Exhaust replacement cost UK
From a single back box to a full cat-back system, fitted at an independent garage — and the section that’s blowing is usually cheaper than the noise suggests.
- Flexi pipe repair: £60 – £150
- Rattle? Heat shield: £0 – £40
- “Corroded” advisory ≠ a bill — yet
An exhaust replacement costs £90 – £220 for a back box, £140 – £320 for a mid section, and £300 – £650 for a full cat-back system fitted at an independent garage — but exhausts fail one section at a time, and the commonest “whole exhaust” quote is really a £60 – £150 flexi pipe. Match the fix to the section, not the noise. Pick your car below, then compare live prices from garages near you.
Price ranges are estimates — final quotes come from garages. Compare live quotes from local garages →
Exhaust cost by make and model
| Model | Back box | Mid section | Full system (cat-back) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | £90–£150 | £140–£220 | £300–£450 |
| Ford Focus | £100–£170 | £150–£240 | £320–£480 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | £90–£150 | £140–£220 | £300–£450 |
| Vauxhall Astra | £100–£170 | £150–£240 | £320–£480 |
| VW Golf | £100–£180 | £150–£250 | £330–£500 |
| VW Polo | £90–£150 | £140–£220 | £300–£450 |
| Nissan Qashqai | £110–£190 | £170–£280 | £360–£550 |
| Nissan Juke | £110–£190 | £160–£270 | £350–£530 |
| Mercedes A-Class | £130–£220 | £190–£310 | £410–£630 |
| BMW 1 Series | £130–£220 | £190–£310 | £410–£630 |
| BMW 3 Series | £130–£220 | £200–£320 | £420–£650 |
| Audi A3 | £120–£210 | £180–£300 | £390–£600 |
| Honda Civic | £100–£180 | £150–£250 | £330–£500 |
| Toyota Yaris | £90–£150 | £140–£220 | £300–£450 |
| Kia Sportage | £110–£190 | £170–£280 | £360–£550 |
Independent garage prices, fitted, with new gaskets and rubber mounts where needed. “Full system” means cat-back — the catalytic converter and (on diesels) the DPF are separate components with their own price worlds, covered in our cat and DPF guides. Main dealers typically charge around 50% more. Final quotes come from garages.
What affects the price
Which section has gone — that’s most of it. An exhaust is a chain of separate parts: downpipe and flexi at the engine, mid section with its silencer, back box at the tail, rubber mounts holding it all up. They corrode at different rates (the cool, condensation-filled back box dies first), bolt or clamp together, and replace individually. The whole-system quote should be the last resort, not the opening offer.
Salt does the pricing in Britain. Exhausts die of corrosion, not wear — road salt outside, acidic condensation inside — which is why short-trip cars kill back boxes fastest: the pipe never gets hot enough to evaporate the moisture sitting in it. A motorway car’s exhaust can last a decade; a school-run car’s back box often manages five years.
Seized joints add the surprises. A decade of heat cycles welds clamps and studs into sculpture, and a “half-hour back box” can grow when the sleeve joint won’t part and the mid pipe needs cutting. Fair garages price this possibility out loud; exhaust specialists just cut and sleeve as routine, which is one reason their quotes often beat general garages on older cars.
The section ladder: work out what’s actually blowing
Exhaust quotes go wrong at the diagnosis, not the fitting. Work up the ladder from the cheapest culprit — most exhaust “emergencies” live on the first three rungs:
| Suspect | The tell | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Heat shield | Metallic rattle or buzz at certain revs, worst at idle — sounds terminal, costs nothing | £0 – £40 (re-clip or remove-and-refit) |
| Rubber mount | Clonk over bumps, exhaust visibly hanging low at one point | £15 – £40 |
| Flexi pipe | Blowing / chuffing from under the engine, worse when cold, often after the front end “clonked” once | £60 – £150 welded in |
| Joint / gasket | Chuff at a connection, sooty ring around the joint | £30 – £80 |
| Back box | Roar from the rear, rot at the seams, rust flakes behind the rear wheel | £90 – £220 |
| Mid section | Boom/roar from beneath the cabin | £140 – £320 |
| Full cat-back system | Multiple sections gone at once — usually one neglected advisory later | £300 – £650 |
Two rungs deserve stars. The heat shield is the great impersonator of exhaust death — a loose tin guard buzzing against the pipe sounds exactly like something expensive letting go, and it’s fixed with a clip or a bolt in minutes. And the flexi pipe is the section quoted wrong most often: it’s the deliberate weak link — a braided joint that absorbs engine movement — and when it splits, the blowing noise up front gets misheard as “the exhaust’s gone”. A welded-in flexi repair is £60–£150; the front-pipe-with-cat it saves you from buying is several times that, which is why the question to ask under any exhaust quote is: “which section is actually leaking — and can you show me?” On a ramp, with the engine running, a leak points to itself with soot.
