Exhaust system costs

[bapowley]

Ouch, £750 for my CE300 from Mercedes, £600 from STS Holbourn but check out this site http://www.cats-direct-shop.co.uk
£288 for the parts and local garage fit £100 result happy owner and happy local garage man who gets twice his normal labour rate for a two hour job.

 

[blacktrdsupra]

this sounds good. i wonder what would happen if i go a high-flow cat and a freer flowing exhaust ....... would this free up a few horses ?

 

[Arnie]

Yes, but not all exhausts are created equal.

The original "MB" one on my G-Wagen is still going strong after 8-years. A friend fitted a replacment to save money and his already rusty after a few months.

I have always found that original equipment exhausts have a longer life than replacement ones. There are also many reports on US websites about engine damage from people fitting cheap, low quality catalytic converters. Yes, there is a premium to be paid for buying an original equipment item through a dealer, but when the difference is more than 2:1 you have to ask whether quality may be compromised on the alternative part.

 

[bapowley]

The corollary of the tale is that my local garage can buy the parts from Merc at a trade price, fit at one third of the local Merc Labour rate £84 an hour) and still come in more than £150 below MB

 

[kwooldad]

i used too manage a company called longlife exhausts.they would hand build s/s exhaust usually for far less than a mb replacement.
they would then give a 25year warranty on said exhaust.all their systems are free flowing and you get around 10%more power.although even a quiet system is a little noisier than a standard.as a guide price a c180 should cost around £350 .
ive had around 8 systems off them personally,2 before i worked there.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

My exhaust failed when the car had 4,000 miles. It was bad from the beginning. Original MB part.

Mercedes refused to replace it, actually wrote that it was normal wear and tear!!!. I have never replaced an exhaust on a diesel car. The welded seam in the pipe had split open due to faulty manufacture. Brake failure after 8k is also wear and tear according to Mercedes. Mercedes are not built to last, they are built to kill. The new S and CL classes are only making a few thousand miles before the brakes fail. It's only a matter of time before someone is killed.

I had one guy in the office meet a friend of his for lunch on Friday. His friend's boss apparently just returned a recently purchased ?150,000 Mercedes after it suffered yet another total brake failure. He has refused to ever drive the car again or to accept a replacement because the Mercedes dealer is unable to guarantee it won't happen again. It's a wonder they don't call that wear and tear.

 

[bapowley]

Must admit my W124 CE300 has been and still is a superbly built car. Costs a lot to keep it in good nick. It has just been sold to a bloke in Brighton. My Merc dealer mechanics say it is the last of the real Mercedes. Just bought a W126 500SEC which, if it has exhaust problems, is going to get a stainless system

 

[Terminator]

i used too manage a company called longlife exhausts.they would hand build s/s exhaust usually for far less than a mb replacement.
they would then give a 25year warranty on said exhaust.all their systems are free flowing and you get around 10%more power.although even a quiet system is a little noisier than a standard.as a guide price a c180 should cost around £350 .
ive had around 8 systems off them personally,2 before i worked there.

I can also recommend Longlife Exhausts having recently had the cat fail on my 1991 300CE. Went with a Longlife Exhaust stainless steel cat bypass incorporating silencer. They took 2hrs to fit, superb quality and excellent fitting job. £199 all in.

 

[philharve]

Average life expectency of MB exhausts

Hi All

What is the average life expectency of a genuine MB exhaust system? Which parts of the exhaust fail most frequently?

My secondhand C-class is 5yr old and there is no mention in the service documentation that any part of the exhaust system has been replaced. Logically, sooner rather than later an exhaust component will fail. Which part is it likely to be or is it a case of a total replacement. I hope not.

In my previous cars the exhausts bits that wore out first tended to be the bits furthest from the engine, the tail pipe and/or rear expansion box. The manifold lasts forever. Do MB exhausts fail in a similar way, tail first?

Is stainless steel a wise, cost effective option? What is a s/s system likely to cost in comparison to a genuine longlife MB exhaust? Presummably complete s/s systems can be purchased 'off the peg' from exhaust specialists? Any preferred suppliers?

REGARDS Phil

 

[big x]

W202 exhausts are long lived there are plenty of 10 year olds with the original centre and rear boxes.The problem with any after market stuff is tha lack of refinement compared to the heavy gauge aluminium coated steel used in the German originals.I'd buy an OE exhaust made by the likes of Eberspacher from GSF @ £169 + vat (centre and rear box).The down pipes last forever.The problem area on the IL 4 cars is the cat.They seem to last around 7 years before the substrate starts to break up and cheap replacements are noisy.Don't buy anything with an English or Italian sounding name when it comes to exhausts or cats and expect German standards of engineeering.
I've also got a 1992 BMW 740i V8 and the twin pipe/cat exhaust on that is all dated 1992 with no signs of corrosion at all on the welds or anywhere else.It's clear BMW paid much attention to the design.

adam

Hi All

What is the average life expectency of a genuine MB exhaust system? Which parts of the exhaust fail most frequently?

