Catalytic CONverter

[Rebel Rebel]

My wife took her car into our local Toyota dealership after a warning light came on on her Yaris.After a days work replacing the Lambda sensor they decided that the whole Cat needed replacing.
They quoted £600 for parts and £200 for labour. I thought this sounded a bit pricey for a relatively simple job, so I started phone round. Good job I did! I've picked up a new OEM Cat for £130 from an autoparts shop and our local garage has quoted £35 to fit it, a saving of £635 over the official Toyota dealership.
Needless to say we won't be gracing them with our custom again!

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

sounds about right

a days works to replace a lambda sensor, how many hours is that

[iB1]

That is a huge price difference! The only thing I'd say is that it's possible that the Cat from Toyota may last longer than the OEM part.

[TiTheRev]

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer, so in theory you've got a genuine item and genuine deal :) it does sound too good to be true though, so i'd fear you've been sold a non-gen item claiming it's OEM. No way Toyota would supply a garage the same cat with that much discount, maybe 10-15% off but NOT 75% :confused:

All genuine parts have a 2year nationwaide warrenty, so keep the reciept handy...just in case, and claim the 2years with the garage that fitted it if anything goes wrong!

[Cardelia]

Catalytic converters seem to be one of those parts where garages (in general) look to make the most profit. I had a V-reg Fiesta a while ago which needed a new cat fitted. Main dealers and even most independents were quoting £350+ for parts only, whereas Kwik Fit (of all places) were by far the cheapest at £120ish all in.

[TiTheRev]

Catalytic converters seem to be one of those parts where garages (in general) look to make the most profit. I had a V-reg Fiesta a while ago which needed a new cat fitted. Main dealers and even most independents were quoting £350+ for parts only, whereas Kwik Fit (of all places) were by far the cheapest at £120ish all in.
...and there's a good reason for that, it wont even last a third of the time of the genuine ones ;) they use Walker exhausts which are very poor quality (designed for maximum profit believe it or not!) and often sound worse than the ones you take off! I used to work for a part of the Unipart group that stocked Kwik-fit, and we had more warrenty claims than good sales. We ended the contract as soon as we could and went over to Timax. (not a lot better, but best of a bad bunch!).

I can honestly tell you though, the dealers DONT make a lot of money on most parts that we get. On a Cat the price you mentioned, we (as a dealer) would do well to make £40/50 out of it.

[Rebel Rebel]

Even if it does only last a third as long it would still be much cheaper replacing it 3 times at £165 than the £800 Toyota were going to charge me!
The Cat came from a reputable parts dealer (recommended by a mechanic friend) and does indeed come with a 2 year warranty. It does seems like a genuine Toyota part.
I was reading somewhere else about selling the old Cat on as scrap. Is this easily enough done? And how much should I be looking to get for it?

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

how old is this toyota, surely the cat should not be failing yet?

[TiTheRev]

Even if it does only last a third as long it would still be much cheaper replacing it 3 times at £165 than the £800 Toyota were going to charge me!
The Cat came from a reputable parts dealer (recommended by a mechanic friend) and does indeed come with a 2 year warranty. It does seems like a genuine Toyota part.
I was reading somewhere else about selling the old Cat on as scrap. Is this easily enough done? And how much should I be looking to get for it?
I'd still rather have one that last the whole term and sounds quiet, than have to change it every couple of years (and be off the road for a day) and have everyone know you're coming with the much louder aftermarket exhaust!

[Rebel Rebel]

It's about 8 years old. I don't have a clue about cars so I don't know how long they're meant to last. It's done around 65,000 miles I think.
We're planning on selling it in the next few months anyway.
And as I said, as far as I know it's a genuine, new, Toyota part, not an aftermarket one.

[Rebel Rebel]

Does anyone know if there is any scrap value for the old knackered Cat?

[goldspanners]

Does anyone know if there is any scrap value for the old knackered Cat?

there would have been last month when scrap metal was around £160 per ton but nowe you will be lucky to get £30 per ton. nobody is selling scrap at the moment until the price reaches at least £80 per ton.
maybe worth keeping a hold of it if you dont mind it lying around. keep an eye on scrap metal prices though,or drive past a scrap merchant and if he looks busy then sell it.

[anewman]

People go to the effort of stealing cats from under cars so I'd say it should be worth something.

[Conor]

They quoted £600 for parts and £200 for labour. I thought this sounded a bit pricey for a relatively simple job, so I started phone round. Good job I did! I've picked up a new OEM Cat for £130 from an autoparts shop and our local garage has quoted £35 to fit it, a saving of £635 over the official Toyota dealership.
Needless to say we won't be gracing them with our custom again!

Err, you are aware that these cheap catalytic convertors only last a couple of years before they start dropping to bits?

[Ginger Nuts]

Err, you are aware that these cheap catalytic convertors only last a couple of years before they start dropping to bits?

Bit of a sweeping statement there, i've had several fitted to cars and theyre still going perfectly after 3 or four years:rolleyes:

[jeannieblue]

Err, you are aware that these cheap catalytic convertors only last a couple of years before they start dropping to bits?
Sadly its true - they don't last long.

Sometimes it is better to look to breakers and see what vehicles they have in and get a genuine one from there.

Gottat be careful of the alleged 'OEM' statement. At that price, I'd say that it wasn't and will not last long - but if you are not keeping the car that long, then no worries!

Some sensors from Walkers are pretty good by the way!!