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Wellll... looks like it might have to be my plan after all.
It definitely is the catalytic converters failing. Both failed at the exact same time? Yes, because apparently what happened is the one failed, and then the added strain on the other was too much for it to bear so it failed very shortly after.
So! I have new questions to be answered by knowledgeable people who aren't automatically inclined to get me to pay them.
1.) He says that while replacing both catalytic converters would be about $2000 all told, he can replace them with "universal" (i.e., off-brand) parts for a total of about $600. BUT, there is no guarantee it will work for any set period of time, or even at all. He hinted that this would really only be the option to pursue if we wanted it to work just long enough to sell it. But there is a chance that they could put them on, they would be completely nonfunctional with our vehicle, and we would be back where we started but $600 poorer. What are the chances these "universal parts" will indeed work with a 2003 Mazda MPV, for whatever length of time?
2.) He says that while we can continue to drive with it the way it is for some length of time, it won't be a steady decline into failure. The exhaust will get thicker, and the mileage will get worse, but then at some point in the possibly near future the house of cards will fall apart and I will suddenly only be able to go about 10-15 miles per hour. This doesn't sound to me to be the way a failing engine would work, but I know jack shit about it. Is this correct? Because I can deal with gradual, I can't deal with the engine giving out on me in the boonies halfway between here and Houston.
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