Bought a car with no cat!

only_mee

The cats are very restrictive, if the ultimate goal is more power.I'd be inclined to guess it might have had a re-map too.

Gavin83

Decats are very common for slight performance gains and a louder sounding exhaust. Did the car not sound louder than the norm?

It's not illegal to have no cat but it is illegal if your car emits more emissions than the legal standards, the police can pull you and do a check any time. Most cars will of course fail an emissions test without a cat and therefore most owners will also have a cat that they bolt on purely for MOT purposes.

It's considered a performance upgrade and therefore I'd very much imagine that you would be required to inform your insurance company, if not and you had an accident they would likely use it as a reason not to pay out.

The fact that you bought it from a garage means that you can take it back and ask them to rectify it for you. Cats aren't cheap as they contain precious metals. A genuine OEM cat will generally set you back £1000+ just for the part, a 3rd party or used one will generally range from £150-£450, although this can of course vary. Given the price you'll be looking at I'd be taking it back to the garage.

motorguy

holsbrown wrote: »

My husband and I bought a second hand car just before Christmas, and we just found out today (through a failed MOT) that the car has no catalytic converter.

As far as I can tell it's not illegal to have no cat, but the car won't pass an MOT without it so it is necessary.

It doesn't seem that its illegal to sell a car with no cat, but is it illegal to fail to mention to us that it had no cat? It would have affected our decision to buy the car which is what makes me think it is at the very least immoral for the garage to omit from telling us it was without the cat.

I'm also concerned that it means our insurance is invalid.

Of course the garage may not have been aware the car was without the cat, but is it their responsibility to check these kind of things before selling the car?

Any advice greatly appreciated!
Thank you

Garage probably didnt check and not something they would check really.

BUT i would be taking it back as the car is "not fit for purpose" if it cant be MOT'd

It would be up to them to either fit a new one or refund you.

DUTR

holsbrown wrote: »

The car is a VW golf R32, 58 plate.

The car is at VW at the moment having just failed it's MOT, they are the ones that have advised the cat is missing, I'm waiting a phone call now to tell me how much it'll be to replace - I'm guessing lots :-(

I don't know what the readings are yet (I'll find out later on when I go back to the garage) but on the phone they told me the emissions were sky high.

Kicking myself now for not asking the garage to MOT it before we took it. Rookie mistake!

Now there is a surprise!
Bet it was a free MOT too? Get the car back and take it elsewhere.

zappahey

DUTR wrote: »

Now there is a surprise!
Bet it was a free MOT too? Get the car back and take it elsewhere.

Will the cat magically reappear at a different mot station?

harrys_dad

Cross post to the consumer board where people will advise you clearly on your rights.

motorguy

harrys_dad wrote: »

Cross post to the consumer board where people will advise you clearly on your rights.

I already have

DUTR

zappahey wrote: »

Will the cat magically reappear at a different mot station?

No it won't but it didn't surprise me that the MOT test at VW would result in a costly failure (or so they report to the customer) . An R32 is quick enough without needing to remove the cat, especially if the car is not modded in any other way, I suspect the car is fine.

only_mee

R32 without the cat is a very different sound

DUTR

only_mee wrote: »

R32 without the cat is a very different sound

The 6 cylinder engine already makes a very different sound in standard guise.