Rusty Exhaust, Why??

liquoriceall

Okay a few months ago I had my mini serviced at the dealership and they told me that the exhaust wasnt great and that it would probably need to be replaced next year. I put it to the back of my mind until about 2 weeks ago it got a bit loose so today I took it to an independent garage to get it fixed.
They fixed it but again said its in bad nick and I will be lucky to get another 2 years out of it. My car is only 2005, not a UK import Ive always been careful with speed bumps etc because of it being so low to the grond. I dont understand how this could of happened apparently it will cost around 1000 euro when it needs doing Im horrified in advance of this bill

Neilw

Made of mild steel, bad winters with salted roads would also take their toll on it.
Do you do a lot of short journeys?

liquoriceall

Not really about 20mins each way to work and other drives but mostly just work

Tigger

liquoriceall wrote: »

Okay a few months ago I had my mini serviced at the dealership and they told me that the exhaust wasnt great and that it would probably need to be replaced next year. I put it to the back of my mind until about 2 weeks ago it got a bit loose so today I took it to an independent garage to get it fixed.
They fixed it but again said its in bad nick and I will be lucky to get another 2 years out of it. My car is only 2005, not a UK import Ive always been careful with speed bumps etc because of it being so low to the grond. I dont understand how this could of happened apparently it will cost around 1000 euro when it needs doing Im horrified in advance of this bill

is it a magic exhaust?

liquoriceall

Something about it all being one part so you have to replace the whole thing and labour cause its a big job??

Owen

Arse that it's all in one part. I did one on a 2006 MINI recently.

Monty.

liquoriceall wrote: »

Okay a few months ago I had my mini serviced at the dealership and they told me that the exhaust wasnt great and that it would probably need to be replaced next year. I put it to the back of my mind until about 2 weeks ago it got a bit loose so today I took it to an independent garage to get it fixed.
They fixed it but again said its in bad nick and I will be lucky to get another 2 years out of it. My car is only 2005, not a UK import Ive always been careful with speed bumps etc because of it being so low to the grond. I dont understand how this could of happened apparently it will cost around 1000 euro when it needs doing Im horrified in advance of this bill

Would you be doing mostly short journeys ?

Short journeys are worst for your exhaust because the exhaust does not heat up sufficiently to burn off water vapour from the engine. This leads to faster corrosion of the system.

Internally, acids produced during the combustion process normally pass through the exhaust system as gas, but on short journeys exhaust system temperatures are lower allowing the gas to condense on the inside walls, forming a very acidic liquid which attacks the insides of the exhaust system.

Although most corrosion comes from the inside of an exhaust, during the winter be sure to wash underneath the car to stop salt accumulating on the outside.

It is unlikely that you will have to replace the whole exhaust, just the worst affected sections.
(Although some manufactures are now feckers for making almost one piece systems to cash in)

Some sections are more expensive than others e.g. the catalytic converter section.

Over time you may have to replace most of it though.

I have cars where the exhaust lasted for years, and others where it just lasted just a few.

Price around. A reputable local fast fit exhaust place will be a lot cheaper than a main stealer (sorry, dealer), and do just as good a job.

http://www.motbanbury.co.uk/station_page.asp?session_ID=0&pid=2166
http://www.quinnfix.ie/exhausts.html

liquoriceall

Im not sure if its rusty on the inside but I had a look under the car myself this evening and it does look pretty rusty even to me. Thats good to know that its not all one part fore warned is fore armed so they say!!

Owen

If you want the details of a MINI specialist in Cork who can replace the offending section, let me know.

Mr Benevolent

liquoriceall wrote: »

Im not sure if its rusty on the inside but I had a look under the car myself this evening and it does look pretty rusty even to me. Thats good to know that its not all one part fore warned is fore armed so they say!!

It's in three sections generally.