My exhaust muffler fell (back-end muffler) so how much does it cost to replace? THANKS! Edit: I was referring to 1999 Sunfire Pontiac.. runs great.
Depends how badly the pipes going to it are rusted... im assuming pretty bad since the muffler fell off... a muffler for that car prob cost around $150 plus labour costs. If the pipe needs to be replaced it could mean the catalytic converter might need replacing too which could mean hundreds more.
Was it due to rust or was it the support bracket (very thick rubber ring) for the rear muffler had perished? OEM car parts will always be more expensive than generic parts. Mufflers are like computer fans, you get 8cm, 12cm, 14cm fans etc, but you can easily replace one brand with another in most cases. The OEM muffler is probably very similar to some of the generic mufflers, and possibly even came out the factory (just at half the price). Of course, you wouldn't want to get a cheap nasty muffler, but you should be able to get an okay one for a fair bit less that $150. Its hard to recommend, there's cheap ones, expensive ones, lots of brands with different models, and the prices would very from one state to another let alone country (I'm not in the US)! In Australia, you can get a reasonable quality universal sports muffler for less than $150, like a basic Berkley Universal or a basic Lukey Universal. They do have Stainless steel mufflers but they cost more of course! before someone says they're not like a $300+ system, thats obvious! but they are better than OEM mufflers and cheaper in some cases (and like I said, in those examples even the basic mufflers are quite good quality vs price).
An old Sunfire should have plenty of cheap mufflers. I just looked up my local Napa. A "Napa quiet flow" muffler is about 120 USD. Now I don't really recommend you do it your self. That age of a car, its bound to be a mess with rust and everything. Depending on the rust and "how" it fell off. Make the price hard to determine. Really, though, unless your driving around in MN, WI, or MI, or you know you are rusted out. I wouldn't expected the parts to be more than 100 extra, and labor another 100. Don't forget tax. Do your self some fun and drag your self under there and look at the rest of the exhaust pipe. Follow the exhaust from where the muffler was to the engine intself. There should be another thing that kind of looks like the muffler in bewtween. Thats your cat. These do NOT need to be expensive either. So where to get it done. That is like the hardest question of car stuff. Here's a tip, go to a local bar, get a little drunk and ask around to the people hanging out there who they recommend. Avoid anyone that says "I'll do it for you...! :>" My guess, unless the rust is really really bad, its going to be like 300-500. Some charge alot of labor for rust, it is a pain.
Oh one last thing, don't drive around for too long with out it. That ~100 dollar ticket will make you kick yourself .
100 bucks for that??dang heck my carpool ticket is like 500 bucks but the muffler is a fix it ticket like the burn out light tickets.
I think it depends on how loud your car is running without it. If it's not too bad I doubt you'd get a ticket that huge, or any at all. Also OP, try to get a stainless steel muffler. The generic ones rot retard fast (I'm encountering that problem now on my car).
My muffler pipe broke at a bracket/flange due to rust. So we took it off from manifold, removed some rust, bought some new pipe (to replace the pipe we've cut) and a brand new flange and we soldered everything. Cost? 22$.
Its like you'd ask "how much for a cake?". This depends on a lot of things, like the overall quality of the new part (stainless steel for example), the design, the manufacturer...
Check the rubber muffler hanger first, sunfire/sunbirds are notorious for those parts failing and they are cheap and easy to replace yourself.
Thats probably right once you take into account pipes, muffler, resonator, catalytic converter, and labour. Sure you needed the whole system replaced though? Although at that age the exhaust would have deteriorated, you may have only needed the rear muffler, or rear muffler and pipe back to the resonator replaced instead of the whole system. Of course, replacing the rear part would only be a good thing if you wanted to keep the car for just a couple of years. If you want to keep the car longer than that, the rest would have inevitably needed replacing in any case. At that point, it would be a lot harder to justify.
That muffler hanger (strap) on those sunfire/cavaliers are always rotting out and breaking. They are a metal band that bolts on one side, and slips into a rubber at the top, and they fall apart due to fatigue and rust. Then the muffler just hangs way down and stresses the pipe in front of the muffler, until it drags on the ground or falls off. So get a hanger, and check the pipe to see where it broke. If there is enough of straight pipe left, you can probably just pick up a muffler, and maybe an adapter if you need it (depending on the inlet diameter to the new muffler). If the muffler broke off on the bend, you'll probably need a cat-back system. Still reletively cheap for that car (parts are cheap for those cars, one good thing). ASE master tech.