On September First 2017, Bell Honda in Phoenix asked $1,319.12 for a catalytic converter, although they offer a 15% military discount on parts. Today they are asking over $2,100, almost $500 more than what Kelley Blue Book says my car is worth.
Tempe Honda charged $648.81 with tax, but now they want $1,036.83.
Majestic has gone from $650.98 to ship one to $895.62.
Honda Parts Network went from $608.77 to $848.58.
Bernardi Honda does not mention the core and would have shipped it for $477, but now they want $1,124.64.
Manly Honda has the best deal I can find now, they will ship for $726.65, and do not mention a core, but that is almost three times what I paid for the car! As much as I prefer to put Honda parts in my Honda, I cannot imagine a scenario where putting a $727 part that should last decades into a nineteen year-old car with 195,000 miles makes sense. I had hoped to reduce the oil burning by replacing the seals when I changed the timing belt. Hopefully I decreased the leakage, which did not seem to be a problem, although some of the seals appeared questionable. I planned on acid-washing my cat and still will, but I do not have any reason to believe that it will burn less oil now, nor that acid-washing would keep CELs away for more than 5,000 miles.
Looking at aftermarket cats, I see:
Magnaflow: O’Reilly’s: $182, AutoZone: $194, Napa: $195, and Amazon: $144.
More expensive Magnaflow: O’Reilly’s: $280, AutoZone: $267, Napa: $275, and Amazon: $266.
Walker: AutoZone: $179, Napa Solutions: $267, Amazon: $113, and RockAuto: $142.
More expensive Walker: AutoZone: $267, Napa Solutions: $456, Amazon: $144, and RockAuto: $251.
Bosal: AutoZone: $186, Napa $195, Amazon $178, and RockAuto: $151.
More expensive Bosal with the oxygen sensor in the wrong place: AutoZone: $212, Napa: $219, Amazon: $104!, and RockAuto: $158.
Most expensive Bosal: AutoZone: $305, Napa $315, Amazon $227, and RockAuto: $214.
As much as I like the idea of walking into a store and ordering a replacement, Amazon has the best price on 5/7 of those, as little as $1, but $312 for the more expensive Walker, less than a third as much as Napa charges! RockAuto is $13 - $27 less on two of those.
Napa labels the Walkers as Napa Solutions, so Napa considers Walkers to be the best? In our survey, two people recommended Magnaflow, one suggested OEM, and seven said Other (BM Catalyst, Random Technology, custom, unknown, and perhaps three people said they chopped it up fine and inhaled it).
RockAuto and Amazon also carry Eastern Catalytic, which was the top pick of Xterra owners. RockAuto charges $158 for the cheaper one. Amazon asks $148:
Eastern 40234 Catalytic Converter
...and $202! Amazon is lower than anywhere listed in Google Shopping.
Then again, there is the evil twin of my current cat:
$86 shipped via Amazon.
If I play my cards right I could be the proud owner of two failed cats!
