In a message dated 9/19/05 2:47:00 PM, bueses@EARTHLINK.NET writes:

<< When I went to replace the original muffler at the dealer, they told moi to
go to Midas as the og one was $189/special order as opposed to the $92 one
at Midas.  I carefully compared the 2 before the new Midas one was installed
& they seemed identical.

Last week my 3 year old-43,000 miles Midas muffler failed emissions cuz the
weld failed at the muffler exhaust pipe. Went over to Midas, who did not
even question it, but replaced it w/ a new one. Cost moi $18 for a new
mounting bracket. >>

If the Midas muffler were identical to an OE VW muffler, it would have been
less than half used up at 43 Kmi.  I guess that lifetime thing is a decent deal
as long as you do not mind the inconvenience, but see how far you get asking
Midas to replace the whole system.  You'll probably get from the tailpipe to
the cat before they say NA (Not Available).

George