jen3kids Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 I hate used car repair decisions! The catalytic converter was stolen off my daughter's Toyota Prius earlier this week. Last week, she paid $600 for a new front wheel bearing and we really hoped her car would last another year or two, until she finished her degree and got a full-time job and could afford a new one on her own. Now we are trying to decide if we replace the CC with an aftermarket one, which would cost around $300, including new O2 sensors and a CC shield (to prevent it from being stolen again, I guess). Our mechanic says that while the aftermarket CCs are cheap, he has seen nothing but problems with them - they don't last, they don't fit properly, etc and since her car is a 2006, we should just cut our losses. Anyone have any insight? She would prefer to buy the car on her own, but there's no way she can afford it right now, so dh and I would have to co-sign or buy it and she would pay us back and that's totally doable for us. 3 Quote
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 I have been hearing about what a problem catalytic converter theft is becoming. You might ask another mechanic for a second opinion? If another one says the same, then I would believe them and would get the one originally made for the car. You don't want a money pit. 1 Quote
WildflowerMom Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 If you'll give me a bit, I'll ask my son. He's in the dr's office right now, I think... Quote
TravelingChris Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 I have heard about catalytic Converter stealing too. I agree with Jean. Check with another mechanic. Right now, used cars are quite expensive. The supply issues should be resolved by next year. Quote
Scarlett Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 My XH faced a similar issue with our son's Prius....it had some issues that could have cost at least $2K to repair. Ds did not know it but XH had already planned to buy ds a new car for college graduation....so he just moved that time line up by a year or two and went ahead and traded the Prius in and ds got a new car. If you can afford to get her one now and then her take over payments when she graduates and gets a job....that is probably the best bet. Oh and XH co-signed the loan to help ds's credit too. Quote
WildflowerMom Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) Here's what ds said... I'll copy and paste because I do not understand 'car speak' at all. "I’ve never seen a catalytic converter for 300 dollars at least not one that was any good. You can get a legitimate one from the parts stores but it will be a lot more than that. The shield is around 150 alone and you’ll usually get charged over 150 bucks in labor. I would probably go to an actual exhaust shop and see what they say before I listened to a regular mechanic" He added more... "Cause if you have to buy the whole assembly it’ll probably be over 600 dollars for just the part but if you go to an exhaust shop and they say they can just weld the actual catalytic converter piece itself it’ll be a lot cheaper" Edited June 25, 2021 by WildflowerMom Quote
jen3kids Posted June 25, 2021 Author Posted June 25, 2021 16 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said: I have been hearing about what a problem catalytic converter theft is becoming. You might ask another mechanic for a second opinion? If another one says the same, then I would believe them and would get the one originally made for the car. You don't want a money pit. DD's girlfriend's dad is a mechanic, so she's got a call into him as well. 12 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said: If you'll give me a bit, I'll ask my son. He's in the dr's office right now, I think... Thanks! 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: My XH faced a similar issue with our son's Prius....it had some issues that could have cost at least $2K to repair. Ds did not know it but XH had already planned to buy ds a new car for college graduation....so he just moved that time line up by a year or two and went ahead and traded the Prius in and ds got a new car. If you can afford to get her one now and then her take over payments when she graduates and gets a job....that is probably the best bet. Oh and XH co-signed the loan to help ds's credit too. She has already paid $$ to replace the front wheel bearings, or something like that. It's such a tough balancing act.... Quote
jen3kids Posted June 25, 2021 Author Posted June 25, 2021 6 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said: Here's what ds said... I'll copy and paste because I do not understand 'car speak' at all. "I’ve never seen a catalytic converter for 300 dollars at least not one that was any good. You can get a legitimate one from the parts stores but it will be a lot more than that. The shield is around 150 alone and you’ll usually get charged over 150 bucks in labor. I would probably go to an actual exhaust shop and see what they say before I listened to a regular mechanic" He added more... "Cause if you have to buy the whole assembly it’ll probably be over 600 dollars for just the part but if you go to an exhaust shop and they say they can just weld the actual catalytic converter piece itself it’ll be a lot cheaper" Thanks, I appreciate his responding. I've also emailed 2 friends who has significant others who work as mechanics to see what they say. Quote
Scarlett Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 19 minutes ago, jen3kids said: DD's girlfriend's dad is a mechanic, so she's got a call into him as well. Thanks! She has already paid $$ to replace the front wheel bearings, or something like that. It's such a tough balancing act.... Oh I know. My ds had attempted several things on his own before he called his dad. I think he spent several $100 of his money but it was a way bigger problem than he first thought. Dealers are paying top price for vehicles right now. Quote
Wildcat Posted June 25, 2021 Posted June 25, 2021 I can tell you how we decided when faced with something similar. We also had hoped to hobble DD's car along for one to to years and debated on the repair or replace issue. While she was still in school, there was no way we, or she, wanted a nicer vehicle due to the road conditions (numerous potholes) and the inconsiderate students both on campus and in the apartment complexes ~~ there were lots and lots of accidents and the whole door dinging, etc, going on. She also wanted to take her time and look around to see what she wanted to buy, and doing that while in school wasn't really possible due to her time constraints. What we decided was to keep repairing the car until she was ready to replace it. Even a $3,000 repair is akin to a $250 monthly payment over 12 months, which is nearly unheard of nowadays, so that was a 'bargain' when looking at it that way. We figured that by repairing the car, it would allow her to look around and take her time in choosing her replacement. That said, she still needed a co-signer because her new job with the great salary didn't make up for the fact that she had never had an installment loan on her own, so your offer to cosign for her will still probably have to happen. After 6 to 8 months, she should be able to refinance the loan into her name only. Just a heads up on that. So, if your DD will have a car payment when she replaces the car anyway, I would repair the current car, but I would probably not use the aftermarket part for something so critical. I'm glad you're getting good advice on that issue, both here and IRL as I'm not up on all that stuff and who to go to for the best advice/service. Also, repairing the current car will also 'buy you time' to let the used car market settle down a bit. I would hate to shop for a car right now, used or new. Repairing might actually save you money in the long run if the prices come back down to where they should be. Quote
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