broken catalytic converter

[delahunty]

I am new to this site so forgive me if I make mistakes....

I have a 2008 vw Fox with only 20,000 on clock now (had approx 10,000 when bought in June 2009). The catalytic converter has broken (been on two diagnostic machines,vw and another reputable company) due to it being out of warranty VW say it is down to me as I did not use their service dept (it is too expensive for me), so I am not a loyal customer, although my last two vehicles have been bought at the VW, so surely I am loyal to the brand? can anyone please advise

 

Thanks

delahunty

[freakyleaky]

Hi and welcome to the CAG.

Unfortunately being loyal to the Brand won't get you much joy when it comes to getting work done once out of warranty.

It is basically down to you now unless you paid for an extended warranty.

 

Sorry not to be more positive.

I'm sure others will advise if there is something else you can do.

 

I take it replacing the cat is an expensive job?

[delahunty]

cat will cost up to £1k advised by vw

[Conniff]

Why did you have the cat checked ?

[delahunty]

It was due mot and service, problem detected at kwik fit and confirmed by vw

[delahunty]

Can anyone advise the life span of of the above, current mileage on vehicle 20,000?

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I've merged your new thread with the one from earlier today, as they're both about the same problem. It's best to stick with one thread, keeps all the information together for you and makes it easier for the people trying to help you. Please continue to post here.

 

My best, HB

[Conniff]

It was due mot and service, problem detected at kwik fit and confirmed by vw

 

So you took it to Kwik-Fit for an MoT and it failed on the exhaust emission due to the cat, yes?

 

You then took it to VW who confirmed the cat was faulty?

Edited June 16, 2012 by Conniff

[chiefengineer]

cat will cost up to £1k advised by vw

 

Hiya,

 

That seems a bit OTT to me. My old Mondeo has the front section of the exhaust (bit that connects directly to the engine) fail, and I was told (could be wrong) that this contained the CAT. I only paid £350 for the new bit, and even if I'd have got it from Ford it would only have been £700. From that it seems 1K for a Fox seems very high.

 

Now of course I could be talking out of my rear here, so anyone more knowledgable feel free to call me an idiot.

[freakyleaky]

Just had a quick scan on the net and prices seem to range from £150 to £250 for the parts.

1K to supply and fit seems very steep. You need to shop around for prices.

 

From what I can find on the net these should last 90,000 plus miles. It may be worth getting another opinion from an exhaust specialist as the cat may be fine and the problem is somewhere else.

[Conniff]

Hiya,

 

That seems a bit OTT to me. My old Mondeo has the front section of the exhaust (bit that connects directly to the engine) fail, and I was told (could be wrong) that this contained the CAT. I only paid £350 for the new bit, and even if I'd have got it from Ford it would only have been £700. From that it seems 1K for a Fox seems very high.

 

Now of course I could be talking out of my rear here, so anyone more knowledgable feel free to call me an idiot.

 

 

I advised someone a few years ago to price the manifold from Ford before going elswhere and it was half the price of elsewhere, so you're not talking out of your rear, you will have to find another reason for that funny noise

Edited June 16, 2012 by Conniff

[Conniff]

Just had a quick scan on the net and prices seem to range from £150 to £250 for the parts.

1K to supply and fit seems very steep. You need to shop around for prices.

 

From what I can find on the net these should last 90,000 plus miles. It may be worth getting another opinion from an exhaust specialist as the cat may be fine and the problem is somewhere else.

 

I get the feeling you are having some of the same thoughts that I am FL

 

Am just waiting to see if it failed MoT on exhaust emissions.

[freakyleaky]

I get the feeling you are having some of the same thoughts that I am FL

 

Am just waiting to see if it failed MoT on exhaust emissions.

 

Exactly my thoughts.

[chiefengineer]

I advised someone a few years ago to price the manifold from Ford before going elswhere and it was half the price of elsewhere, so you're not talking our of your rear, you will have to find another reason for that funny noise

 

Hiya,

 

Strange thing was the £700 option was Ford. They put the £350 third-party option in for me. I think it was from Andrew Page, but I could be wrong.

 

As for the funny noise, I'll work on it!

[heliosuk]

The cats are usually rated to 100K miles, or ten years. Sometimes though it can be around the 60K figure for retail. The engineering sign off rating is a bit vauge but can differ between 100K and 175K.

 

This could get quite complex in pursuing VW as on one hand, yes there is a case to pursuit if the part was bought and fitted by them and you felt that stong enough and had the time to persuit it. In this case you would end up with a 75% contribution towards their price.

 

The alternative is to fix tomorrow which roughly balances outwhat your contribution would be to a VW offer after six to 8 weeks of protracted negotiations if indeed you get that far.

 

On balance, look to the aftermarket solutions here as pointed out. It's a difficult one to challenge VW this one unlike the 3 cylinder head issues which have been succesfully persued.

 

The good news is that for the last couple of years the cats supplied by aftermarket suppliers have to now meet the OEM requriements so there is no mickey mouse stuff about or there shouldn't be. Minimum price should be approx 100 plus VAT, max you should pay is 300 plus VAT. Anything outside those parameters is either dodgy or over priced..

 

If you want to persuit VW drop me a pm and I'll tell you how to do it but it does take time.

[Conniff]

I think there are other avenues to investigate before we go that far, Kwik-Fit have been mentioned.

[dw190]

I've had failures on emissions and done as the examiner advised. Ten miles on the ring road at fifty in third gear to get the thing hot then straight on the emissions tester. Passed on each occasion.

[chiefengineer]

I've had failures on emissions and done as the examiner advised. Ten miles on the ring road at fifty in third gear to get the thing hot then straight on the emissions tester. Passed on each occasion.

 

Is it petrol or diesel?

[heliosuk]

Belive it to be a petrol at that age CE. Diesels now have a useless DPF.

 

Interesting comment from dw190 though. This can and does work but is dependant on the test being done straight after the run. Not all people have this arrangement. It would not work on a proper MOT.

[Old Cogger]

my vauxhall cat was £66 delivered to my door brand new stainless steel, go to 24/7 site spares and put your car registration in and ask for quotes for new cat for your model see what comes out.

[chiefengineer]

Belive it to be a petrol at that age CE. Diesels now have a useless DPF.

 

Interesting comment from dw190 though. This can and does work but is dependant on the test being done straight after the run. Not all people have this arrangement. It would not work on a proper MOT.

 

I was wondering about the DPF, hence the question. A lot of poeple have been caught out by DPFs and not knowing what they need to do to regenerate them.

[heliosuk]

Had an emissions test lately???............if was supplied in the last 2 years then is probably illegal.

[freakyleaky]

Be aware of the cost of the phone calls to the suppliers recommended by 24/7 spares. Some have been reported to be £6 per minute.

There are a loads of other horror stories re them too.

[Old Cogger]

24/7 they have rung me in every case, & any telephone numbers I have been given other than mobile ones have been normal cost, but in most cases the items bought during their call, I have used 24/7 a lot in the past two years. also if you make a purchase keep the invoice for reference for telephone number and e.mail address.

 

But in any case be aware of certain number in that case.

[freakyleaky]

I'm sure there are lots of satisfied customers but I am just going on what I found after a quick search on the net.

Here is a thread I started recently http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?351896-247-spares.-Has-anyone-had-any-bad-experiences