purchasing a DP

hey guys, i was looking on some forums for a used DP possibly a TBE. i found a cobb DP for sale, i talked to the guy and we settled on $300. he had it on for 3 months and decided to go back to stock.... or so he says. it is a cobb DP, catted...and he says it is 3" all the way through which i have never found in my research, all have been 3" to 2.5".
this is what he said, should any red flags be raised?

"Needs a flange welded in (perfect if you wanna go welded midpipe!)
Flanges go for $15-20 online if you wanna do it yourself.
I got quoted $45 to have a flange welded in (incl. cost of flange)"

my question, is there anything wrong with going with a welded [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]midpipe? will i have a hell of a time finding a midpipe that fits this? and is there anything else i should be looking for...not entirely sure what married wastegate and all that stuff is all about.

like always thank you in advance for the replies, i am always satisfied with the answers.[/FONT]

Sounds like a hack job. From what I know of the Cobb DP is that they all reduce to 2.5 at the flange. Sounds like he removed the flange and possibly the section that is reduced to facilitate something custom or that the DP wouldn't fit his axle back.
This wouldn't be a bad deal if you don't mind having to do a little custom work to the exhaust system. Only benefit to having a welded mid pipe is that there will be no flanges and gaskets to leak. The downside is that you would have a longer welded pipe and really the welds would be the bad part... most muffler shops are not known for quality welds and this can present problems, cracking, leaks etc.
Married wastegate? I assume he means the bell mouth portion with no splitter to separate wastegate gasses with turbine/ exhaust gasses. I don't believe this to be an issue for mild or moderate power.
In the end your plunking down 300 bones for an altered product that may or may not fit correctly. My advice is to spend a little extra and find something new or used but unmolested. Exhaust products are something I stay away from used as they see a hard life because of vibration and many hot/cold cycles. Sans mufflers.
I have an Invidia DP for nearly five years and can attest to its quality. Catless versions are in that price range and catted versions are cheaper than Cobb's. plus you get a true 3" pipe.

alright man, thanks a ton for your input, it will all be considered. and again, I'm not let down on the response time and professionalism of the response, thanks Spamby

Spamby beat me to it; I totally agree with him. I would not buy that DP if I was in your position.

Don't buy any exhaust product used when it has a cat. Say screw it and buy it new, eliminate the variable of risk and you're golden. I have a few choices and I'll Beat any deal on a new one. If I may help, let me know and I'll make sure you're taken care of.

mid pipe just eliminates the cat if you want to do that. It is doable and can be done professionally so i wouldnt go as far as calling it a hack job. With that being said i would get pics and really haggle with the price since all that is really working against him and its a good opportunity to capitalize.

^ ? Every TBE I've ever seen has the cat in the DP, regardless of the TBE config.

Batmobile_Engage said:

^ ? Every TBE I've ever seen has the cat in the DP, regardless of the TBE config.

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what is your question? This guy is talking about a catted downpipe...

fuji_production said:

mid pipe just eliminates the cat if you want to do that. It is doable and can be done professionally so i wouldnt go as far as calling it a hack job. With that being said i would get pics and really haggle with the price since all that is really working against him and its a good opportunity to capitalize.

Click to expand...

Batmobile_Engage said:

^ ? Every TBE I've ever seen has the cat in the DP, regardless of the TBE config.

Click to expand...

fuji_production said:

what is your question? This guy is talking about a catted downpipe...

Click to expand...

The mid pipe is the same, regardless of cat or no cat in the dp, and it never has a cat in it unless I am horribly mistaken.

I got the impression this guy was mistaking the mid pipe for a test pipe. exhaust system with no TRUE mid pipe is not an exhaust system...OP is not clear as to what is exactly going on or maybe im just not picking up what he is putting down. 300 for a complete cobb system=cheap 300 for a used downpipe=expensive. but hey, that's just my opinion.

I see where you were going with this. lol

I think he was saying that the downpipe had the flange cut off so it could
be welded straight up with the mid pipe (that the seller originally had on his car)
and that he'd need a flange in order to connect it to a mid pipe with a flange.

hmm. well for the right price I personally would make it work. but that's different for everybody...

Batmobile_Engage said:

The mid pipe is the same, regardless of cat or no cat in the dp, and it never has a cat in it unless I am horribly mistaken.

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I got a used Perrin DP for a song that's 2-piece with cats in BOTH sections.

It was in almost-new condition when i got it, and it was only $150 shipped. I think $300 is way too much for this piece, considering mine came with TWO cats (bad for performance, I know, but cats are expensive!)