Hi Gurus,

My E320 catalytic converter, in one of the exhaust pipes, is gone. Something is broken inside it and it rattles when the engine is running. Very annoying!! Mercedes will not cover for it and they are asking $1100 for parts and $600 for labor amounting to $1,700.

A local muffler garage (Meineke) told me that they can cut off the catalytic converter and replace it with an aftermarket one (MagnaFlow) which is supposed to work on an E320. They will do so by welding and clamping.

Is this second option acceptable? Of course Mercedes Service says NO. Can someone shed some light into this?

Thank you!!