[Small but perfectley formed]

If your exhaust goes don't use these companies got quoted £400 from cb ; for new cat and £240+ from qf found complete exhaust on net for £ 230 including vat

[P @ F]

Was it the CAT that went ?

Rich

[easy clean]

£240 plus what? The 230 price on the web, was that supply only?

[P @ F]

SORRY ,  just read first post again , it was the cat that went , well for your info diesels dont need a cat !
I got a price for mine when it went off one of the highstreet robbers , did a bit of digging and found what they call a decat pipe on ebay , totally legal and has done 2 MOT's since ,all it cost me was £38 

Rich 

[stuart mc]

SORRY ,  just read first post again , it was the cat that went , well for your info diesels dont need a cat !
I got a price for mine when it went off one of the highstreet robbers , did a bit of digging and found what they call a decat pipe on ebay , totally legal and has done 2 MOT's since ,all it cost me was £38 

Rich 

yep did that before and sold the old cat for £20

[niceandclean]

SORRY ,  just read first post again , it was the cat that went , well for your info diesels dont need a cat !
I got a price for mine when it went off one of the highstreet robbers , did a bit of digging and found what they call a decat pipe on ebay , totally legal and has done 2 MOT's since ,all it cost me was £38 

Rich 

My Vito has a CAT and it diesel?

[Small but perfectley formed]

If the vehicle is pre 2001 it does not have to have cat

[Spruce]

If the vehicle is pre 2001 it does not have to have cat

That's correct.

This year the MOT on diesels includes a cat inspection. The inspector has to see that the cat is there. He doesn't test it to see if it works or not.

The trick previously was to remove the cat and replace it with a straight pipe as removal increases engine performance - the cat acts like a restrictor.
From this year the only way to remove it is the remove the contents so it appears from the outside to be there.

It has got to come in sometime that inspectors will also test emmissions on diesels as they do petrols, then cats will have to work.

[Spruce]

If your exhaust goes don't use these companies got quoted £400 from cb ; for new cat and £240+ from qf found complete exhaust on net for £ 230 including vat

Mine field this!

Pricing depends where they source their components from. With exhausts, it difficult to know if you are getting good value for money or not. Some exhausts are very poorly made and the material very thin. Their service life will be shorter than a manufacturer that uses thicker, corrossion treated material.
Those exhaust manufacturers will charge a premium for their exhausts, but you can't be sure whether Charlie Brown for example is charging top money for cheap components.

One thing for sure is that they have to guarantee the product they sell you for a length of time. If that product fails, they will have to replace it and negotiate with the supplier. Their reputation is also at stake, so they will want to sell only the best made products to ensure minimum comebacks.

The exhaust suppliers usually charge your exhaust at retail and include fitting in the price, taken from the discount they get from their suppliers. But that may not always be the case as some may add a margin on top.

The prices for cat convertors especially can fluctuate greatly for the same vehicle from different suppliers. It could be that the components you bought on the internet are cheaply made, but they may not be.

If you bought the part from the manufacturers spare parts store as OE, then you would probably pay twice the price, but you would know that the part was good quality.
 

[Lee GLS]

If the vehicle is pre 2001 it does not have to have cat

That's correct.

This year the MOT on diesels includes a cat inspection. The inspector has to see that the cat is there. He doesn't test it to see if it works or not.

The trick previously was to remove the cat and replace it with a straight pipe as removal increases engine performance - the cat acts like a restrictor.
From this year the only way to remove it is the remove the contents so it appears from the outside to be there.

It has got to come in sometime that inspectors will also test emmissions on diesels as they do petrols, then cats will have to work.

A catalyst only needs to be present on a car that qualifys for a full emission test. As diesels do not need a full emission test, they can't be failed on a missing catalyst. Sec 7.1 Of the mot inspection manual

http://www.longlife.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/04/removing-catalytic-converters-from-a-diesel-car-what-you-need-to-know/

[Spruce]

If the vehicle is pre 2001 it does not have to have cat

That's correct.

This year the MOT on diesels includes a cat inspection. The inspector has to see that the cat is there. He doesn't test it to see if it works or not.

The trick previously was to remove the cat and replace it with a straight pipe as removal increases engine performance - the cat acts like a restrictor.
From this year the only way to remove it is the remove the contents so it appears from the outside to be there.

It has got to come in sometime that inspectors will also test emmissions on diesels as they do petrols, then cats will have to work.

A catalyst only needs to be present on a car that qualifys for a full emission test. As diesels do not need a full emission test, they can't be failed on a missing catalyst. Sec 7.1 Of the mot inspection manual

http://www.longlife.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/04/removing-catalytic-converters-from-a-diesel-car-what-you-need-to-know/

 

I stand corrected again.

So our local MOT inspector was incorrect when he told me that the rules regarding cat presence on diesels after 2001 are a MOT requirement.

We spent £200 on a replacement cat for our xsara at the beginning of the year because of his 'understanding' of the new regulations.

[Lee GLS]

Come on spruce, sort it out, this is getting embarrassing, that's twice in as many days 
By the looks of it, without looking closely at the changes it would appear that all cars have to have a cat, and unless a tester has looked into it properly, they could, as in your case fail, a diesel because of this.

[Spruce]

Come on spruce, sort it out, this is getting embarrassing, that's twice in as many days 
By the looks of it, without looking closely at the changes it would appear that all cars have to have a cat, and unless a tester has looked into it properly, they could, as in your case fail, a diesel because of this.

Lee, I'm losing it or prehaps more correctly, lost it. 

Maybe time to hand the mantle on to the well experienced younger members of the forum such as yourself and a few others I have come to respect over the years. 

I have downloaded the reg for 2012 and I can see how they could be easily misinterpreted with so much other info to take in.

All petrol cars have to have a cat as they are tested for emissions. Diesels (cars or vans) aren't tested for emissions so they don't need to have a cat or a PAF exhaust filter, exactly as is was last year. They have a smoke test where they are revved at 2500 rpm and tested for excessive smoke.

Section 7-1 Inspection

3. On vehicles that qualify for a full cat emissions test, check the presence of the catalytic converter.

Reason for rejection

3. A catalytic converter missing where one was fitted as standard

So with regard to this - nothing has changed.

I hope Dave Willis see this as we had a discussion on this about a month ago. I had better put this up on the other forum.

[robertphil]

its always worth shopping around ,and use your noggin .  i got 2 new tyres fitted today plus got the tracking reset for  under £100 but elsewhere got quoted 180+

i used to be a mechanic myself , i didnt let on, the guy doing the tracking wasnt keen on  doing the adjust and tried to flannel me with a watery excuse ,but after a bit of eye to eye "persuasion " he got on and did it . was funny to see him glance out from below the van and realize i was watching him closely  at which point he got on and turned the spanner

[Mike #1]

its always worth shopping around ,and use your noggin .  i got 2 new tyres fitted today plus got the tracking reset for  under £100 but elsewhere got quoted 180+

i used to be a mechanic myself , i didnt let on, the guy doing the tracking wasnt keen on  doing the adjust and tried to flannel me with a watery excuse ,but after a bit of eye to eye "persuasion " he got on and did it . was funny to see him glance out from below the van and realize i was watching him closely  at which point he got on and turned the spanner

Wished i could get a 1 tyre for less than £100 . Mike