[stephenmcateer]

My 8 year-old Up! was sounding like the exhaust was leaking, so I took it to the local National Tyres.

The bloke said there was a hole in the flexi pipe, which is attached to the catalytic converter, and the rest of the exhaust system was pretty rusty too. He quoted £650 to replace it all.

Since I am on a budget I declined.

Once home, my brother and I jacked up the car and from what he could see, there's a small hole in the silencer but the flexi pipe looks okay, if a bit rusty.

I'm half-tempted to try and repair it myself but the prospect of crawling around under the car struggling with rusted pipes / undoing rusty nuts puts me off.

Has anyone else had to replace the exhaust on their Up! / what did it cost?

Thanks for any info.

 

[freemansteve]

Whatever the parts and labour should cost, £650 is way wrong. Sounds like he was selling a cat!

 

[stephenmcateer]

Whatever the parts and labour should cost, £650 is way wrong. Sounds like he was selling a cat!

He said the whole system needed to be replaced, including the cat.

 

[911ts3]

If I were you , I'd try a few other places, or find someone with a Tig or Mig welder, take it off and give it to him to plate up (that's if the rest of the silencer is sound). Might mean getting your hands dirty and a few new nuts & a can of WD 40, but should be less than £50 all in.
£650 is crazy money, and even at 8 years old, the rest of the system is likely to be ok.

 

[tsi17]

Yeah, I'd take it to whichever local independent garage has the best reputation and ask them what really needs doing. There are still good garages out there that are interested in getting and looking after long term customers

 

[stephenmcateer]

If I were you , I'd try a few other places, or find someone with a Tig or Mig welder, take it off and give it to him to plate up (that's if the rest of the silencer is sound). Might mean getting your hands dirty and a few new nuts & a can of WD 40, but should be less than £50 all in.
£650 is crazy money, and even at 8 years old, the rest of the system is likely to be ok.

It does seem like a lot of money.

Looking at replacement [i.e. pattern] parts on the internet, they come in three main parts: the cat & flexi hose make up the front-most section; the silencer in the middle; then the tail pipe.

The original VW exhaust on my own car looks like it's all one piece though, so replacing bits maybe requires cutting it up. Not sure about that though — more research needed.

 

[stephenmcateer]

If I were you , I'd try a few other places, or find someone with a Tig or Mig welder, take it off and give it to him to plate up (that's if the rest of the silencer is sound). Might mean getting your hands dirty and a few new nuts & a can of WD 40, but should be less than £50 all in.
£650 is crazy money, and even at 8 years old, the rest of the system is likely to be ok.

Thanks. Welding is a possibility.

 

[stephenmcateer]

Looking around the internet, it seems that the Up! [And the Mii and Citigo] comes from VW with a one-piece exhaust, from manifold to exit.

Aftermarket [And OEM] replacement parts are in three pieces — cat & flexi / silencer / tailpipe — my assumption is that the original pipe has to be cut to effect replacement. Seems like an unusual decision by VW. Will update this when I find out more.

 

[stephenmcateer]

UPDATE August 2022: I sold this Up! to my brother. Today he replaced the silencer and tail pipe with pattern parts from eBay — he had to cut the existing pipe between the catalyser and the silencer. Cost of the parts including shipping from Poland was about £80.
2 or 3 hours of work in the driveway saw it fitted. It's a 2-man job — someone has to support the new exhaust while the bolts are done up. It's a moderately difficult task.
Total savings: about £500.
The exhaust on these cars is one-piece from exhaust port to tail pipe. For some reason.
[Maybe your friendly mechanic will fit the parts for you, saving time, hassle and, ultimately, money.]