I have to say that I totally agree about pattern exhausts.
I had a full exhaust fitted to the Primera at a cost of £275 (the cheapest of three fast-fit quotes). 1.8 engine so parts need to be on special order (sigh).
The exhaust parts from Nissan would have been £280, and fitting was quoted at "about £35" -- an hour's labour -- at local indie.
Stupidly, because I needed car there and then, I went for the pattern option.
Never again.
It's noisy, it rattles, it vibrates and it generally is the source of much annoyance. Why oh why didn't I just drive the Daewoo around for a couple of days?
Grrrrrr.
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Well my local Ford dealer didn;t want to know, I am very huming about the total lack of customer service. After several phone calls I still haven't even got a quote :(.
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Well my local Ford dealer >>
Many Ford dealers have a RapidFit dept, that is where you will get the best proces though Ford parts.
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Very honest of you Jase and a lesson to us all.
I think we've all done the equivalent in our time though, it was cheap tools my silly mistake years ago, but when that impossible to get at bell housing bolt rounds off because you bought a set of monkey metal sockets, you don't ever make that mistake again,
For those possibly interested, and to bore those not..;)
top bell housing bolt on a toyota supra by the way, 14mm, i managed to shift it eventually... just, with a 6 sided impact socket and about 3 ft of extension bars from under the car/behind the box and pushing hard over the lowered box, what a nightmare, very shallow bolt head though, no room for anything other than a dead straight turn with a 6 sided socket for anyone who contemplates that particular job.
I can still remember everything about that job, some 18/20 years ago, especially the weight of the box as i removed and fitted it alone...billy no mates as usual.
And my sockets and spanners now are as good quality as i could possibly afford, with a full set of impacts for those nasty overtight ones.
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So do the car manufacturers actually manufacture their own exhausts? I find that quite difficult to believe.
I would have thought it would be a case, like so many other car parts, of finding out who makes the OEM exhaust, and then buying one under that brand rather than in the manufacturer's packaging.
Cheers
DP
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So do the car manufacturers actually manufacture their own exhausts?
They don't make them but they may well be made exclusively for them. If the exhaust manufacturer doesn't abide by the rules of the contract (i.e. tries to sell them under another brand name), I would expect the car manufacturer to apply pressure to bring them back in line.
Edited by L'escargot on 31/10/2008 at 07:17
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It was rapidfit I spoke to, they said they would ring back but didn't. Took the car this morning to a fast fit centre - webmaster edit and this was the conversation:-
Oink: Yeah
Me: I booked an exhaust in for this Fiesta
Oink: Yeah wait in the waiting room mate
Me: OK can you also confirm the price before you do it
Oink: Ok mate
10 minutes dragged on
Oink: What engine is it
Me: 1.3
5 minutes passed
Oink: Its not in stock mate, come back at 9:30
Dad: OK
I told my dad to go else where, but its his car so he has gone back with it now, I have a job to go to, but I told him if they start on the you need shocks etc just say my son will do it this afternoon :p it will shut 'em up.
Why is it people in these fast fit centres are not capable of having a conversation, there was no apologies and the car was booked two days ok, why did somebody not think to check the stock was in before the customer arrived?
Edited by Webmaster on 04/11/2008 at 18:26
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"why did somebody not think to check the stock was in before the customer arrived?"
Mainly because the customer often doesn't show up - because he's found somewhere £2 cheaper. In many urban areas a wholesaler or motor factors can have an exhaust at a fitting centre within 20 minutes. That's why it's called a "while-you-wait" service :-)
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Still I reckon the 1.3 Endura engine must be THE most common engine around in this of Manchester, anyway I have a job go to so my dad will have to deal with them :).
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.... I have a job go to .......
You told us that at 09:21, but at 09:47 you still haven't gone!
;-)
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I agree with you L'escargot, pattern exhausts are just not worth it.
I've had new exhausts from quick style places over the years. They never seem right, a banging and a rattling. You end up going back when they will bash them with a hammer to stop the rattles. They only last 1 month longer than the guarantee as well.
As for firms ringing back, you can wait for ever.
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The VW 411 had an expensive, complicated exhaust that was of course integrated into the heating system, the heating OK on the road but carp around town if the car's supplementary petrol stove wasn't working (they seldom did thank goodness).
If the studs holding the two exhaust manifolds to the cylinder heads worked loose the car would eat the thick copper rings that served as manifold gaskets. The cost and awkwardness of the system meant that my 411 spent some time with an exhaust increasingly made up of bits of tin and lots of Gun-Gum all held together with a cat's cradle of iron wire... Big effort to do, highly ineffective and rattled like nobody's business, although it didn't fill the car with exhaust through the heater... failsafe, ja?
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When I was at junior school, many, many years ago, we had a kind of paved ramp leading down to an external classroom and used to race Matchbox cars, letting them go at the top without pushing them, letting gravity do its stuff and the winner being the one that travelled furthest, my metallic purple VW 411 was indisputed champion.
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The VW 411 had an expensive complicated exhaust that was of course integrated into the heating system
Ah, weren't these the "heat exchangers" which could, if they corroded in a certain place, allow neat exhaust gas directly into the cabin?
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>>The exhaust parts from Nissan would have been £280, and fitting was quoted at "about £35" -- an hour's labour -- at local indie.
>>Stupidly, because I needed car there and then, I went for the pattern option. Never again.
Should I avoid the pattern option and go for the dealer quote of 2 years ago
£845 plus fitting for a 1999 Yaris? or NOT.
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dealer quote of 2 years ago £845 plus fitting for a 1999 Yaris? or NOT.
This is exactly an example of why I buy Ford ~ cheap spares and repairs.
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>>This is exactly an example of why I buy Ford ~ cheap spares and repairs
>>
My Mondeo cat was replace by a main dealer for about £250 total so I agree re Fprd spares prices.
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henry k,
well of course you use your common sense -- something I neglected to do with the Nissan...
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in 1992 a rear silencer for a ford fiesta mk3 rs turbo (1990 H reg) was £200 and had to come from germany. couldn't get a copy part, had to come from main dealers.
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approx 3 month later the exhaust,,,rear silencer on my girlfriends mk2 fiesta 1.1 rusted through the welds and partly fell off,,,,cost £20.....fitted......
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we won't even talked about the low profile tyres that only perelli made....
.huff......
.bought a golf in the end....cheap parts from german and swedish...haha
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