"Lifetime" Mufflers?

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Yeah, it reminds me of when I was about 18 and went to a used car lot and bought some clunker. I didn't think it could be too bad, because the salesman told me that it had a 6 month 50/50 warranty.
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buy quality parts and do it yourself.
all the "lifetime warrenty"stuff i have seen with exhaust and brakes are just to get you in soon to buy more parts that are not covered and at a premium over quality stuff you can buy yourself!
 
The last time I needed a muffler I got one at Meineke and they told me it was "guaranteed for as long as I owned the car." So, it finally fell off, so I called their shop and asked them if I was going to get a free muffler. They said yeah, but it would cost $40 in labor to install it. So, I called a local garage and asked them what they would charge me to install a new muffler, P&L, and they said $50. Both places said that any needed hangers, clamps, etc., were extra, of course. Of course. I'm not sure the extra 15 miles to drive to the Meineke shop is worth the trouble. Is this one of those "gotchas?"
 
They are going on the assumption that you will not own the car when the muffler, brakes etc go and only the muffler is guaranteed, nothiong else, no other pipes, clamps etc. . Usually they use the bottom of the line products as well for mufflers, brake pads etc. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.
 
My brother brought a WELL used car for a work car. It needed a battery(among a lot of other things). He got a Interstate battery, the biggest one that would fit.
It had a 'lifetime' warrantee. He ended up getting two free replacement batteries as he kept that car for 9 years.
I'm sure most 'lifetime' items nowadays have an excape clause in there somewhere, to prevent that.

Spector is correct, they are assuming you'll have long ago gotten rid of that car. Consider that most items fail at/after 75-90 K miles. By the time those replacement items fail or wear out, a car will be well past 150K.
 
The lifetime warrantys at the muffler shops are a scam as when the muffler goes usually the pipes or something else needs replacing.Thats where they make their money.
Days of the good old lifetime warranty are gone Now most places offer a limited lifetime warranty which means the part will only be replaced one time.
 
Tin can muffler: $10
Installation fee: $40
Lifetime warranty: FREE
Customer returning every year and paying another $40 installation fee: Priceless!
 
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The lifetime warrantys at the muffler shops are a scam as when the muffler goes usually the pipes or something else needs replacing...




Yeah, that's how it used to be?
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The muffler was a freebe, but all the other parts and labor is what where they gotcha. A $40 "fee" for just the muffler is rediculous. I'd pay more at an idependant shop before I went back to a mine-a-key.

Joel
 
Well, I went to the local guy today and had the exphaust on my Civic wagon fixed. The pipes from the cat back were all shot so they got replaced too. I paid $80 P&L for everything, pipes, muffler, etc. Do you guys think that that is a fair price?
 
Sounds ok, but at that price, it's all galvanized thin-wall stuff that will rust out rather quickly in a Chicago winter. As long as 80.00 every year or two doesn't bother you..

You said "local" guy. Midas?
 
Well, they may have used Walker, and certain grades of Walker pipe are lifetime warranty, even for the tailpipes and clamps.

Midas and Speedy use awful, thin-walled stuff that goes rotton in no time, especially in the kind of salty conditions you must be subject to in Chicago..
 
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