“Exhaust corroded but not leaking”: Britain’s favourite advisory, decoded
| What the certificate says | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “Exhaust corroded but not leaking” | Advisory — surface rust noted, gases still contained | Nothing yet — this can ride for years; note which section |
| Same advisory, several years running | The countdown is visible — seams go next | Budget for that section; price it before it starts blowing |
| “Exhaust has a minor leak of exhaust gases” | Advisory or minor — it’s started | Book it this month; leaks only grow, and fumes matter |
| “Major leak” / “insecure” / excessively noisy | Fail | Repair before the retest — usually one section, not a system |
“Corroded but not leaking” is one of the most common lines on British MOT certificates — testers write it constantly, coastal testers most of all — and it is precisely what it says: a note, not a bill. Its real value is targeting: the tester names the section, and that section is the one to budget for and the only one an honest quote should contain. A driver who arrives saying “the back box has carried a corrosion advisory for two years — price me a back box” has already skipped the whole-system conversation. Your car’s complete advisory record, with every exhaust note priced by section for your exact model, is what our reg checker reads in thirty seconds — and the wider translation game (what every MOT phrase costs) lives in our MOT guide.
Patch, weld or replace? The honest hierarchy
Exhaust paste and bandage wraps first, honestly: they’re a bridge, not a repair — good for quieting a small blow for days or weeks while a proper fix is booked, and that’s their entire résumé. Gases find their way past paste, and a bandaged pipe still fails the tester’s eye. Welding, though, is legitimate and underused: a specialist welding a patch over a localised rot spot, or a new flexi into an otherwise sound front pipe, is a proper £40–£150 repair that can buy years — the right call on an older car where a section is 90% good. The tipping point is structural: when the metal around the repair is thin enough to crumble at the clamp, welding to it is decorating rust, and the section earns replacement. A specialist tells you which side of the line you’re on by squeezing the pipe in front of you — ask them to.
Ramp inspection, engine running — leak isolated to back box seams, mid section squeezed and sound: free. Aftermarket back box: £75. Fitting, including one cut seized sleeve joint and a new rubber mount: £70. Total: £145 — versus the £320–£480 full-system quote the noise suggested.
The same roar with a split flexi up front instead: £60–£150 welded. The lesson is the ladder — sections fail individually, and the noise always sounds like more than it costs.
Where to get it done: exhaust specialist, independent or fast-fit chain
| Exhaust specialist | Independent garage | National fast-fit chain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical price | Keenest — it’s their whole trade | Mid — may order sections in | Competitive on stocked boxes |
| Best for | Welding, flexis, custom sections, seized systems | Exhaust work bundled with other repairs | Same-day back boxes on common cars |
| Worth asking | “Weld or replace?” — they’ll show you the metal | Whether welding is done in-house | Whether a repair option exists before the system quote |
Exhausts are the trade where the specialist genuinely is cheaper: welding skills turn replacements into repairs, and volume turns parts prices down. On anything beyond a straight back box — flexis, seized joints, older cars — their quote belongs in the comparison. Compare exhaust prices from garages and specialists near you →
Six exhaust noises decoded
- Metallic rattle or buzz at certain revs. Nine times in ten: a loose heat shield tinkling against the pipe. Sounds like the end of the world, fixes with a clip. Rule it out before believing anything dearer. £0 – £40
- Chuffing or blowing from under the bonnet, worse cold. The flexi pipe or a manifold-end joint — the front of the system, not “the exhaust”. A welded flexi is the usual answer. £60 – £150
- Clonk over bumps, pipe hanging low. A perished rubber mount letting the system swing. Cheap now; left alone, the swinging cracks the flexi and buys rung two. £15 – £40
- Roar from the rear. The back box’s seams have opened — the commonest exhaust death in Britain, especially on short-trip cars where condensation rots it from inside. £90 – £220
- Boom or drone beneath the cabin. The mid silencer. Check the joints either side while it’s up — if they’re crusted too, a mid-and-back combination can beat two separate visits. £140 – £320
- Suddenly, shockingly loud plus a warning light. If the volume arrived overnight with an engine light, think front of system — and on petrols, check the cat’s still there; our cat guide covers the theft morning-after. Section-dependent — diagnose on the ramp
Stainless steel: worth the premium?
The honest arithmetic on the upgrade question: a stainless section or system costs roughly two to three times mild steel and effectively never rusts — a lifetime part in a location where mild steel lasts five to ten years. That maths pays on exactly one kind of car: the keeper. If you’ll own the car five-plus years, a stainless back box on a model that eats them is rational money; if the car has two owners left in it, you’re buying the next owner a gift. The middle path most drivers should actually take is cheaper: quality aftermarket mild steel (the mid-shelf brands supply factories anyway), fitted with fresh mounts so it doesn’t shake itself apart, plus the free longevity hack nobody sells — a proper run once a week to boil the condensation out of the boxes. Short trips, not salt, are what kill most back boxes early.
