filmteknik

Unfortunately I parked my 2008 RX350 (just a few months old) in an isolated lot while at a Faire in Wisconsin last Sunday afternoon and returned to find someone had Sawzall'd away what I presume was the catalytic converter. Dealer said actually it's not and it's just a "resonator."

I see there are two converters close to the engine on either side. Is the large thing in the middle of the exhaust a secondary converter or is it really just something about sound?

In any case, whatever it is, the repair (which I had the dealer do since the car is almost brand new) cost about $1700 including $1400 for the part.

Even if it's not a CC and contains no precious metals the fact that it looks like one means it's subject to theft which is easy to do under an SUV.

Any opinions on getting something like this:
http://www.catclamp.com/catclamp.asp

Or any other ideas?

Post theft:



After repair:

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

$1400 for a resonator is completely nuts , You can get an aftermarket resonator for a 10th of that. And if that was a cat, then those are around $200-$300 aftermarket, and that is installed.

What does that dealer charge for an oil change? $800??

filmteknik

Insurance paid for most of it. I asked to have the work done by the dealer, the car being new and all. I presume they'd have not okayed it if the dealer cost was five times what another shop would charge.

So is that just something for sound and not have any precious metals in it?

Chpsk8

Odds are it was something that was an easy thing to hack and sell on ebay or craigslist. I'd peruse those two places for a couple weeks and see if it turns up. Someone is trying to make a fast buck.
Did you fill out a police report? I bet that was a weird sound when you started your car and it wasn't muffled.

Lexmex

Welcome to the Club.

That looks like the main cat to me. The resonator is rather big on the RX350 (whereas the rear muffler is much smaller). People don't go taking electric saws to chop off resonators.

I don't know about that catclamp either, if they want it, they're going to get it.

filmteknik

Thanks.

Are there 3 cats then? In case the size is hard to judge in the photo it's 5.5" in diameter at the largest, central section about 4 something inches long with another 3.5" for each of the conical parts. It's a fraction of the size of the muffler farther back.

People might not intentionally go stealing resonators but they might if they didn't know better. I've not poked around under the car much since it's new but I sure thought this was a CC since no other is visible.

As for the "Cat Clamp" like with many such things it won't stop someone who is determined but might cause them to move on to easier prey. I'm just not sure where the ends of the cables attach to the vehicle because obviously there's no point to just caging the thing with hard-to-cut cables if they can just cut the pipe and take the whole thing, with the cage.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

catalytic converter theft is geting more common. i doub ta resonator cost that much.

rxovermdx

damn thieves! You should have just put a straight pipe through it...make it sound more like FX35!!

filmteknik

Making things louder holds no appeal for me. I know some people like that sort of thing but to me it seems childish.

In any case we haven't established whether this thing is or is not a secondary catalyst and would affect emissions. But that's all academic as I wanted the car back to original condition.

The dealer gave me a nice ES350 to drive during the repair. Sweet ride.

Lexmex

Yes, there are 3 cats. There are 2 precats right off the exhaust manifolds. You'd have to crawl underneath back there to see them. If you look on the front exhaust manifold right behind your radiator you can see one of the precats, but this main cat that was stolen is the important one. The precats mostly help cut emissions when the vehicle is not fully warmed up.

filmteknik

Oh, to the person who asked if I reported it to the police, yes I did. Kenosha County Sheriff's Dept. took the report.

I guess if I buy a "Cat Clamp" I won't have to feel foolish for wrapping up something that isn't worth much just because it's a false attraction to thieves.

Chpsk8

So what did the receipt call it when you picked it up after being repaired? I would think that whatever was on the receipt is pretty accurate as to what was replaced.

filmteknik

Unfortunately it only says "Pipe Assy, Exhaust" part number 17420-0P070. That and a couple of gaskets are the only parts listed. For labor it says "install new center pipe assy."

iKon_RX

the price they charge is outrageous.
must be nice to charge $300 to unbolt 4 pieces of metal and bolt on a new center pipe which takes 5 minutes to do. i wish i could make $300 for 5 minutes of work. LOL

they also charged the most they could for that part, which is no surprise.
what is cost them is less than this:
"Center pipe, rx350 2007 $1,178.37"- from mylexusparts

If you had to pay out of pocket, what would you have done?

overcharging is how dealers make their money.

aren't you glad you didn't have to pay out pocket?

If it wasn't covered, I would have bought a oem cat from a 4runner or highlander for about $300, have a good muffler shop weld it on: cost about $25-50.

in the end you have something that is almost original, wont effect emissions, still is considered OEM, cost 5x less than dealer, and chances of thieves taking it again is less:due to the fact that it isn't the original 1G cat, they wont take it.

filmteknik

Well, if anything you have confirmed that the part really is that expensive. That a dealer charges more than an online store is not surprising, especially if they know insurance is mostly footing the bill. I'm surprised the difference isn't greater.

The free loaner isn't really free nor is the free weekly car wash (a real one with conveyor chain and attendents) for purchasers, the lounge with phones and internet and all the other amenities of a luxury car dealer. At the heart of the matter is the cost of part and that's Lexus not the dealer.

Labor was only 88.00 Main part was 1472.96. Gaskets were 34.95 and 38.73. Tax on parts was 150.80. Some sort of discount was applied taking off 71.27. In the end the total bill was 1714.17.

Again, if the insurance company thought it was out of line they would have said we're not paying 1700 (less deductible) for something that can be done for 500. Part of this was probably knowledge that maybe there is no exact aftermarket product (they probably aren't going to have someone weld in a one size fits all) and so another shop would still have to buy the very costly genuine part so not much opportunity for savings if the repair is going to be done right.