Longlife stainless exhausts

[jolly14]

Hey guys,

What a load of amatures at canterbury Mr Clutch (longlife exhaust center) they had my dads audi 2.0fsi in from 08.30 till 20.40 today to fit a cat back duplex system in stainless steel. First thing was telling us it would be all done by 17.30 then when we arrive to pick it up it looked like they had only just started it (not impressed) then i notice that they cut into the pipe coming out of the silencer like a y shape(should'nt the silencer have had 2 exits in the 1st place) to make it into 2 so they could get the twin pipes out the back(does that sound right to you lot) it looks a bit cheap and nasty (but at £450 it aint cheap) then the 2 boys the guy had working with him said that the tail pipes were sitting central in the valance when they were not so the bar which he had just been welded on had to be removed and realigned. I for 1 will not be getting mine done there now as they dont seem to have a clue on duplex systems. Rant over what are your thoughs please.

 

[CMD]

Shhiit Mate that does not sound good, why did you dad opt for a LL exhaust when there are after market exhaust out that would fit your dad's car ?

 

[mattyboyc]

I've been quoted around the same price from my local LL exhaust centre to build a ss system, but won't be using them now.

 

[jolly14]

Shhiit Mate that does not sound good, why did you dad opt for a LL exhaust when there are after market exhaust out that would fit your dad's car ?

My dad wanted the duplex like mine (1.8t avant) but just wanted a standard system in stainless so dont have to woory about it failing mot's because of rust and also said he did'nt want the exhaust note to change (he is 66) but it sounds a bit boomy when you put ya foot down a bit, he's really not happy and i feel bad cos he asked me where he could get it done.

Thanks jay

 

[jolly14]

I've been quoted around the same price from my local LL exhaust centre to build a ss system, but won't be using them now.

Whatever you do mattyboyc just save a little more and get a miltek or similar just dont go down longlifes road cos its sh1t.

 

[paul20v]

Long life are franchises
there are some decent ones but it seems that theres lots more bad ones
i also would stick with the big names
but in saying that i have had milteks crack on my UR 20v and my mate had one crack on his S2 so figure that .

 

[xCoupexAshx]

i got mine done there last week, they were very friendly and helpful, didnt get finished in time, but they gave me a lift home n i picked it up the next day. sori to hear about ur service, but just to let all know i had a good experience there, and was well priced too.

 

[Leaky Lloyd]

if any of you live near enough and want a duplex system,,,, take it exhausts uk in sheffield,, they really are the dogs danglies at custom jobs,,, they use the highest grade stainless and can panipulate the sytem to give you an exact sound to suit your requirements,,
if your car has no exhaust slots like my gmbh one,they cut bumpers to a very high standard too,,
there are loads of tailpipe sizes and designs to choose from,
had all my cars done there and loved every single one!!!
when i get chance ill be taking the avant too,,, for a duplex sstem,,, they want £340 for a cat back job and i 200% now they wont let me down!!!!
might be worth a drive even if you live further away aswell,, no need to sit and wait as its slap bang next to an entertainment center with bowling, cinama's loads of resteraunts and even a big monkey business (for the kids of course) pmsl!
Exhausts UK Custom Stainless Steel Exhausts

 

[J7USS]

One of the shopfitters I was talking to a while back mentioned these guys ^^, he also said they were **** hot. They do all sorts dont they. He's had the last few cars done by these guys too and they are pretty cheap considering. His last car he had done was his M3 and he was well surprised how quick they did it but still had the quality.

 

[jolly14]

i got mine done there last week, they were very friendly and helpful, didnt get finished in time, but they gave me a lift home n i picked it up the next day. sori to hear about ur service, but just to let all know i had a good experience there, and was well priced too.

Hi xCoupexAshx,

I wish i knew how to upload photo's from my iphone because these pictures would put anyone off from buying a longlife exhaust(from canterbury). I was so disgusted in the level of workmanship that i decided to contact longlifes head office were i was asked to take some photo's of the exhaust and send them to a guy called Jay, he was also disgusted in what he saw and said that he would be dealing with this matter very seriously and so was the MD of longlife. These guy's were very sorry and said it would be sorted even if they had to pick my dad's car up & take it to either essex or sussex to get it done right.

Well done longlife on your excellent customer service. I'll keep you posted on how it turn out.

Thanks Jay

 

[Leaky Lloyd]

One of the shopfitters I was talking to a while back mentioned these guys ^^, he also said they were **** hot. They do all sorts dont they. He's had the last few cars done by these guys too and they are pretty cheap considering. His last car he had done was his M3 and he was well surprised how quick they did it but still had the quality.

yes mate unbelievable quality,, id go as far as to say they are as good as if not better than most of the shelf manufacturers parts,,
they do cater for a lot of indipendant rally cars too also do big rigs aswell as limo's!!!

