Catalytic Conveter needs to be changed - Anyway to... ?

[Asmodeus]

Hey there guys,

Mechanics told my mom that she possibly has to change both cats on her 740il, and they are roughly $2000 a piece.

Now, she plans on keeping this car another year or 15-20,000 Km more.

Is there any quick fix/cleaning that we can put the cat through to get those extra miles?

I'm thinking of soaking it in intake cleaner but I'm sure you guys have other options to present me.

Thanks

 

[MRC01]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asmodeus:
Mechanics told my mom that she possibly has to change both cats on her 740il, and they are roughly $2000 a piece.

---

I know this doesn't answer your question, but isn't it strange for them to fail? How old is the car? How many miles? Any idea why they failed? Sometimes the warranty covers parts like that longer than the rest. For example the standard warranty may expire after 3 years but stuff like that is still covered for 5-7 years.

 

[ALS]

I was talking about a BMW OEM part

 

[rpn453]

$2000 each??? Under $900 each??? Has inflation been really high the last couple of days or something? Go to a couple exhaust places and you'll probably find they can do the whole thing for under $500. First though, find out why the cats would need to be changed in the first place. Sounds kinda fishy to me . . .
Actually, this reminds me of an ex-girlfriend that needed a new exhaust for her miata cause the cat internals came loose. She was wondering how she would afford it when Mazda estimated $2000. Her dad promptly went to a local parts store and got a complete exhaust for $250.

[ August 26, 2003, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: rpn453 ]

 

[Propflux01]

how many miles are on this vehicle? I cannot see a cot going out if the proper gasoline has been used. 900$ is even alot. 2K, no way. and as other posters stated, most all cats are made the same. generics will work.

 

[Cutehumor]

that's alot of money just for a cat, I would not use OEM bmw cat if that high. it is a 740i though, aren't those retail 55k?

[ August 26, 2003, 03:56 PM: Message edited by: Cutehumor ]

 

[Asmodeus]

Car is a 95 with 250,000 Km on it.

BMW's warranty is 7 years/160,000 Km.

Thanks to Ken, found them for $400 USD on-line.

but the $2000 a piece is the retail from BMW. Thieves.

 

[Propflux01]

If you go with teh $400 specials, get a local Muff shop to put them on, ALOT cheaper than the stealer.

 

[ALS]

$2000 a piece is this mechanic nuts. Do a web search for BMW parts you probably can get them for less than $900 a piece. At $4000 I would get a second opinon on this one. I think someone is running a cash register under the car.

 

[3 Mad Ponchos]

That's crazy, a cat for a Chevy is like $100, and there's little if any functional difference.

Do you guys have emissions tests? If not, just put straight pipes on. Sheez. Otherwise find a generic or high performance piece that will fit. Some time with a Summit catalog might pay off.

Cheers, 3MP

 

[got boost?]

why not just knock the internals out of the bad cats?

 

[Robbie Alexander]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cutehumor:
that's alot of money just for a cat, I would not use OEM bmw cat if that high. it is a 740i though, aren't those retail 55k?

---

Probably is, because when mine went out it was 700 for my ONE cat plus labor of about 7-800, yeah right, a quick search on the net and I can get the cat for about 250, but I opten out and went to a muffler shop for about 125 installed.
You just have to make sure they know how to weld, and that if you need any special gaskets, I'd get those from the dealer and make sure they tighten the bolts correctly.