New cat for £900

[captaintau]

I was the Citroen dealer today getting a new key and fob and asked them to clear my error codes at the same time since they'd be connecting to the car computer. They tell me that the fault codes indicate the need for a new catalytic converter, at £936.28. I think not. Other options?

[Chlorate]

There's a reason people call them stealerships. Was that parts cost or parts and labour?

Try eBay? It'd be a bit of a messy faff to fit yourself but not impossible. Worth having a bucket of nuts and bolts handy, they're a bit hot and exposed under there and tend to stick together.

[wheeler]

That sounds quite cheap, a new cat from the dealer for a xsara vts is £1400 + vat yes thats just for the part !

[Mandrake]

It would be helpful to know what car we're talking about here, and its age...

I wouldn't replace a cat just based on a one off fault code reading, however if you're worried it might be worth booking it in for an emissions test, (I'm assuming a garage will do an MOT emissions test for you separate from an MOT) and see if it passes. If it passes with a healthy margin (CO, HC less than 1/5 of the allowed amounts) then I wouldn't worry about any fault codes unless the EML light is also lit because of it.

If it fails or only barely passes (say CO 0.4%) then they're probably right...

[lankytim]

Do you get a reach around for that?

[Chlorate]

Do you get a reach around for that?

And a cuddle afterwards I'd hope!

[captaintau]

It would be helpful to know what car we're talking about here, and its age...

C5 2L petrol estate. 51 plate.

I have no problems with the car, just the fault light that only starts halfway down the M40, never on shorter journeys.

[Lighty]

An aftermarket cat could be done for around £250 I should think, if it is the original one, it's probably better than a new pattern one, it is possible to have the fault code mapped out of the ECU , this would be a cheaper option.

[Jabo]

It would be helpful to know what car we're talking about here, and its age...

C5 2L petrol estate. 51 plate.

I have no problems with the car, just the fault light that only starts halfway down the M40, never on shorter journeys.

Same engine here. Had the car for 3 years, every once in a while (maybe every 6 months) I'll get a 'Catalytic Converter Fault' error message on the dash when starting and the engine will be running in either limp mode or not on 4 cylinders, either way it won't rev right. After some idling it eventually clears and is fine and the car passes MOT's with no emissions issues.

Also, if you have some patience and ramps you can go under the car and saw out the cat and fit a replacement with clamps and sleeves. You can get a brand new, universal sports cat on eBay right now for £84.

[Peter.N.]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-C5-2- ... 4610f6df94" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Our Siamese cost more than that.

[captaintau]

Thanks for the replies. Since the car is performing well I shall await the MOT and go from there