95 325i in need of new exhaust

[tempesta]

Helly everyone,

I recently moved to DC and while I was driving up here my exhaust started sounding pretty bad. I stopped in South Carolina at a BMW dealership and had them inspect it, and they told me I needed a new catalytic converter and muffler. The total cost in parts alone will be $2000 for BMW parts.

I wanted to know if it would be okay to use a non-bmw catalytic converter and muffler and what the repurcussions could be. I was considering getting parts from Bavarian Autosport (http://www.bavauto.com/).

Also, where is a good place to take my car in for service in DC? I purchased my car at 90,000 miles and had the dealership replace the muffler before I drove it off the lot because it sounded pretty bad. I think it is quite a coincidence that my muffler has gone bad within 20,000 miles, so if anyone has any suggestions as to what may also need to be replaced to stop the problem from occuring in the future please let me know.

Sean

[BMWO]

I would definately look into the aftermarket. $2000 is way to much for mufflers and a cat. You can get very good high flow cats for under $500 and good performance mufflers for ~$100. Your car is out of warrenty so you don't have to worry about any dealership service issues. I would maybe give ELD performance a call in Crofton, MD. A lot of good guys there and IIRC one of them has a previous gen M3 that they have done a lot of work to.

[tempesta]

BMWO: Thanks for the info. I will give them a call.

~Sean

[BMWO]

No problem.