[binary visions]

My Google-fu is failing me.

How much should an OEM catalytic converter cost for a 2002 Subaru Outback (base model)?

The shop quoted me a small fortune for it, but I can't find a single cat anywhere that's more than half the price. On the other hand, I also can't find the actual Subaru cat - only aftermarket parts.

Anyone got access to pricing?

 

[IH8Rice]

base model as in the 2.5L not 3.0L?

 

[binary visions]

Yep, it's just the standard 2.5L engine.

 

[Jimmysal]

It might just be expensive. I know a lot of Audi/VW cats come as assemblies with downpipes, flex joints, and all manner of bull**** integrated into one "part." Makes it easier on the labor end for installation and alignment with the tradeoff of a higher parts price.

 

[IH8Rice]

cars with multiple cats can be expensive. cheapest ive seen is $249, not OEM of course. do you really want the actual OEM part?

did you kill your O2 sensors too?

 

[Tiago79]

I am just about to walk out the door to go do mine now for my Lexus IS300(I did my Nissan frontier last year). This is the place I got mine that just arrived.

http://www.usautoparts.net/catalog/?N=11745+4294962489+1719+11921+9190

with a black Friday 20% off coupon mine was $400, I believe Lexus OEM is upwards of $1600 just for the part! It is not a cheap ordeal. Good luck.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Two dolla. Try it now.

 

[Rideforfun]

I was quoted around 800 for new OEM for an 01 forester... I would expect about the same for the OB.

 

[descente]

cats are not cheap. i got by with a magnaflow hi flow on my bronco last time i replaced one for ~$100. here in CA you need to have something that is now CARB approved, so if they crawl under and take a look at the serial i will probably fail.

not sure how strict they are in NC, but get a rough measurement of length, and inlet/outlet diameter then look for a generic from Magnaflow or something. it will probably be cheaper. a lot of things depend on how cool your smog shop is too. i replaced 2 cats with 1 cat that was just a more compact, modern combination of what the two factory cats did. the thing barely registers on the sniffer too.

 

[DirtyMike]

It all depends on what the vehicle was equiped with for the exact model. Not all base models are exact, some will be california equiped, some federal equiped, possibly even canadian equiped.

They all have different specs and req's that the cats will need to performe at, as well as what parts it is to be made with for the proper vehicle.

Pre OBD could be installed for a bill and a half, we just did a set on a dodge truck that our cost was 100 dollars.


The range is huge, universals arent really universal.... there are still different parts numbers on the universals to match specific vehicles even for a weld in unit.

Good luck, just time to give the exhaust shops some calls

 

[Jim Mac]

I have an '02 Forester and was quoted about 500 installed. My mechanic, however, "modified" it and viola! It passed inspection!

 

[binary visions]

Not looking for universals or aftermarket, just trying to figure out if this shop is in the ballpark. They quoted me $950 for the OEM catalytic converter.

The guy said they would be happy to install a non-OEM part but they don't warranty them because they've had so much trouble with them failing after short periods of time.

I replaced one on my Forester for ~$300 but am under no illusions that it was actually an OEM part.

 

[dan-o]

What year and mileage is the car?
Emission equipment has minimum warranty periods that are pretty generous.

I'd get a salvage yard replacement or straight pipe depending on inspection in NC.

Edit: warranty should be 8/80. If you're in that range take it to a dealer.

 

[DirtyMike]

Well, easy way to check that is to grab your VIN, call a SUbie dealer and get a quote for the part, thatll tell you if its in line. At $950 for an OEM isntalled sounds pretty inline price wize. Im sure you know they are marking it up from what there cost is, cool part if they are using dealer parts, you "should" be getting charged the same price as if you were to walk into the dealer and buy it yourself, then paying the pabor. Most shops get 20% off customer list pricing<which really sucks cause that means there is **** for markup on dealer supplied parts> and to maintain that discount they cant get caught selling at more than the retail list.

Make a call, youll know for sure

 

[blackohio]

PM me with make/model year etc. I used to work for Car Sound and our OE converter line is everybit as good as OE. High-flow, spun metallic cores. I can get you a good price from one of my previous co-workers.

Car Sound converters are warrantied and fit OE

 

[MMike]

Copper ain't cheap.

 

[stoney]

super expensive. because of the platinum.
Look at subarugeniuneparts.com and subaruparts.com in their OEM catalogues for pricing. You can probably get it for 10-25% cheaper this way.

 

[binary visions]

PM me with make/model year etc. I used to work for Car Sound and our OE converter line is everybit as good as OE. High-flow, spun metallic cores. I can get you a good price from one of my previous co-workers.

Car Sound converters are warrantied and fit OE

Appreciate the offer. I won't be installing it, though, because I haven't done it before and I don't think I can get the car far enough off the ground to make it reasonable... and generally, I don't like bringing parts into a shop unless I've been a long time customer since they make their margins on the parts too.

Just called two dealers and got the price the shop gave me, down to the penny. Looks like they're just quoting MSRP but it's accurate. Damn. Thanks guys.

 

[stoney]

Why would you not buy the part for cheaper? I have a better idea, how about you give the $100 you'll save to a charity, and have them install the part? They make the money on labor. Why are you taking yourself for a fool?

 

[blackohio]

I bet you I could save you about $700 from that $950 quote and give you a converter that will last as long if not longer than a OE unit, but it's your money and I'm not gonna twist anyones arm.

 

[Sandwich]

yeah, you'll pay out the butt for an OEM cat, but you can probably get one of the intertubes for $250.

