p0432 - Need new catalytic convertor
 

My 97 E420 appears to be in need of a new catalytic converter. I believe there are cheaper generic/universal options. Any recommendations? I would rather not spend $1000 on this repair.

Most likely $$$ spent will equal longevity!

We find most aftermarket cats last less than a year.

Some After-Market Cats are pretty good
 

In my actual experience, there are some good after market cats that can be procured locally at a muffler shop of solid repute! Had a couple of them installed on ML320 and my 300CE, which are performing very well after several years. There are some cheapies out there which will not last; you just have to check out the shops and their cat quality. These items cost $300 or so, not the high dealer figure you mentioned.

Ben Carter

If you do a Search, you will find my experience with a generic cat on my 96 SL500.

My advice - forget about having one welded in. It's very hard to get to get it right without removing the cat and pipe, and then with the labor, you might as well get the right part. If they try to weld it in without removing it, there is a good probability you will get air leaks, which will drive the ECU nuts.

There may be one-piece replacements for your car, as there were for mine. The cost was $713 vs $860 for the genuine MB part (including ground shipping).

I put my money on the genuine MB part because that's what the ECU is calibrated for. "Failure" of the generic cat is likely to be an unsolvable P0133/0153.

The Meineke guy told me he "sees that all the time" and that "replacement cats don't work on Mercedes." He refused to weld another one it or even to try to re-weld the existing one.

Ben,
Do you recall the brand you installed on your 300ce?

I used this place:

http://www.catalyticconverterwarehouse.com/

At $300 instead of $3000, it was no-brainer.