Fair price to have exhaust repaired?

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I paid $200 to have a well-regarded local exhaust shop fix some exhaust leaks on my Accord. They did the following:

- Cut away a rotted flange near the tailpipe and welded on a piece of stainless steel tubing.
- Cut away a similar rotted flange near the flex pipe and welded a piece of SS tubing.
- Spot welded a small crack forming near the flex pipe.
- Spray painted those areas to keep the rust down.

I know these threads don't mean much after-the-fact but what the hey.
 
Seems a little pricy if you ask me. Maybe an hour worth of labor and the supplies might be $20-$40. SS tubing isn't too pricy. As long as they did a quality job I wouldn't lose sleep. What was their hourly rate?
 
It all depends on getting access to the site of the corrosion/leak.
Had a friend with a serious failure just ahead of the muffler/tailpipe,
Midas looked at it, let it sit a day or two & quoted $400+ repair & muffler.
They had sold that same muffler & pipe combo to the owner three years earlier.
A 'split flange' kit from Amazon was the solve, $17.95 , Prime delivery & one hour
of labor including RR tire removal to access. Not saying Midas is a rip off but time=money. ? I guess.
 
If it lasts a year it's worth it.

Since they're "well regarded" I imagine they'd have told you if the rest of the pipe was paper-thin.

I've had lots of similar "patches" last years. Stainless pipe is great except for the inch near the flange where the weld to said flange starts rusting.
 
Two weld repairs each with no guarantee cost me about $100/each. Both fixes lasted 3-4 years before I dumped vehicles, no issues.
 
I doubt they would have bothered doing all that if the majority of it was thinned too much. Most times these things rust out in just a couple spots leaving the rest more or less fine. As long as they got it solid you will be good for a couple years anyways. Whenever I change one out I always stash the good straight sections for future repairs. The majority of it isn't thinned at all.
It probably took them a while to fab and weld it up like that so $200 sounds pretty reasonable to me.
 
Originally Posted by mclasser
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I know these threads don't mean much after-the-fact but what the hey.


I mean, if nothing else this thread is a great reminder of why I moved to the left coast!
 
It's probably less than half of what a new cat-back install would be. I'd go the patch route too for rust belt use.
 
Yeah I mean, it's not a bad price. You did fine my friend!
smile.gif


Because, time was involved, the welder was involved, torches (or cut off tool), along with measuring, cutting, welding, and other materials too(some paint). I mean, it took ~ 1hr, that's what, $100 ?

And then there is the materials! Keep in mind that torches(oxy/acetylene) cost money and the welder too, you know!

You did good!
wink.gif


CB
 
Depends on the situation. I would DIY with Walker direct fit parts, so it's easy to ignore their labor charge, but I wouldn't have paid $200 to get only that done, unless you feel the car is not much longer going to be in your possession and/or used much, so cheapest way is the best way. I do think their $200 charge was reasonable including labor for what was done.

Here is quite a bit of that, catback:

https://catalog.walkerexhaust.com/c...sset&locale=en&loadStatus=ACTIVE

$53 https://www.amazon.com/Walker-54241-Intermediate-Exhaust-Pipe/dp/B000C93EL6

$85 https://www.amazon.com/Walker-55173-Exhaust-Resonator-Assembly/dp/B000C93EQ6

Granted, only that shop can determine how intact the rest of your exhaust is. Replacing factory stainless with these walker aluminized steel pipes, could make some parts rust faster than the original pipe would. Hard to guess. At least the mufflers are stainless.

https://www.amazon.com/Walker-53259-Quiet-Flow-Muffler/dp/B00G6KY9VY
https://www.amazon.com/Walker-53258-Quiet-Flow-Stainless-Assembly/dp/B000C94FLY

Anyway my point is, all the above parts together, w/free s/h since it's amazon, totals $272... plus gaskets, bolts, hangers, & a clamp (small $ stuff)... call it $320... though personally, if there wasn't an inspection looming and since it's the tail of winter in the NE, I would've put off putting new parts on till spring if there's no risk of losing it driving down the road with the old parts.
 
I just had both flanges on the cat done on my Ranger done for $100. OTD.
So, probably not a horrible price.
 
Too pricey. It would have been better to just replace the entire thing it would have saved you down the road.
Like most automotive repair shops muffler and exhaust places are no better and I've found them to be worse then regular general automotive repair.

Best to worst (in general as categories)

General Automotive Repair shops
Exhaust and muffler repair shops
Body and Paint shops.
 
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They ain't gonna do it for free. And not everyone has the cutting and welding tools at home along with the mechanical experience to do that sort of work confidently.

Price seems fair to me for what was done, I would have gladly paid it.
 
A local, well regarded shop is the better part of this tale.

A part of town where someone can get things welded together without making it a federal case is valuable.

Welding exhaust systems takes a different kind of savvy.

Jumping in with one odd job or another won't leave you in the position to determine if you got every penny's worth of value.

Any patch repair price will be measured against what you think a complete replacement would cost. That's tough to do without lots of small repair data.

Plus there's all the "human junk". Today's $200 repair might be $175 the next day depending on who you speak with.
 
The only acceptable exhaust repair is stainless from manifold to tailpipe. aything else is just a quick bodge that wont last, and will need more quick boding in the future.

buy nice or buy twice.
 
Originally Posted by Olas
The only acceptable exhaust repair is stainless from manifold to tailpipe. aything else is just a quick bodge that wont last, and will need more quick boding in the future.

buy nice or buy twice.



Good advice.
 
I have had 5 or so exhaust repair jobs on vehicles ive flipped.. i use the same reputable shop.

I always ask for a quote before they do anything.. that takes away all of the buyers remorse.
 
A local shop did a great job fixing the Notorious Nissan heatsheild buzz on my Old Rogue Select that the dealer wouldn't touch , with some cutting and welding.

about 40 mins and 40 bucks.

But that is a "backwoods garage"
I gave 'em a attaboy tip so they could have a free lunch.

Lou's Custom Exhaust on Route 125 in Kingston, NH.

http://www.louskingston.com/
 
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