I have a 2001 S40 with 105K miles on it. The check engine and service lights were both on so I brought it to the dealer.

The dealer says I need both a cam reset valve/pulley replacement (at $1.9K) and both catalytic converters need to be replaced (at $2.6K).

Am I being ripped off here or is this normal? I'm considering junking the car if I need to spend this much.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

That sounds out of line expensive! Take your car to an exhaust shop for the CAT. Wait, both CAT's??? I thought there was only 1 CAT, 1 Resonator, 1 Muffler. At least that's what I've had on every one of my 4 Volvos. Get the CAT at an exhaust shop, If the resonator need to be replaced as well, just have the exhaust shop cut it out and replace it with a straight pipe. The cam reset valve is a known issue with the cars, but that still seems WAY too much for the job including a simple pulley. Take you car to a good indie mechanic and get a quote from them to compare it to the dealer quote.

Where are you located, and what dealer is telling you this???

 

Sounds way out of line. +1 on Mad Matt's suggestion. If it really would cost that much, unless you were planning on driving the car for another 6-8 years it wouldn't be worth spending that much money on it.

 

Thank you so much for your quick response.

I live in the Washington, D.C. area and I took it into Darcars.

The cam reset valve repair was mostly labor, with the parts costing only $400.

The service technician said that the S40 had two catalytic converters and that they wear at the same rate, so they both needed to be replaced at the same time.

 

Yes there is two CAT but the first is metallic the second is ceramic.Different distances from the main heat source and different materials.How the hell could they both go out at the same time.Also the CAT really shouldnt go bad at that millage at all.Volvo garantie covers them I think for 10 years as part of the emission control I guess they wanna try to sell you one.

 

Now that you mention that, I remember there is a 10 warranty some of the pollution control components. Might want to look into that. If for some reason it's not, I'd still take you car to a quality exhaust shop for the new CAT's. You'll save a bunch of money.

 

I'll have to look into the warranty. Any suggestions on how to find a quality exhaust shop? The only ones I know of are Meineke or other muffler shops.

Thanks you everyone for your help!

 

I know nothing about the DC area so I'd just check around your area for an independent exhaust shop. If not, I'm sure Meineke could do it for you.