Hello

New here

I have received quotes for a replacement catalytic converter for my X-reg Octavia Classic 1.9 sdi that range from about £80 on the web to £709 (more than the car's worth!) at my local Skoda dealer. That's before cost of fitting (Skoda garage said 1 hour's labour).

Some places like KwikFit are quoting £350-ish fitted.

How come the price of the part is so wildly different?

FYI my exhaust is split/leaking at the back end of the cat where it joins the pipe.

What I've found so far searching this forum is that maybe I don't need a cat at all, and can weld a pipe in its place! Can this really be true? (And what changed 01/03/2001 that sort of doubles the price of the part?)

cheers and thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Jeremy

You don't need a cat, just get a pipe welded in m8.

...And what changed 01/03/2001 that sort of doubles the price of the part...

After that date, a replacement should be type approved to ensure the car meets emission requirements.

As said above decat it, it doesn't have to have a cat. You will lose some fuel economy though which might be important to you if you're running an SDi?

As said above decat it, it doesn't have to have a cat. You will lose some fuel economy though which might be important to you if you're running an SDi?

How much does the economy drop by? Is that the same for the TDi too? I am just considering my options for when my original pipe decides to give up the ghost and fall apart....

After that date, a replacement should be type approved to ensure the car meets emission requirements.

I wonder if the suppliers I have been seeking quotes from know that... None have asked me for the registration date, though a couple asked for my registration number.

For sure, no-one has said to me I could 'de-cat' the vehicle!

Thanks for the other responses, too. I am following this with considerable interest.

Talk of increased consumption confuses me, tho: how can removing (what I take to be) a resistance within the exhaust system make it use more fuel? I don't doubt it's true, only it seems a bit counter-intuitive.

FYI my 145,000-mile Octavia still gives me between 10 and 11 miles per litre with almost scary precision. Creeps up to about 12ish if the run is entirely @ national speed limit.

How much does the economy drop by? Is that the same for the TDi too? I am just considering my options for when my original pipe decides to give up the ghost and fall apart....

The economy doesn't drop, why would it. After I got a decat, I measured the MPG a number of times on a regular journey and saw 61 rather than 60. The turbo does spool up a tad quicker which does help when overtaking, but overall, unless you concentrate very hard, you will see no difference in MPG or performance.

It certainly drops on a petrol. No cat means the exhaust gasses escape a lot more easily. Better performance but more fuel consumption... same as if you fit a cat-back system or (most noticeably) a full turbo-back exhaust.

My first car (petrol, and not a Skoda) fitting a cat-back exhaust dropped the mpg from 30 to low 20's, and that still had a cat, hate to think what it would have been with the cat removed as well.

And a mate had a 2 litre petrol Mk4 Golf where the cat internals disintegrated on the motorway, he was running around for a few months with effectively no cat until he could afford a new one, mpg was way down.

May be different on diesels though?

I've got a feeling TrevorB33 had a decat on his old diesel Octy a few years ago might be worth asking him what difference it made.

Diesel engines run with sub-stoichoimetric consumption (an excess of air) at all times, so it shouldn't make any difference unless the cat is partly clogged. In that case you will see a slight increase. A decat allows you to use slightly more fuel to get slightly better performance, but you don't have to!

On petrols, it is different.