My vehicle sound as if it needs some exhaust work. My question is this; can I just put a new exhaust in without the required catalytic converter that this ecodiesel has in place now? Would it make a difference in performance, or engine life?
My guess is that it'd be fine. I don't think the cat is even required on your ECO because diesels I believe don't need to have a cat...VW just put one on to try and clean up the diesel-ness of the car. AFAIK the ECO diesel is pretty much the same turbo diesel engine as in older Jettas and just had a cat thrown in. However it might be louder without it since the cat to some extent acts like a muffler.
Check the spreadsheet the previos owner gave you, and you'll see the cat and muffler were replaced at some point within the last few years or so. It may be time for a pre-muffler. Start it up and crawl under.
When the hole in the cat appeared, the turbo whine was heard more than anything else.
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