Car question: is it hard/expensive to replace muffler?

Question

I'm looking to buy a cheap car on craigslist right now and the one I'm looking at says it needs the muffler replaced. They say the car runs and all but would be quieter with a muffler.

How much would a muffler go for would you figure? Could someone not car-mechanically-bright put it together in a few hours?

Or how much do you think I'd end up paying if I brought it in? Someone said it would be like $40?

Answer 1

i own a repair shop,and this is something you,d have to probably have done at a muffler shop,there's some cutting and welding involved in doing this,,the cost would be around 65 bucks for a cheap muffler,,a real good one would cost around 85-100 bucks for labor and all,good luck hope this help,s.

Answer 2

Depends on what kind of car it is. You could get a cheap muffler installed on most American cars for under $60. My Benz is a lot more. I had an old Datsun Z that cost almost $500 to replace the whole exhaust system.
Don't mess around with it, though. Carbon monoxide poisoning is no fun.

Answer 3

It would depend on the make and model of the car and where you took it to have it installed. If you are not mechanically inclined, its best left to someone who is. Its not a hard job to do at all. You just have to have some degree of mechanical and technical aptitude in order to figure out how to do it. There are no step-by-step instructions or diagrams or charts. And if there were, they certainly do not show you how to improvise in the event that your car is not exactly like the one in the picture.

You may not need a mechanic to get the job done but you certainly would need someone who can work a hack saw, a socket wrench, and someone who knows how to free rusted bolts without breaking them. Broken bolts is a common mistake made by non-gearheads attempting to work on their exhaust.

Answer 4

The best way is to replace the entire exhaust pipe- these bolt on and off quite easily (some stock pipes need to be cut to get off, either that or you need to remove the rear axle...). If that's not possible then you can buy a new muffler, saw the old one off, weld the new on one. I'd suggest a pro shop.

Answer 5

Like everything else, it's easy IF you have the right tools. But without a gas welding kit and a garage lift, easy aint gonna happen. Figure on $60 on the cheap. But as with everthing else, you can make it cost a LOT more. Say, $300?
Good luck.

Answer 6

You can change it yourself, but if the U-bolt connection, where the muffler was peviously located, has been overtightened it will crimp the piping and a torch may be needed. Give it a try it takes a little strength but will save a lot of money.

Answer 7

you can buy mufflers at your local auto parts store with the parts to install them. not usually for less than $100. most of the time the bolts on the pipe clamps that hold the pipes together break because they are rusty so you have to replace all of them so it is usually not that easy and you have old rusty exhaust pipe to get rid of

Answer 8

ya, it wouldn't cost that much, its pretty much a "if you can remember how you took it apart, you can put it back on" type thing. its basically a bolt on. it would be alot easier if you have some jacks you can use to lift up the car while doing your work. if the car is a really good buy just because of that, i'd say go for it.

Answer 9

if you are poor and skinny, and can see where it is broken, hose clamps and a can

otherwise for most cars $120 for half , $240 for the whole one

at an honest cheap repair place, I think we paid about that

Answer 10

to give an honest answer the make and model of the car would be helpful, and if you wanted to upgrade the system. you maybe looking at $50.00-$400.00 installed.