My secondhand C-class is 5yr old and there is no mention in the service documentation that any part of the exhaust system has been replaced. Logically, sooner rather than later an exhaust component will fail. Which part is it likely to be or is it a case of a total replacement. I hope not.

In my previous cars the exhausts bits that wore out first tended to be the bits furthest from the engine, the tail pipe and/or rear expansion box. The manifold lasts forever. Do MB exhausts fail in a similar way, tail first?

Is stainless steel a wise, cost effective option? What is a s/s system likely to cost in comparison to a genuine longlife MB exhaust? Presummably complete s/s systems can be purchased 'off the peg' from exhaust specialists? Any preferred suppliers?

REGARDS Phil

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I have fitted a Stainless Steel exhaust to every vehicle I owned (present and past over the last 20 yrs) when the original requires replacement.
I think everybody knows the benefit of longer life due to the higher resistance of the material to rust, and I have been very pleased with the units I have fitted. The smaller outfits that manufacture the systems generally seem to take a pride in the quality of their work.

A word of caution regarding replacing MB exhausts, I fitted a complete SS sytem to my 300TE when it was five years old, and there was a difference in noise. The SS system is thinner gauge material and consequently provides less sound insulation. This didn't particularly bother me but if your a MB owner who doesn't particularly want to hear the exhaust you will until it gradually soots up.

If anyone has experience of fitting a system to a diesel engined MB I'd be interested to know their impressions. I'm currently running a E320 CDi engine and I'm not sure about replacing the exhaust with a SS item.

 

[philharve]

Thanks adam, thanks malcolm

It seems I have two choices, either go for a genuine MB item or a SS system but expect more interesting sound effects with the latter. DON'T GO FOR A CHEAPO SYSTEM FROM AN UNKNOWN MANUFACTURER. COSTWISE, IT'S NOT WORTH IT.

Optimistically I should have several years left with my present exhaust system so replacement in the near future is unlikely. It sounds to me that MB exhausts wear out in much the same way as other makes, they just take longer. Wonderful! The CAT' is by far the most expensive part to replace.

REGARDS Phil

 

[Ade - I'm back]

Phil

Just to add my twopenneth for what it's worth. Had a complete exhaust including cat bouught from Eurocar parts fitted to my 230 TE. Exhaust sounds awful like it is blowing even though I'm assured all joints are sound. Also resonance at certain revs (although that could be I have a C Class manifold fitted, thanks to the jokers at Dronsfield). So you gets what you pays for. Mind you cost me £690!


Ade

 

[philharve]

Hi Ade

Well, you've given me a pretty good case to stick with MB exhaust systems. Thanks.

REGARDS Phil

 

[Junior]

Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems

We Custom Build Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems, at TOPGEAR EXHAUST in Buckinghamshire.

ALL our Systems are built from Top Quality T304 Grade Stainless Steel ( 2mm Thick ) & NOT the inferior 409 Grade that some manufacturers still use.

We also Supply & Fit FREE FLOW Cats.

ALL our Systems carry a LIFETIME GUARANTEE & you have options on Sound ( Quiet TO Sporty Tone )& also on Tailpipe choice.

Email or Call us with any enquiries you may have.

topgearaylesbury@aol.com / 01296 433011 ( 2 Lines )

 

[Stulc]

Yes, but not all exhausts are created equal.The original "MB" one on my G-Wagen is still going strong after 8-years. A friend fitted a replacment to save money and his already rusty after a few months.

They may not be but 8 years ago everything even then was made better than today, I would challenge anybody to but genuine nowadays and see how long it last compared to the same thing they bought years ago.

I'm not saying buying genuine now your not getting better quality, you probably still are, but I'm quite the materials used now are of lesser quality eg thickness, composite ect than a few years ago.

And to top it off...........they even more expensive!!

 

[ajs37]

just to put my 2 pence worth - the exhaust on my 300E 24v split near the back box last year - it was original (car was first registered in 1991).
Kwikfit had to replace the whole exhaust system as the original system came in 1 piece - it took them 2 days to find the parts and cost me £350 - ouch!:!:
Cheers
Andy

 

[Junior]

just to put my 2 pence worth - the exhaust on my 300E 24v split near the back box last year - it was original (car was first registered in 1991).
Kwikfit had to replace the whole exhaust system as the original system came in 1 piece - it took them 2 days to find the parts and cost me £350 - ouch!:!:
Cheers
Andy

You should of give us a Call.

We Can Supply & Fit Stainless Steel Back Box only, as we Custom Build.

This would of cost you £200 Inc VAT & Fitting. You have a choice of Tailpipes & it ALL comes with a LIFETIME GUARANTEE.

Next Time !

 

[ennio]

I presume that stainless steel units will be always custom manufactured...

Does anyone have any experience of stainless steel manufactures/fitters around Manchester?

thanks