 

[xCoupexAshx]

hmmm i might have to look at mine a bit more detail then just to be safe, cant say ive had ne problems atm. im gunna go bk soon nehoo cos i want mine a bit louder. so ill get them to check it out there too.

n sorry to sound a a bit thick but how do you mean as in bad workmanship? ie what should i look out for? ta

 

[J7USS]

yes mate unbelievable quality,, id go as far as to say they are as good as if not better than most of the shelf manufacturers parts,,
they do cater for a lot of indipendant rally cars too also do big rigs aswell as limo's!!!

Im going to give them a bell tomorrow to ask them if they can make me a dual center section up for mine.Got the 2 miltek sport cat/downpipes and the miltek rear box but the center is £440 alone for just a bit of pipe so Im thinking get them lads to fit the whole lot with their custom center!

Sorry for the slight hijack JOLLY (OP)

 

[jolly14]

Sorry to sound a a bit thick but how do you mean as in bad workmanship? ie what should i look out for? ta[/QUOTE]

Hi, what i mean in bad workmanship is that both the tailpipes did not sit central in the valance by quite a bit and the offside tailpipe was sticking out about an inch more than the other. The guy that was fitting it all said that he had not done a duplex on an a4 before. I'm still sure that he thought it was a standard exhaust he was doing and thats why a single entry and single exit silencer was mutilated to make fit.

Thanks jay

 

[deanski]

mr clutch have a really bad rep. a lad i know had an mot there as they had an offer on and they tried to fail it on loads of stuff. they didnt know he was an ex mechanic and he soon put them straight. they also wanted to charge about 40quid for an indicator bulb.

 

[jolly14]

Im going to give them a bell tomorrow to ask them if they can make me a dual center section up for mine.Got the 2 miltek sport cat/downpipes and the miltek rear box but the center is £440 alone for just a bit of pipe so Im thinking get them lads to fit the whole lot with their custom center!

Sorry for the slight hijack JOLLY (OP)

No worries J7USS

 

[Longlife Jason]

Hi. I've found this thread this morning (even although i'm actually on holiday this week!). I'm upset that people would think that the service that the original poster's father had is what you could normally expect of a Longlife Exhaust centre. The issue was raised to me on Friday and it's something we are dealing with immediately. In normal circumstances if you visit one of our centres you'll get a first class exhaust system which will give you a lifetime of service. We have let the customer down on this occasion and this is not our normal standard of service. I hope that you will judge us by our actions in sorting this out.

Should anybody ever have a problem with any of our franchisees, please feel free to contact me directly at Head Office on 01308 422282 or jason@longlife.co.uk

Kind Regards all

Jason

 

[J7USS]

Dont think its about the 'longlife' product itself, its about the poor workmanship that some of these franchises have, ive been to some centers and some of the lads struggle to do even the basics then another guy will come along and take over and do a puka job. Its down to the person whether they are competent enough IMO.

 

[jolly14]

Hi. I've found this thread this morning (even although i'm actually on holiday this week!). I'm upset that people would think that the service that the original poster's father had is what you could normally expect of a Longlife Exhaust centre. The issue was raised to me on Friday and it's something we are dealing with immediately. In normal circumstances if you visit one of our centres you'll get a first class exhaust system which will give you a lifetime of service. We have let the customer down on this occasion and this is not our normal standard of service. I hope that you will judge us by our actions in sorting this out.

Should anybody ever have a problem with any of our franchisees, please feel free to contact me directly at Head Office on 01308 422282 or jason@longlife.co.uk

Kind Regards all

Jason

I feel really bad now for my rant about longlife exhausts, perhaps i should have contacted the head office 1st, but i thought it would be a case of whats the point they wont do anything about it, but it seems these guys at longlife have excellent customer service because they are sending a guy down from wales to sort this out. Well done longlife i think i'll still get mine done with them but maybe not canterbury lol

 

[J7USS]

Dont feel bad Jolly, A forum is the place where you have your freedom of speech on whatever the issue is, even if others dont like it!!!
You've done good by atleast warning others not to use Canterbury (or atleast be weary) for a longlife exhaust UNLESS they train the staff properly...

 

[quattrojames]

Every company can make a mistake, but it's how they fix it that makes them stand out.

 

[jolly14]

Every company can make a mistake, but it's how they fix it that makes them stand out.

I'll let you all know on thursday on the outcome guy.

Thanks Jay

 

[lisa0372]

Hey seen your Updated Thread on Longlife Exhausts:-

Nice to see Longlife Canterbury sorted out the issue with your fathers exhausts, glad to see your both happy.

Thats customer service at it's best.


jolly14

• 
  View Profile
• 
  View Forum Posts
• 
  Private Message
• 
  View Articles
• 
  Add as Contact

1st Gear

Join DateOct 2009LocationKentPosts125Thanks22Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
Update on longlife

Hi guy's

I got to canterbury Mr clutch (longlife exhaust center) where i was met by paul (a real professional) a guy sent down from wales to sort out my fathers exhaust which was..........lets say not done to longlifes standard, Paul replaced the center silencer as it was to boomy inside the car and centered both the tail pipes and generally tidied the previous work up 100%. We are so pleased with the exhaust and how Lisa at longlife has treated us

. What i can say is that the guy who done the work in the first place is on his way to wales for some re-training, lets hope he can be as good as paul then canterbury branch is onto a winner.

