Hi there: My mechanic told me eventually the cat will break apart and the car will stall but like I said, I drove it for over 1 year with a failed cat with no problems. Sounds like yours is trying scare tactics. I live in San Francisco and had to do smog this year so had to have it replaced. Otherwise, I would have waited until it failed. Mechanics charge 90.00 per hour here which I imagine is more expensive than Los Angeles.