passing emission tests without catalyst

[TML]

Dear Z4 & BMW enthousiasts,

I am within inches of purchasing myself an allmost new E89 Z4. Special thing about this one is that it was imported into Holland from Dubai. To be sure I wasn't up for surprises, I contacted the Dutch BMW dealership and asked them whether there were any differences between the UAE model and the European model.

They told me it wouldn't be much different, except for the catalyst. BMW's are delivered without catalyst as this isn't mandatory in the UAE. The Z4 I want to buy has a Dutch licenseplate and papers already, so i wasn't worrying about it too much.

After taking it to a local BMW dealership to check whether it had a catalyst the mechanic appeared to be in doubt.. I'm not sure how it is possible at an official BMW dealership, but he was unsure whether the car had a catalyst. anyways, he couldn't find it.

To double check, the mechanic performed an emissions test as well, but the car passed it without problems.

At the unofficial dealership I want to buy the Z4 from, they had the impression that if the car was to pass the emissions test, it had to have a catalyst, so they tested it again. from the emissions test result, they told me they were sure the car has a catalyst.

And now here I am, in doubt. I know that as long as it passes the emission tests, I will have no problem driving the car. Question is, if my car passess the emission test right now, will it pass future tests as well? or do I have the chance of running into problems at a later point in time due to degradation of the engine's efficiency and cleanliness of combustion?

(At this moment, the Z4 has 60.000 km on it, which is little less than 40.000 miles)



I would appreciate any input you guys might have!

[jabber]

i would suspect that the car has been fitted with a cat and any vehicle can have problems with emissions even with one fitted as cats do not last forever so I wouldn't worry too much and just enjoy the car

[Tonybz]

From an MOT point of view. If the car has had the catalyst removed it will fail.however,if the tester cannot be sure the cat has been removed,it will pass on this aspect of the test.the emissions test is a separate part of the test procedure. I have tested many de-catted cars and they normally pass. With recent changes in the regulations this has now changed,ie they pass the emissions test but fail the "is the cat fitted" test.
Just seen that this is not a uk car.
With it being a non uk car the emissions test is slightly different. It would be specific to the car when first produced,for the country of first registration. If the specific engine emission details are not found,beyond any doubt, I believe you revert to a 3.5% max co & 1200 ppm HCs. The UK test is ate closely aligned to EU states so it wouldn't surprise me if this was the case. Also emissions tests cannot be made more stringent retrospectively. If the car is not manufactured to meet a test,it won't pass it in the future. IMHO.