Police view on de-cat's...

[.Kev.]

Police would only pull you if it was too loud, and then they'd only issue you a vehicle defect form. They would'nt get under car looking for a de-cat.

Vosa could stop you and check but there more interested in overloaded lorries. And TBH ive never seen i done.

As for garages, I used to work in a repair garage. If a car came in that was damaged they would take pictures of said damage, tyre wear ect then send the images off to the insurance company. same as if it were written off. They wouldnt go looking for de-cats ect. Obvious things that stand out a mile yes.

 

[Alex_M]

My friend got pulled over by the police reciently and had a road side emissions test done on his astra. he asked the copper what would happen if they failed at which they replied that if you run a decat then your car will not pass an MOT, due to emmisions (if it needs a cat). this also means that your insurance is void, even if declared. that in turn means that you are driving un-insured which means that the police can confiscate your car.

Now this could be the nice policeman trying to scare people or this could be true. in my eyes it doesent seam worth the risk when you can be a sports cat.

 

[chris182cup]

I thought if your insurance company didn't insure u with a decat then your insurance is invalid so technically ur not insured properly.

 

[JoeyD]

Police would only pull you if it was too loud, and then they'd only issue you a vehicle defect form. They would'nt get under car looking for a de-cat.

Vosa could stop you and check but there more interested in overloaded lorries. And TBH ive never seen i done.

As for garages, I used to work in a repair garage. If a car came in that was damaged they would take pictures of said damage, tyre wear ect then send the images off to the insurance company. same as if it were written off. They wouldnt go looking for de-cats ect. Obvious things that stand out a mile yes.

There have been a good few VOSA vans parked up accompanied by the police flagging down random cars for checks.
I've been lucky not to have gotten stopped tbh since my car isn't exactly normal looking...

 

[chris182cup]

I've seen their vans and police stopping cars but was a lot of vans and mainly diesels I think I thought they might be checking for red diesel.

When I had my 182 I was always worried about being in a crash having a decat

 

[JoeyD]

Oh really?
That could be a reasonable explanation. Althought my friend, who owned a decatted Saxo at the time, got pulled by them and they said nothing about it. So god knows!

Still, this thread has made me think twice about putting it back on after MOT tbh...

 

[domjolly]

After reading this thread it seems alot of people are saying with a decat your car will not pass a emissions test meaning it cannot pass an mot which means your car is not road legal and if the police pull you over they can confiscate your car! Just a quick question what if your cat is broken and you get pulled can they still confiscate your car? Or if you have a crash will they not pay out due to your car not being able to pass a test. The chances are you won't get pulled over andchecked for it. And if you do they will ask you to get retested and produce the re test at the police station. I highly doubt all police officers know what a decat is and what each cat looks like on every car. I also thought it was mainly the vosa that did road side test andrhis was mainly on lorrya although they do do car checks as well

 

[chris182cup]

Some traffic cops will know, last traffic cop that pulled me was looking over the car I was convinced if he looked under the car he was going to take it off me as it is illegal and my insurance would be void - it's not illegal to drive with a broken cat and a broken cat won't void your insurance

I don't know how how insurance companies allow decats when their illegal

 

[172Ben]

Its only illegal if it doesnt pass an MOT.

Its been covered before.

 

[chris182cup]

My car being a diesel can have a decat and pass an mot

won't almost all cars petrol cars fail an mot with a decat?

 

[172Ben]

Not neccessarily.

 

[chris182cup]

I was told that if I put cataclean in the 182 mot time it might pass with the decat.

 

[ForceIndia]

Its only illegal if it doesnt pass an MOT.

Its been covered before.

What if it's a total loss write off? How can it be tested re MOT?

If the answer was that cut and dried, there wouldn't be the never ending debate on forums. Getting stopped isn't really a concern. Insurace however, is.

 

[stu-172]

My old 1.2 Clio passed with a decat. I'd had problems with a blocked cat, so cut the cat apart, took the insides out and welded it back up. Box was still there, just nothing in it. MOT guy didn't notice and emissions were fine!

 

[sideways danny]

Mine passed an MOT with a decat this week. Extensive modifications meant it qualified for an exemption. Just had to pass the 3.5% CO limit. Takes a very good MOT tester with serious in-depth knowledge to dig out little gems like that

 

[chris182cup]

My mot man brings my mot certificate to the pub, he's never seen my car lol just kidding coz that's illegal

 

[Quid]

Have I just wasted my money on a silenced decat? lol

 

[Stu_182]

Mine passed an MOT with a decat this week. Extensive modifications meant it qualified for an exemption. Just had to pass the 3.5% CO limit. Takes a very good MOT tester with serious in-depth knowledge to dig out little gems like that

Care to pass on this information?

