Checked engine light vs. my bank account, picked the cheap option and got burned

My 2014 Subaru Outback threw a P0420 code in Tulsa. Shop quoted me $1,800 for new catalytic converters. I figured I knew better, grabbed a $40 O2 spacer off Amazon and cleared the code myself. Three weeks later the light came back on, plus it started stuttering on the highway near Sand Springs. Took it to another shop, they said the converter was already toast and now it's a $2,300 job with labor. Should've just eaten the first quote or at least got a second opinion. Anyone else tried the cheap fix route and watched it blow up worse?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey3422h ago

Damn that stings just reading it. Tulsa prices are already brutal without adding insult to injury. That stuttering on the highway is the worst feeling too, like the car is begging you to just take it to a real shop. I did the same dance with a cracked MAF sensor once, thought a $15 cleaning spray would fix it, ended up frying the whole intake manifold a week later. The worst part is knowing the $500 difference could've bought new tires or something actually useful. At least you're not alone in this, tons of us learned the exact same way.

wade_anderson5h ago

Man, that $40 spacer is the automotive equivalent of putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound, I swear. I did the same thing with an old Jeep once, cleared the code for exactly one trip to the DMV before it threw a fit worse than my ex at a family reunion. Best part is you get to pay the extra $500 for the lesson that cheap fixes are just expensive delays with extra steps.