It is definitely worth speaking to them first. Abbey managed to repair my exhaust in such a way that is should last another 2 or 3 years. However, the problem with mine was the rear 2 sections where the two flanges meet. They manufactured a piece of pipe to cover the whole damaged area, removed the flanges and welded the two bits together. Whilst yours is a completely different problem they still might be able to come up with a solution to it.