tpatru

My mom just bought a 99 Civic EX, and the exhaust is all rusted out. We live in Michigan where the roads are salted and standard shop exhaust systems only tend to last about 2 years. Shops around here want over $400 to replace the exhaust from the cat back.
My question is, what is the most cost-effective solution for the long term? Should I just have the shop put up a standard exhaust and spray-paint it to prevent rust? Or should I go with a cheap stainless cat-back setup from ebay? I see setups for as low as $100 shipped. Are these going to be too loud for daily driving?
This is my mom's daily driver, completely stock with no mods. Not concerned about performance or sound; in fact she would prefer it to be as quiet as possible, but a little louder than stock is not a deal-breaker. Main concerns are price and rust-resistance.
Thanks!

Zeferint

iTrader: (2)

Get a replacement stock one and every so often during the winter take a hose and do a quick under-body wash. Hit the exhaust (when its warm, obviously) to wash off any salt. I did that since I got my replacement stock exhaust and it's just as good as when I bought it. It's a little extra work but totally worth it. Sometimes I'd even hit the shifter cable and the assembly behind the heat shield once in awhile. The other alternative would be going to a car wash some of the decent car washes do a really good job on the undercarriage.

I got my replacement stock exhaust from Napa for $150 (not including bolts, etc). Even eBay should have a decent deal on stock replacement stuff...just don't get it from the dealership; they'll charge you an arm and a leg. If shops are charging that much to do it (which is ridiculous since it took me an hour to replace the whole damn thing) I would do it yourself and save yourself a chunk of change. It's very easy to do and should take one, maybe two hours max. Just make sure you get a big tube of anti-seize paste for all the exhaust bolts.

zbees

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/96-00-CIVIC-3...item589141cec3

can some one explain why this doesnt fit on a 3dr canadian dx thanks