I've heard that cars with itb engines can have lower emissions when set up correctly so if that person had a de-cat declaired on insurance and passed the emissions test then it's legal I say.

 

[sideways danny]

I dont know the specifics but i think it's at the testers discretion. It's not the first car it's been done on though

 

[.Kev.]

After reading this thread it seems alot of people are saying with a decat your car will not pass a emissions test meaning it cannot pass an mot which means your car is not road legal and if the police pull you over they can confiscate your car! Just a quick question what if your cat is broken and you get pulled can they still confiscate your car? Or if you have a crash will they not pay out due to your car not being able to pass a test. The chances are you won't get pulled over andchecked for it. And if you do they will ask you to get retested and produce the re test at the police station. I highly doubt all police officers know what a decat is and what each cat looks like on every car. I also thought it was mainly the vosa that did road side test andrhis was mainly on lorrya although they do do car checks as well

The Police will issue you a vehicle defect form, which means you have to get the car inspected and produce a report. If you smash your car they dont stick a probe up your exhaust they take pictures of the damage, tyres ect obvious defects.

 

[Addz]

Get a normal cat and smash the insides out, thats what i did on the vee and after i'd welded it up, flatted it back and VHT'd it you couldnt tell the difference, apart from the bangs and pop's

 

[BoroGTI]

There was a guy on Pheads that had a nasty crash in his Impreza. Total write-off, running a decat, no pay-out. Up to you if you feel the risk is worth it.

Think there must have been more to his car that wasen't declared tbh, i've had 2 claims on cars in the past with mods that weren't declared with no problem, all of them a lot more obvious than just a De-cat!

 

[BoroGTI]

My friend got pulled over by the police reciently and had a road side emissions test done on his astra. he asked the copper what would happen if they failed at which they replied that if you run a decat then your car will not pass an MOT, due to emmisions (if it needs a cat). this also means that your insurance is void, even if declared. that in turn means that you are driving un-insured which means that the police can confiscate your car.

Now this could be the nice policeman trying to scare people or this could be true. in my eyes it doesent seam worth the risk when you can be a sports cat.

Bullshit! if you have declared a de-cat to your insurance then you ARE insured, if you actually got pulled over for an emissions test and it dident pass then you just get 14 days to rectify the problem

 

[Damo_Sport]

Bullshit! if you have declared a de-cat to your insurance then you ARE insured, if you actually got pulled over for an emissions test and it dident pass then you just get 14 days to rectify the problem

yeah i can't see how a insurance company can agree to say "yes" to your decat, but then if you crash say "sorry its illegal so we cant pay out"

 

[jenic]

yeah i can't see how a insurance company can agree to say "yes" to your decat, but then if you crash say "sorry its illegal so we cant pay out"

The point is its not illegal, some cars will pass an emissions test without a cat.

Like above, if you got pulled and it failed on emissions, you would have to rectify the problem within x amount of time. Its only if you got pulled again after this time and failed that you may get shafted. Personally I have never seen a roadside emissions testing thing about, so you'd have to be damn unlucky to get pulled once never mind twice. They are more bothered about tax and red diesel tbh.

 

[Jaff.]

when your car goes for an mot they do NOT look for a cat, so even if your running a decat as long as the car passes its emissions test (which is possible even with a decat) then it will pass the mot (providing evryhting else is in order).

ill see if i can find that ruling online now

so back to the question, if your car passes its mot on emmissions (cat or not) then its road legal, insurance valid etc. the only problems you will have with a traffic cop is if its stupidly loud and he pulls you he can give you a producer and vehicle defect form to make the car quieter (you have 14 days to do this) if all is in order and you take your documents to the police station your in the clear.

if VOSA pull you over on the other hand it can be a diffrent story. they can test your emissions (so if you fail then your car isnt road legal, insurance invalid etc.) and will prohibit the car being driven on the road untill its made road legal again. i cant remember if they physically check for a cat tho.. but seeing as its not an official part of the mot test then i cant see why they would.

its a risk id take tbh if i wanted my car to be that loud and aid breatheing that little bit better

 

[walker182]

I just like the fumes from my decat ! mmmm :sleepy: