More Exhausts

[Howard]

In my continuing search for a cheap Ebay exhaust for my car , i have come across this guy, he seems to have quite a few , including some Stainless jobbies.

Heres the link to one, check his other items as well, he's a bit far away but if you can get the 'zorst cheap enough , it might be worth 15 or 20 notes on postage.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38786&item=7916813323

Till then i'll keep on looking !


H

 

[uumode]

Aren't Walkers stainless steel exhausts used by Kwikfit? It's plastered on the side of the delivery lorries. They only lasted about a year on my Pug 205.

 

[andy_k]

"This auction is for a stainless steal Walker exhaust suitable for a Mercedes and is BRAND NEW!!"

I'd suspect that the spelling of the word "steel" on this page was slightly more than a Freudian slip

Yes, Walkers are the cheap and nasty, poorly fitting stainless steel exhausts that Kwik Fit use.

Food for thought here, if you buy an exhaust over the internet, aside from the obvious "will it fit" question and what to do when it doesn't and you've trashed your own system taking it apart (don't ask ) you have the additional postage costs - which is going to be a fair bit and then the hassle of fitting it yourself or paying someone to fit it for you.

If you do it yourself at the side of the road it is a complete pain in the ar*e job and if you pay someone to fit it they will probably want as much in labour charges as you stand to save and you will still be the owner of an exhaust system with no warranty.

If you are really tight on cash (as you said in the other thread), take it down to a local garage and get them to try and weld it for you - at the very worst it will cost you the price of a beer to gain a few days quiet motoring, at best it will last until the next MoT.

At the end of the day though a knackered exhaust is going to need replacing at some time so why not just stick it on your credit card? If that's up to the limit apply for a new Barclaycard - their current offer for new accounts on purchase and balance transfers is 0% interest until August 2005 - so you get 12 months interest free credit

Andy

 

[uumode]

"Yes, Walkers are the cheap and nasty, poorly fitting stainless steel exhausts that Kwik Fit use.
Andy

Poor fitting? the exhaust on some take a completely different path!

If keeping the car a long time probably better to get the authentic MB job, which is supposed to last?

I don't know about the latest Audi or MB original exhausts, but my old Audi 90 exhaust did around 120k on the original.

 

[andy_k]

Poor fitting? the exhaust on some take a completely different path!

yep - usually the shortest path between the front and back of the car with little regard for any mechanical parts which may be in the way

Andy

 

[jackgilroy2]

Don't be fooled in thinking the merc item will be any better quality!!!!

I bought a mercedes back box and got them to fit it costing £240.

15 months later it had a hole in it, took it back to my merc dealer, they weren't interested and said there was nothing they could do. Merc parts only have 12 month warranty etc etc

Phoned around and got a WALKER back box as replacement instead of buying another mercedes one. Came with TWO years warranty for £140 fitted.

The WALKER back box was IDENTICAL to the merc one. I compared them side by side no difference, they even weighed roughly the same. So don't think they are poor quality. they are EXACT copies of the original.

The WALKER backbox is still on my car 4 years later and there is no rust on it at all.

 

[uumode]

Don't be fooled in thinking the merc item will be any better quality!!!!

I bought a mercedes back box and got them to fit it costing £240.

15 months later it had a hole in it, took it back to my merc dealer, they weren't interested and said there was nothing they could do. Merc parts only have 12 month warranty etc etc

Phoned around and got a WALKER back box as replacement instead of buying another mercedes one. Came with TWO years warranty for £140 fitted.

The WALKER back box was IDENTICAL to the merc one. I compared them side by side no difference, they even weighed roughly the same. So don't think they are poor quality. they are EXACT copies of the original.

The WALKER backbox is still on my car 4 years later and there is no rust on it at all.

Maybe Walkers have improved, I'm refering to pre 1993, I had many on my Pug 205 and Metro.

 

[Brian WH]

Moving to Engine section for Future reference.

 

[jaymanek]

Walker are still known in the trade to be cheap and nasty...

 

[Will]

Might be to everybody's disapproval, but at the start of the year I had a new exhaust fitted to a Range Rover that I owned.

I was going to do the job myself, and started to price up the parts. Even at the cheapest "mates rates" trade rock-bottom prices (somebody who works for a major Landrover/Parts company) etc, the cheapest pattern-part system was about £170, not including any fitting accessories etc.

Kwik-fit were doing 60% off certain exhaust systems, and to cut a long story short, I had a complete exhaust system fitted for £110.80. I think from memory it was made by bosal (sp).

