[Guy]

I have had to put a new muffler on my wife's car it seems like every other year. We've put two on already, and I can tell we're going to need to do it again. Any thoughts on why??

[Dodge Doll]

I'm guessing she only does "short hop" driving, Guy. It happened to my Mom's Fairlane ragtop on a regular basis, too, and it was because she didn't do a lot of time behind the wheel, she worked just 10 min drive from home.

It was the short hop driving that did it. The car would only just start to warm up properly by the time she got to work, and condensation in the tailpipe hadn't heated up enough to evaporate. The result was a rusted out tailpipe.... and that reminds me, check the floor of the trunk, too, would you, please: another rust spot from tailpipe and condensation issues that my Mom also had to address, one led to the other.

Perhaps if the vehicle was left running for 10-15 min when she gets home, and the tailpipe allowed to heat up enough to burn off condensation, would save you the expense, despite the "waste of gas".

[Buyer]

Yes, that is a big cause of it. But there is also the risk perhaps that the car is having over problems? If a car misfires it dumps unburned fuel out into the cat. This then heats up more than the cat can cope with, and the cat is ruined fast.