Question about Cat Converter on my car?

I have a 1998 Honda Accord EX 2.3L 4cyl car and believe that the
catylac converter is bad. I recently got my car diagnostically checked
out by a local automotive store and I had one reading come back as
"Catylac Converter Exhaust Insufficient Threshold (Bank 1)". This
may not be the exact wording of the code, but it was something to this
nature.

Anyway, if my cat converter is bad (I also heard that it could be just
an O2 sensor malfunctioning), then what is my best options legally. I
really don’t want loud sound (not sure if cats can make your car
louder). I also don’t want to spend alot of money. I can put the cat
on myself also. Here are some prices that I have so far for my car:

Local Shops:

$185 w/ installation for cat that does has the O2 sensor before the
cat.

$480 for the cat with the O2 sensor in the middle of the cat (my car)


Ebay:

Hi-Flow (probably generic aftermarket cats) for $25-$70 w/ the O2
sensor hole in the middle.

The Ebay option is really grabbing my attention. I don’t believe that
these add-ons will be illegal in my state (Louisiana), but if they
are, then I would rather stay away. The car has 130,000 miles on it
and I am willing to try something out for only $25 plus shipping if
they are worth the money...

What do you guys think?

Edit:

Also, just more info...the shop price with installation would be $200.
BUT, they will have to cut my pre-existing bolt connection to weild
the new cat converter on. Even though it comes with a one year
warranty, I am still not to happy with the fact that they have to cut
off my bolt connections to install it. The ones on Ebay do not require
this.

 

You "believe" it's bad? I "believe" you ought to take a more scientific
approach.

What was the exact code number? It will start with a "P".

It may be simply the downstream O2 sensor, but with your slightly garbled
and mis-spelled description and lack of a code number, we can't be sure.

If you buy that, you are very stupid.

 

I feel your pain...

I used to have an '80 Mazda GLC that was built right at the end of the
'80 model year. '79 and older cars used a single-relay mechnical
voltage regulator. '81 and newer used an all-electronic version. Both
had the same wiring connector. Both were available new for around $35.

My '80, just to be different, use a dual-relay mechanical model. Same
connector, but neither of the others would work. The proper model for
my car wasn't even available from the parts shops I tried - the only
people who had it were Mazda dealers, and their prices varied from $95
to $130.

I lucked out, finally... found another at a wrecker's yard... the guy
had just had the regulator replaced and wrote the car off a week later.
Got it for $25