Bought a car with DPF removed - now stuck getting MoT

wetjeans

Hermione_Granger wrote: »

Yes. That's why the seller on the link given by AdrianC is showing them for sale.

I believe this was the first year for that model they have DPF fitted. I'd read a lot of forums that suggested that in the earlier Mazda 5s there were lots of DPF problems. Maybe this was just owner ignorance leading to problems, but I find the whole situation to be quite appalling.

foxy-stoat

AdrianC wrote: »

Main dealers are rarely the only source of parts.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332545215970 - and probably similar prices from a myriad of other sources.

Hopefully this will help others not to take whatever the main dealer quotes as the only option...no idea why you would go to a main dealer to get a car worth £2000 repaired anyway.

System

motorguy wrote: »

I disagree. I bought a year old ex-lease Passat 1.6TDI with 16,000 miles on it. More than enough, you would assume, to ensure it had been able to regen its DPF periodically. 2 weeks in to my ownership and the DPF light started coming on, 2 months in and VW had to replace the entire emissions module which would have cost around £2,300.

Thats frankly unacceptable as far as i'm concerned - shouldnt be happening.

So in fact the problem wasn't the DPF filter itself but an ECU.

System

macman wrote: »

Why not MOT it and see what happens? As mentioned above, the DPF is just a can with baffles in it.

Clearly has zero idea of what a DPF filter is or how it works.

Without removing it from the exhaust, there is no way to tell it has been taken out, and the MOT inspection is visual only

Other than the black soot coming out of the exhaust of the car when you accelerate on a car which shouldn't do it if it had a working DPF filter and which also shows up on a MOT on a car that's had a DPF delete? I take it you've not noticed that modern diesel cars with DPF filters fitted no longer have sooty tailpipes or a load of soot on the rear bumper around the tailpipe anymore like they used to do?

Other than the MOT you also need to make sure you don't get stopped at a VOSA roadside checkpoint, something especially likely to happen if you tow a caravan on certain popular holiday routes. If they find a DPF delete, and they'll go into it a lot more in depth than a MOT tester will, they'll just fine you and it can be four figures.

motorguy

Tarambor wrote: »

Clearly has zero idea of what a DPF filter is or how it works.



Other than the black soot coming out of the exhaust of the car when you accelerate on a car which shouldn't do it if it had a working DPF filter and which also shows up on a MOT on a car that's had a DPF delete? I take it you've not noticed that modern diesel cars with DPF filters fitted no longer have sooty tailpipes or a load of soot on the rear bumper around the tailpipe anymore like they used to do?

Other than the MOT you also need to make sure you don't get stopped at a VOSA roadside checkpoint, something especially likely to happen if you tow a caravan on certain popular holiday routes. If they find a DPF delete, and they'll go into it a lot more in depth than a MOT tester will, they'll just fine you and it can be four figures.

I suspect you dont either. A car without a DPF wont necessarily be smokey, in fact, if it is smokey its a sign of excess wear on the injectors, etc. Diesels do not by default produce a lot of soot.

I'd a 2005 2.2TD Jag X Type not that long ago with no DPF and it wasnt at all smokey. You wouldnt have known it didnt have one.

Sooty tailpipes and soot up round the back of the car were usually a sign of worn injectors or "the pump turned up" which was a common tuning tactic on the old 1.9TD Peugeot lump for example.

I dont think even VOSA have the power to remove the exhaust from your car, cut open the DPF box and check for the contents, at the side of the road..

motorguy

Tarambor wrote: »

So in fact the problem wasn't the DPF filter itself but an ECU.

No, it was the entire emissions module, which includes the DPF and i think a catalytic converter. They treat it as one unit.

But it was specifically the DPF at fault.

[Deleted User]

steve_blake1490667 wrote: »

I can't speak for Hyundai but my local Audi dealer gave me £6k for my 13 year old diesel banger on top of their regular/normal discounts when i bought a brand new A4 (factory order) from them a few months ago. So taking the Audi Diesel Scrappage discount into account, i got almost 30% off a car which had a list price of £39k....sheer madness by Audi to give such large discounts. Yet Drive The Deal quoted me £34k for the exact same car - they didn't offer the scrappage scheme. DTD laughed at me when i told them Audi have offered me the same car for £28.5k by trading in my 2005 banger...it was me who was laughing at the end :rotfl:

Here's the proof in case you were wondering:

Paying over £28k for a bog standard Audi A4 is not something I would be crowing about, personally.

motorguy

camelot1971 wrote: »

Paying over £28k for a bog standard Audi A4 is not something I would be crowing about, personally.

Several things

• He was "crowing" about the discount not about the car
• Its his choice of car and its what he wanted
• Its clearly not a "bog standard" A4. Theres quite a bit of upgrade spec it.
• You could easily spend £28K on a Golf these days, so to get that car with that spec for that price is pretty good going.

sevenhills

AdrianC wrote: »

DPFs have been around for nearly two decades. They work just fine - when used properly.

Diesel particulate filtering was first considered in the 1970s due to concerns regarding the impacts of inhaled particulates. Particulate filters have been in use on non-road machines since 1980, and in automobiles since 1985

AdrianC

motorguy wrote: »

Its clearly not a "bog standard" A4. Theres quite a bit of upgrade spec it.

It's not that long an option list... LED-blingy lights, inside and out; foldy-mirrors (they aren't standard on a £36k list car in 2018?); metallic paint...?