New complete exhaust system: is it worth it?

SAM81

SAM81

SAM81

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I have a Mazda 323 P reg with about 55k on the clock. Today I heard a loud blowing from the exhuast as I started it up. Mechanic tells me it needs the front , middle and catalytic converter doing - total cost around £440.

I paid £700 for the car about 2 years a go from a friend, which at the time had only 24k on the clock so a bit of a bargain for a cheap run around.

I cant see the car being worth anymore that £600 now and within the last year its just had new discs and pads, a new alternator and 4 new tires about 5k ago. I cant see anymore work being needed to the car but obviously you never know.

Financially I could realistically afford to spend £1500-£2000 out right on a new car today. The other option would to be to take out some sort of finance (which I am dead set against) and then I would not want to spend any more than £150-£200 a month (I dont even know what kind of car this would get you)

In my head I am thinking I should just get the work done. Yes, it starts to push the bills from it in the last year to more than the car is worth, but I am working on the assumption that

a. it doesnt throw up anymore big bills and

b. 2k will probably doesnt buy me a car that offers any reliable protection against short term big bills

Whats the general opinion on this - am I crazy for spending more money on this or does it seem a prudent choice given the above details?
 
Is it a mechanic you use regularly or did you take it to an exhaust shop for diagnosis? It may need one part of the exhaust replacing, not all sections plus the cat.
 
Third Opinion said:
Agreed, you could easily pay £1500-£2000 for a replacement car and find yourself replacing the exhaust in a few months/weeks.
Click to expand...

Thats my thinking...

panthro said:
Is it a mechanic you use regularly or did you take it to an exhaust shop for diagnosis? It may need one part of the exhaust replacing, not all sections plus the cat.
Click to expand...

Its someone who I take both our cars to, infact he has knocked £60 off the total bill as I have had work done with him in the past. He explained initially that they will see if its possible to only replace one part but unfortunately its not - everything needs doing.
 
Step 1) Visit ebay or scrappy and purchase a system from a breaker (or even new, cats look to be about £50 and the rest of the system £100 or so, a good used one will be much cheaper)
Step 2) have local exhaust guy fit

My random total cost generator comes to about £150 max. Alternative would be to find someone that'll weld the exhaust for you - how does the guy know the cat is done? sounds fishy to me
 
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Apparently the old Cat had been heavily welded before and has failed. Ah well - i'd already authorised him to do the work so i'll be paying the original amount.
 
Not really sure why you asked then?

Anyway if you're comfortable that the car will be a decent runner for another couple of years then it's worth getting it fixed,as you rightly suspect it's easy to pick up a ticking timebomb for a couple of grand

I would personally have sourced much cheaper parts or had him weld it again but if you're happy with the cost then why not.
 
You don't say which version, but the 1.8 and 2.0 litre versions will go forever. 150k miles is normal, and 200k miles nothing to boast about. I'd say fix, but shop around. The fan club might know of bargains. If it's the 1.5 though, dump it.
 
I have just priced those parts up and it came out at £194.13 inc VAT (this was for the 1.5 as a guess). Replacing it should take around an hour (say around £45 labour) and then add £10 for a few new mounts and paste. So £440 seems a bit price to me. unless you are using main proper parts which for a £700 car is hardly worthwhile.

Defiantly worth fixing as other have said, I would take it elsewhere for a quote or two.
 
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