Citroen C4 Picasso Mid-Pipe

Exhaust work runs R2,600 to R9,400 through the specialists in our network, and a mid-pipe section alone sits at the lower end of that. What moves the figure is whether the section carries a resonator or a secondary catalyst, since either adds substantially to the part. Send the model and engine code and we will confirm what your car actually has in that run before quoting.

Fitted at an exhaust centre, R2,600 to R6,250 depending on whether you go mild steel or stainless. The comparison worth making is not price but lifespan — stainless costs more once and lasts around three times as long on the coast, where mild steel is effectively a consumable. On rarer models a custom-fabricated section is often cheaper than a catalogue part and just as good.

Condensation, from the inside. Burning fuel produces water, and unless the exhaust reaches full temperature that water condenses and collects in the lowest section overnight — which is the mid-pipe. Short trips are therefore far harder on an exhaust than long ones, regardless of mileage. Add coastal salt and the mild steel goes quickly. A car doing regular open-road runs can double the life of the same pipe.

A pinhole in a section with sound wall thickness can be welded and will hold. The problem is that mid-pipes rust from the inside, so by the time a hole shows, the metal around it is usually paper-thin and the weld simply tears a bigger hole. Exhaust paste and bandage buy a few weeks. A stainless replacement section lasts a decade and costs less than the third round of welding.

Pro Citroen Spares and our supplier network cover the common models. For anything less common, a fitment centre will usually fabricate a mid-pipe in-house from mandrel-bent tube for less than a catalogue section costs, and can build it in stainless while they are at it. Ask for both quotes — on an older car the fabricated stainless option is frequently the better buy.