Thanks Jay​

 

[snowball1969]

I have to say I am generally not impressed with the longlife exhaust system, I had three cars done in the past and the workmanship is awful yes even at the Cardiff branch on my last car pug 106, you would expect to see exhaust joined up and bolted on, oh no they cut as close to cat or manifold as possible and wield the pipe on very clever indeed so when the cat or manifold needs replacing you can’t because you have to cut the stainless steel and then re-weld how awful what is wrong with welding flanges and being able to bolt on to existing systems to allow upgrades etc. be it original or after market.

I will never use longlife or any other stainless steels custom fits because they don’t full fill what they say and they use cheap stainless Steel which gets pitted after a while plus you are limited to having to go back to them, plus when I sold one car I had to explain why the lamber sensor position was moved to a potential buyer which in this case I was luckily to sell to but it’s not a selling point to your car to be honest with you.

What I would suggest if you do go down the SS route go for one that has been made to fit i.e. can bolt on which doesn’t require alteration in anyway. I agree LongLife do have a good customer service in Cardiff but to be honest they should look at the process of what an actual custom fit means (it doesn’t mean welding on to existing exhaust systems which are rusty and will in time start to blow)
My rant over Paul

 

[jolly14]

I have to say I am generally not impressed with the longlife exhaust system, I had three cars done in the past and the workmanship is awful yes even at the Cardiff branch on my last car pug 106, you would expect to see exhaust joined up and bolted on, oh no they cut as close to cat or manifold as possible and wield the pipe on very clever indeed so when the cat or manifold needs replacing you can’t because you have to cut the stainless steel and then re-weld how awful what is wrong with welding flanges and being able to bolt on to existing systems to allow upgrades etc. be it original or after market.

I will never use longlife or any other stainless steels custom fits because they don’t full fill what they say and they use cheap stainless Steel which gets pitted after a while plus you are limited to having to go back to them, plus when I sold one car I had to explain why the lamber sensor position was moved to a potential buyer which in this case I was luckily to sell to but it’s not a selling point to your car to be honest with you.

What I would suggest if you do go down the SS route go for one that has been made to fit i.e. can bolt on which doesn’t require alteration in anyway. I agree LongLife do have a good customer service in Cardiff but to be honest they should look at the process of what an actual custom fit means (it doesn’t mean welding on to existing exhaust systems which are rusty and will in time start to blow)
My rant over Paul

Thats a good point i did'nt check how they joined the 2 together, i've been sent 12 pm's from people saying how sh1t they are when i was assured by longlife that they only use the best stainless steel and how they make all there own boxes up here in the uk, looks like they have just mugged another customer.

Jay

 

[snowball1969]

Here you go found some picture that I took after the quialty workmanship from LongLife, after having to adjust the exhaust because they didnt allow for they new towbar which was fitted afterward even after I told them it was to be fitted, if you wish to see the complaint letter I sent just contact me and Im happy to forward cheers
judge for yourself:

The car before alterations

 

[jolly14]

Hi Snowball,

To be fair the lad that came down from wales was very good he done a proper job but it did take longer than he thought by 3hrs but then he did have to try very hard to polish the **** that the other guy left lol

Jay

 

[snowball1969]

Hi Jay,
I am pleased for you but I will never use them again, questions did they complete T piece to be able to bolt on to exsisting system or did you go full system including manifold, I would be interested to see how they rectified your problem, did they replace the system again for you or just carry out an alteration like they did on mine :-(

Paul.

 

[jolly14]

Hey Snowball,

It was a cat back system, by t piece do you mean the y they made by cutting into the pipe that comes out of the silencer, it does'nt look to pretty and i dont know why they just dont use a silencer with twin exits. I might just pop over to see simon2004 off here and get him to download the photo's from my phone (cos i hate computers and i dont know what to do) this exhaust was for my dads 2.0fsi and i was going to get mine done at some point but not now. Ps i forgot to say that they just sorted out the old 1 but did replace the silencer for a bigger 1 to stop the droning noise.

Cheers Jay

 

[snowball1969]

Hi Jay,
Yes the t piece you could call a flange as well this allows you to bolt on sections of exhaust or manifold, ok yes in mine you could say they have done that to a fashion but when that old part starts to rust even more it means another trip to longife to most prob put a bit of weld to block leak which isnt really on, its cutting corners not doing a proper job and the profit margins in stainless is quite high, you would be suprised how high but they will deny it lol.
There is a guy who has a cab with a full stainless, thats a proper job looks great, he just recently placed the pictures on forums.

Cheers

Paul