiller-ii)
11/04/2019 at 21:35 • Filed to: None

My car 13 year old car needs an exhaust, among other things. Went to a local repair shop, and they quoted $800+/- to replace from the cat back. Shit, that’s damn near half the value of the car. I’m gonna hit up a near by muffler shop, it looks a bit sketch but was referred by a mechanic friend who sends people over when they need cheap exhaust repairs. This guy is better able to “make fit” bits and pieces to get the job done, which is what i need right now. Nothing fancy, just a couple of pieces of pipe, muffler, resonator and flex pipe. I hope this works, as I don’t really want to do this myself, but it may end up that way.

DISCUSSION (12)

facw > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 21:57

I mean, a car being inexpensive doesn’t mean it’s going to have inexpensive repairs. Indeed expensive repairs are often a reason why cars are inexpensive.

That said it would be pretty tempting to just order from Rock Auto and install yourself or pay someone to mount it for you if it needs welding.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > facw
11/04/2019 at 22:08

Yeah, the more i look at it, the more it seems doable at home. There are basically two bolts that hold the flex pipe to the catalytic converter, then everything back is just bolted together and attached to the car with hangers. How hard could it be?

dieseldub > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 22:13

Yeah, most repair shops who don’t specialize in exhaust are only going to bolt on pre-fabricated parts that are going to cost significantly more.

When it comes to exhaust, it will almost always be cheaper to just pay a specialty exhaust/muffler shop to fabricate a setup with cheap tubing on the spot. They can bend and weld as needed and make it work.

Pre-fab’d stuff is often times more expensive because it is meant to be a bolt-on, easy solution and likely has had more thought put into it, uses higher quality materials, looks better and has more consistent fit than someone just winging it and slapping together something with what they have on hand.

Each has their place and different costs for various reasons. I wouldn’t automatically label the one repair shop a rip off for the quote, that just might be the exhaust they’re comfortable in doing, not being a specialty exhaust shop with loads of bulk pipes and mufflers on hand and tube benders and welders to make their own for cheap.

Meanwhile, on Youtube there’s someone who’s spent $12,000 on an old and nearly equally worthless W140 Mercedes with a not particularly reliable V12 in it just to have an epic exhaust sound. They sought out a highly regarded specialist in Japan to do it.

To each their own with whatever they have.

My bird IS the word > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 22:15

I mean, a cat back on my mini was easy as pie, but then again it was designed to be installed by yourself.

NKato > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 22:49

Famous last words.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 22:54

Exhaust system are one of the easier things to do. Just make sure the connect you have to take apart is in ok condition. Rusty bolts are a pain

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 22:54

Yeah, the new cat plus O2 sensors (four total T_T ) on our Sable was more than the car was flippin’ worth...

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 22:57

Which is why my civic has a fart can exhaust. The whole thing header back was cheaper than the OEM muffler. I added a resonator so it’s not too loud.

Shift24 > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 23:02

The more sketch the better. The best exhaust shops near me are in shit hole areas and look more like garages than shops.

jimz > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/04/2019 at 23:35

here’s something to think about- up until the early ‘90s, exhaust systems rotted out and needed replacement every couple of years.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Deal Killer - Powered by Focus
11/05/2019 at 06:41

Depends on how much rust there is. That's the real barometer of how difficult it will be.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > dieseldub
11/05/2019 at 09:54

Just stopped by the indie muffler shop, and the guy quoted $480, which sounds much better to me. I’d rather pay someone to put an exhaust on my car, rather than me crawling under it in my drive-way. The pain in the ass factor is worth at least a couple of hundred to me.