Bear in mind this is not your basic metro exhaust, it is for a 3.9L V8, fitted for £110.80, inclusive of fitting, disposal, and VAT, and it comes with 2 years warranty. It was made up of several parts, 2x 4-2-1 sections, a Y-piece, center silencer and link piece that has to bend around the rear axle, and the rear silencer.

I had a look once it was fitted, and it was a very neat and tidy job, the bends on the downpipes etc were formed well, it fitted neatly, and was a slightly better design than the original system (minor point, but the downpipes and Y-piece were in three parts, which makes it easier to remove when changing the ATF in the gearbox)

Certainly pleased me, no bruised and cut fingers, swearing, rust in your eye etc! I had a check on it recently whilst changing the oil (My father now uses it!) and it still looks virtually as-new, no rust or anything.

What I am trying to say is, don't necessarily be put off by somebody's experience with somewhere. I have heard people on here slate kwik-fit and the like, but in the instance, I honestly think I had a brilliant job done for much less than the parts alone, and with a decent warranty to back it up (2yrs). Perhaps I was lucky?!? I don't know, and to be honest, I don't really care! It was fitted in the winter and saved me getting dirty, and still is fine today. With the money I saved, I probably went down the pub instead of swearing in the garage!

If everybody was put off by a company being in the spotlight, none of us would ever visit a dealership for a service!

Just my experience,

Will

 

[andy_k]

my point wasn't that Kwik Fit are rubbish

I was trying to say that rather than buy one of their exhausts to fit yourself go and get one fitted by them - as Will so rightly says they do a decent job at rock bottom prices and at the end of the day you stay clean,don't lose any blood, get a face full of rust and have an exhaust which if it is made of cheap stainless steel and falls to bits in 10,000 miles it's covered by a full warranty and it's not your problem


Andy

 

[Howard]

But surely the whole point of all of us on here who have bought stuff off Ebay is that , if you can pick it up for next to nothing, then you take a chance ?

Sure, when it arrives it might be a piece of old crap, but equally there are bargains to be had out there, (Graham has just picked up an AMG stainless backbox for a ton), so if it costs rock all, then in my opinion its worth the risk.

I just see these things whilst surfing and pass them on ......

 

[andy_k]

a bargain is only a bargain if it's any good to the person buying it, you mentioned in another thread that you needed[/] a new centre box and there's the difference between you and Graham. He didn't need to replace it and it's something he can play with when he has the time

If you buy something that doesn't fit, has no warranty and has cost you as much or more in postage and purchase price than it can be bought for new (in this case minimum bid of £40, add £20 postage and at least another £40 to pay someone fit it when Kwik Fit will do the same exhaust for £120 on one of their special offers) then it's hardly a bargain is it?

Andy

 

[GRAV888]

Walkers do not only supply to Kwik-Fit.
They are available in all exhaust centres.
I had one fitted on my 1995 escort diesel and it was still ok when I sold it in 2000.
Stainless steel is guaranteed for life mostly.
The cheap and nasty ones are the blue coloured ones from Kwik-shit.

 

[Plodd]

I once got a quote for an exhaust for my 3 door Cosworth several years ago.
The quote was for £120 so I got it in writing and ordered it there and then.
The exhaust was in 3 pieces with the centre piece having 2 flattened boxes. This part was a genuine Ford part and I saw the invoice from Ford for £350
I bet somebody got a rollocking for that bit of mispricing on the computer

 

[Howard]

a bargain is only a bargain if it's any good to the person buying it, you mentioned in another thread that you needed[/] a new centre box and there's the difference between you and Graham. He didn't need to replace it and it's something he can play with when he has the time

If you buy something that doesn't fit, has no warranty and has cost you as much or more in postage and purchase price than it can be bought for new (in this case minimum bid of £40, add £20 postage and at least another £40 to pay someone fit it when Kwik Fit will do the same exhaust for £120 on one of their special offers) then it's hardly a bargain is it?

Andy

But andy, some of us don't have the money to just pop out to Kwik Fit or wherever, and are quite capable of fitting the exhaust ourselves (thereby saving ourselves at least £40).

Obviously theres no point in buying an unwarrantied item for more than the high street price, especially if you can't fit it yourself.

So £100 = £40 exhaust + £20 P+P + £40 fitting fee

How about £40 exhaust, collect it for nothing, fit it yourself.

Total expenditure =£40 (worth the risk, you can always sell it on if it doesn't fit)

 

[V12]

If you get us the MB part number, i will most likely be able to supply you a new genuine MB one at half the dealer price...

Ricky

 

[Dieselman]

Walker are still known in the trade to be cheap and nasty...

Jay, I think you are mistaken. Walker are one of the premium brands and having used both would say they are better constructed than Bosal.

My local but sizeable exhaust distributor has Walker down as joint top brand alongside Bosal.