How to pay less on an exhaust
Buy the section, not the system. The single rule worth this whole page: exhausts fail one section at a time, and the ramp inspection with the engine running — free at any garage worth using — names which. Whole-system quotes answer a question nobody asked.
Use the advisory as a shopping list. “Corroded but not leaking” on your certificate names the section and starts a clock measured in years, not weeks. Price it in the quiet months, fit it before it blows, and you’ll never meet the roadside version of this repair. Your service checklist walks the same pipework annually — same intelligence, free.
Ask the welding question. “Can this section be repaired rather than replaced?” is a £100 question that exhaust specialists answer honestly because welding is their craft. On older cars, a flexi welded into a sound front pipe or a patch on a localised rot spot is proper work, not a bodge.
Pair adjacent sections when both are crusted. If the mid and back are both on borrowed time, one visit with one set of joints cut beats two visits a year apart — the overlap saves £40–£80 and the second section’s joints are already open. The reverse discipline also applies: one rotten box does not condemn its healthy neighbours. Compare section-by-section exhaust quotes near you →
Compare live exhaust prices from garages and specialists near you — book online, pay when the work’s done.
Compare live quotesFAQ
How much does an exhaust replacement cost in the UK?
£90–£220 for a back box, £140–£320 for a mid section and £300–£650 for a full cat-back system, fitted at an independent garage — with the catalytic converter and DPF priced separately in their own worlds. Exhausts fail one section at a time, so most repairs live at the cheap end of that range.
Can I drive with a blowing exhaust?
Briefly and with windows cracked — but treat it as urgent, not cosmetic: leaks before the cabin can draw fumes inside, the noise only grows, and a leak ahead of the sensors upsets fuelling. A minor blow is an advisory; a major leak or insecure system is an MOT fail and a fix-this-week job.
Why is my exhaust rattling?
Check the heat shield first — a loose tin guard buzzing against the pipe is the cause nine times in ten, sounds catastrophic and costs £0–£40 to re-secure. A clonk over bumps is more likely a £15–£40 rubber mount. Genuine internal rattle (a broken baffle) does mean that silencer is due.
What is a flexi pipe and why does it fail?
The braided, concertina joint near the engine that absorbs drivetrain movement — the system’s deliberate weak link. It splits from age or one good clout, blows with a chuff from up front, and is welded in for £60–£150. It’s also the section most often misquoted as a whole front pipe at several times the price.
Is a corroded exhaust an MOT failure?
Not by itself — “corroded but not leaking” is an advisory, one of the most common lines on British certificates, and can ride for years. The fail comes with a major leak, an insecure system or excessive noise. Use the advisory’s section name as your shopping list, not a panic button.
How long does an exhaust replacement take?
30–60 minutes for a back box with cooperative joints, 1–2 hours for a mid section or full system — plus contingency on older cars, where seized sleeve joints get cut and sleeved as routine. Exhaust specialists carry the tooling to make seized systems unremarkable rather than expensive.
Why do back boxes fail so often?
Condensation — the rear silencer runs coolest, so moisture sits inside it and rots it from the seams outward, with road salt finishing the job outside. Short-trip cars kill back boxes fastest because the pipe never gets hot enough to dry out. One proper run a week is genuinely protective.
Does a full exhaust system include the catalytic converter?
Usually not — “full system” in most quotes means cat-back: everything from the catalytic converter to the tailpipe. The cat itself is a precious-metals part with its own £250–£1,500 price world, and on diesels the DPF likewise. Confirm what “full” means before comparing two quotes.
Can an exhaust be welded instead of replaced?
Often, yes — a flexi welded into a sound front pipe or a patch over localised rot is legitimate £40–£150 work that can buy years, and exhaust specialists do it all day. The line is structural: when the surrounding metal is thin enough to crumble at a clamp, welding is decorating rust and the section is due.
Does exhaust paste actually work?
As a bridge, not a repair — paste and bandage can quiet a small blow for days or weeks while a proper fix is booked, and that’s their entire job. Gas pressure finds its way past them, and a bandaged pipe still draws the tester’s eye. Budget the real fix; use paste to get there quietly.
Why does my car smell of exhaust fumes inside?
A leak upstream of the cabin — flexi, joint or mid section — with fumes drawn in through vents or seals. Treat it seriously: crack the windows, limit driving and get it on a ramp promptly. It’s usually a modest section fix, but carbon monoxide is not a wait-and-see substance.
Is a louder exhaust illegal?
A failed silencer making the car excessively noisy can fail the MOT and attract roadside attention — the system must silence “in an efficient manner”. Aftermarket systems are fine when they meet noise rules; a rotted-out box doing an impression of a sports exhaust is just a fail with a soundtrack.