De-Cat advice...

[MattyB]

The car I'm intending to pick up, hopefully before the shitty weather really kicks in, has a De-Cat.

 

Been chattin to Scott about how I stand in terms of insurance. The two options...

 

1. Don't tell them, and hope that they either don't notice (umm...) or just deny all knowledge. Not exactly the best think with a £17k car and and over 1/2 of it still owned by my bank

 

2. Declare it. Now not only do Tesco *hate* mods with a vengance (they wanted £70 extra on my current car policy due to a suspension change - and that was only for the last 3 months of it )

But also the fact that a De-Cat isn't actually legal. So can I declare it at all?

 

 

I'm getting concerned about my insurance now, what with this de-cat, and the fact that I got a nice fixed speeding penalty notice through my door the other day (first 3 points, and it came as a total shock...done when I was coming back from looking at the Elise by the Bristol Plod. A *very* well hidden camera van )

 

 

Anyway, I'm moving away from the point....any advice?

 

Ta

 

Matt

[Foley]

Matt,

 

I declared mine to Frizzells, they didn't seem to have the first idea what I was talking about, they charged me pennies nevertheless.

I'd declare it, stressing that there is a small BHP increase, it's not the most difficult mod to spot if an assessor is looking for an excuse to wriggle out.

[Foley]

Incidentally Matt, are you getting the original cat too? Might be stating the obvious but you'll need it come MOT time.

[MattyB]

Yeah he's giving me the Cat...althought I don't have an MOT due till 2004, which is good!

[Kris H]

Don't go for option 1. If you damage the car and have to make a claim, they usually will send a loss adjuster and they DO check such things - given that damage in the elise tends to be expensive (i.e. new clam shell), it would be unusual for them not to send a loss adjuster. If the car gets nicked, that's a different story obviously, but not a good idea to risk invalidating the insurance for the sake of an increased premium. Your other option is to re-fit the cat, which may not be something you want to think about but does mean no additional premium and no problem come MOT time. From what I can gather Frizzells aren't that bothered about mods in general so if the car is heavily modded, they might be your best bet.

[Wuddie]

Errm fitting a de-cat is very illegal, as it wont pass emmission tests come MOT so will render the car un road worthy and without a MOT your stuffed..But as stated above you can refit your old cat for the MOT to get round this problem.

 

Foley i'm sure if the bloke at frizzels knew that the de cat made the car un roadworthy he would have said that you would not be covered, actually i'm pretty sure that it says in our policies that the car has to be road worthy to qualify for insurance to be paid out.

 

so matt you've got two options take the de catoff and refit the proper cat or stick with the de-cat and dont tell the insurance company, if you do crash and a loss adjuster has to come out, i'm sure the friendly garage will refit the proper cat before the LA gets there to view your car.

[Mark H]

Dear PC Hales

I fitted a new exhaust to my Saxo removing the catalytic converter in the process. It’s now quite loud and I’m worried that I may get pulled over. Also my dad said that cos I have removed the cat I may get nicked if the police do a road side emissions test. Can you tell me what the limit is for exhaust noise and what could happen to me if I am putting out the wrong levels of emissions please? Great article by the way, I’m gonna approach my local station to see if I can do something in my area!

Jon from London via email

All parts fitted to a motor vehicle which is being used on the road have to be Type Approved. This includes the WHOLE exhaust system on a car. These parts can be identified by Type Approval Marks, normally similar to the British Kite Mark, and regulated under section 54 to 65 of the road traffic act 1988. It is an offence to use a vehicle on a road with a non-type approved part.

If you have removed your Catalytic converter from your exhaust then I would suggest that your exhaust is no longer type approved and you are committing an offence. Your Dad is correct when he says that your car may fail any omissions tests, IT WILL. It will not only fail but you may also be causing damage to your engine management system as well. Your car would no doubt fail an MOT test.

If you are stopped at the roadside by the Police and the Vehicle Inspectorate and tested for omissions it will also fail the test. Then the vehicle would be closely examined, and when the inspectors find that your Catalytic converter is also missing, it would show a willful act on your part. You would then be issued with an immediate prohibition by the vehicle inspectorate and would not be allowed to drive your car any further, it would have to be recovered at your own expense ! It is possible you could then receive a summons to go to court and a heavy fine. In any case you would have a set time limit to have your car fixed and no matter how old it is, it would have to be subject to a FULL MOT before the prohibition would be lifted so you could drive the vehicle on the road again.

It should also be noted that if you are found to be driving the car on a road with the prohibition still in force, this is a serious offence which would result in an appearance in court and a heavy fine!

My advice would be to replace your Catalytic converter IMMEDIATELY!

 

 

Found this question/answer on another website, thought it might be useful.

 

Found here

 

 

[MattyB]

TBH I don't want to risk not telling the insurance company, which I believe is my only option in this case.

 

But at the same time, putting the cat back on is sure to rob me of that sweet, sweet exhaust note...

 

And reading that site Beefcake, it seems like a bit of exaggeration and scaremongering going on...but still, if it keeps the boyracers in check...

[Kris H]

Matt

 

You do also have the sports cat option which is perfectly legal and also sounds very good, much better than the standard CAT, and no need for pratting about with removal when you do your MOT next year.

 

Kristian

[MattyB]

Whats the price of a Sports Cat these days?

[Kris H]

Don't know for an S1 but I should imagine it's variable according to make/type. For my S2, it was around £200 for a janspeed one I think. Difficult to say how effective/good/bad it is as I had the exhaust done at the same but the two combined sound great. I have been looking for tunnels at every opportunity

 

Kristian

[Mark H]

Will be the same price for S1/2.. few hundred pounds sounds right for a cat.

[MattyB]

Other people I've spoken to have just declared an Exhaust modification when they've had a De-Cat....do you think this would cover it?

 

The 160S has the optional factory fit exhaust, which I wouldn't declare as its factory, but it might be worth doing as it would give me extra protection should the worst happen.

[Scott_Mac]

You'll get away with the exhaust as i said mate, but the de-cat is a real problem.. it is an illegal car with it fitted.

 

The best option is deffo the sports cat, will rob you of very little bhp compared to de-cat and still sounds excellent. You will even be able to flog the de-cat pipe for about £30 on eBay, so get some cash back...

[Kris H]

Other people I've spoken to have just declared an Exhaust modification when they've had a De-Cat....do you think this would cover it?

In simple terms, no! The car isn't road legal with it on which almost certainly invalidates the insurance if the insurance company want to be funny, and if you've done something expensive they almost certainly would. Agree with Scott - sports cat sounds good and is perfectly legal.