catalytic converter replacement

[towncarblue]

i have a 2002 nissan pathfinder i live in the bronx , ny . i need to replace my catalytic converters so i bought the left and right side. i went to a exhaust shop and the told me it costs $500 to replace them. the shop claimed they have to remove the exhaust manifolds to replace them . i have checked under the vehicle and the bolts are rusted.
what is a descent price i should be charged for this job ? how much have others paid ?

[xswamperx]

Ive got a 97 and I needed to replace the driver side cat. Originally I took it to a shop for a quote and they told me 200 for the cat and 50 bux for the labor. Out the door it would of been 250.00 including the part. I just finished putting mine back together myself today actually. It was a little bit of a hassle only because of the heat shields. And all my work was performed from the bottom of the Pathi. I had no rust issues tho. Its a pretty labor intensive job if they have to remove the manifolds and sounds about right in cost. Figure a 100bux an hr in labor x5 hrs = 500bux. I think its actually not bad if they can do both sides that quick. But I'd get a couple more quotes and go with the one in the middle.

[towncarblue]

i prefer to bring my own parts to an exhaust shop because they usually put the cheapest part possible and charge premium prices. i buy my parts from rockauto
i got both of the cats replaced for $310 bucks. the first place i went to was a reputable place but they never worked on a patthy before , they pretty much wanted to charge me some computer generated price. they wanted to charge me to get experience on a pathfinder. the second place i went to did not have to remove exhaust manifold and they were done in less than two hours.
i tried the spark plug fouler trick but it only worked on one side because the resonator connected to the cat was broken/fouled up.....
the shop charged me $50 bucks to replace the resonator with straight pipe. i cannot tell the difference because the engine fan is so loud LOL