 

[binary visions]

Why would you not buy the part for cheaper? I have a better idea, how about you give the $100 you'll save to a charity, and have them install the part? They make the money on labor. Why are you taking yourself for a fool?

Who says I am? I'm probably not going to pursue the OEM cat is all. I'll see what my options are from them for third party converters, check the pricing on those, and decide.

blackohio, I may yet take you up on the offer and I do really appreciate it. I'm just going to find out if they have reasonable pricing on high quality aftermarket cats, and if so, I may buy from the shop. If the prices are still high, I'll definitely shoot you a PM.

 

[Sandwich]

http://www.thepartsbin.com/catalog/?N=5760+1719+11745+4294962489+11921

 

[stoney]

catalytic converter, legacy, front, 2.5l, all
02-03 $957.40 $936.24
Part & Prices Are For Estimating Purposes Only.
Exhaust system - Catalytic converter
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=214857

Exhaust system, Catalytic converter
Legacy, All
EXHAUST SYSTEM »Exhaust system
Subaru &#8250; Outback &#8250; 2002-2003
List Price : $957.40
Your Price : $899.38

https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html

 

[stoney]

I would almost take Blackohio up on the offer.

 

[blackohio]

Like I said I worked for car sound exhaust systems. We were on of the largest converter manufacturers in the world. Parts are legit. We were also the parent company to Magnaflow performance exhausts.

Let me know offers there and I still have a few good people working there. There's no reason to buy oe if you absolutely don't need to.


But before you buy anything let me know what brand your thinking about. I spent 10 years in that industry and can tell you what to stay away from a there are alot of non EPA certified cats out there saying they are legit.

Also be aware there are 2 cats on that car - front and rear. Which one of yours is toast?

 

[binary visions]

Also be aware there are 2 cats on that car - front and rear. Which one of yours is toast?

Well, there are a couple problems. One is that the flange on the back of the rear converter has rusted and broken off, causing an exhaust leak. The other is a number of codes being thrown:

P0420
P0031
P0137
P0138

The car has 170k+ miles on it so it wouldn't be crazy that the cat has decided to die. If it were just one code I'd be more inclined to blame the oxygen sensors, but all of them plus a rough idle...

 

[blackohio]

Let me look up all the codes when I get home. If I remeber p0420 is a catalyst innefficiency code. But I could be wrong.

 

[Sandwich]

lawd have mercy. don't go spending $1000 on an OEM catalytic converter for a car with 170k miles. You'll be better off either stealing one off a junker or getting an e-special on it and having it installed. I'm sure other stuff will start falling off soon enough.

 

[binary visions]

Let me look up all the codes when I get home. If I remeber p0420 is a catalyst innefficiency code. But I could be wrong.

No, you're right.

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0031
http://www.obd-codes.com/p0137
http://www.obd-codes.com/p0138

 

[Jeremy R]

BV, I don't know if you want to deal with Blackohio. I heard he was a gang member.

 

[binary visions]

BV, I don't know if you want to deal with Blackohio. I heard he was a gang member.

Frankly, I don't care if his initiation was to steal a catalytic converter, murder a family with it, and then sell the murder weapon to an unsuspecting forum administrator. If he can get me a decent quality cat for a couple hundred bucks, I'll vote him into the oval office

 

[Jeremy R]

Frankly, I don't care if his initiation was to steal a catalytic converter, murder a family with it, and then sell the murder weapon to an unsuspecting forum administrator. If he can get me a decent quality cat for a couple hundred bucks, I'll vote him into the oval office

Just saying, if he is a convicted jaywalker, what else is he capable of?

 

[jimmydean]

Damn I owe BV rep. I have yet to see you try it now.

If the exhaust has issues, take it to an exhaust shop, have them replace the cat and go from there. An OE cat costs more, but I doubt it does anything special. I don't trust a dealership to do exhaust work (or most anything that requires welding), but that's because I know many good shops and can get full systems for what a dealer charges for parts. And those shops weld ALL THE TIME.

 

[C.P.]

Exhaust leak could cause those codes...you cant get the flange repaired at an exhaust shop?
FWIW, I still have original cats and I just replaced the rusted & leaking exhaust gasket & spring bolt set on my '00 Outback (all original) which caused nearly the same set of codes. $25 in OE parts, and 20-30 minutes under the car.

 

[blackohio]

quick outback code read-up suggest more than a few cars have had both converters and o2 sensors replaced and still throw the codes, due to carbon build-up in the head which raises cylinderhead temps and that in-turn increases nox emissions. Try some of the carbon cleaners out there first. if its run for a bit that ways its possible the cats and o2 are dead anyhow. But at that mileage it wouldnt surprise me at all if both cats and the sensors were on their way out the door.

Also good to note sometimes aftermarket o2 sensors place the element not far enough into the exhaust stream and that causes faults.

As for my gang status, well i did leave the gang and am helping inner city youth who have been victims to walk-by-J'ing. Doing what I can where I can know what im sayin

 

[binary visions]

Just saying, if he is a convicted jaywalker, what else is he capable of?

Possibly theft, murdering a family, hiding the murder weapon, and selling stolen property. All of which, we have established, I am okay with. As long as there's no blood fouling up the platinum.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

What shape is the flux capacitor in?

 

[blackohio]

Once every couple of months we'd have a armored truck deliver the precious metals for the converters. Fully armored, dudes all shotgunned up carrying a tiny briefcase. Not sure what the **** they were dropping off, we asked what it was and the owner said it was the precious metals and that the contents of the lunchbox sized case were about $200K and had a total material size of a couple hot dogs.

 

[Sandwich]