Catalytic Converter Thefts

[Korgrocker]

Piece of BBC News this morning about a huge increase in catalytic converter thefts. Hybrids vulnerable and motorhomes also mentioned in the piece as being a target. Cost of replacement into 4 figures, if the parts are even available. Owners can fit a CatLoc but even that won't always stop the scallywags. I have two security cameras strategically located but that's as far as I have gone. Any other thoughts out there?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49767195

 

[MANGOFORTH]

Platinum Palladium and Rhodium cost more than gold!!



Interesting video

 

[Jev88]

Interesting..

Can't remember where he lived but an entrepreneur bought the licence to provide road sweeping vehicle for busy city, kept the sweepings and made a tidy profit extracting the precious metals which are mainly blown out your exhaust over time....

There is also a company in Royston that make cat converters and there security fences are better than most prisons.

As for security it is very difficult. I know some people have the cats fitted with quick release at both ends of cat and only fit them for MOT! Not environment friendly but works I guess..... More BHP too, but let's not go there......

 

[Nixdorfer]

We had a customers car break down, alternator failed. He left it on the road for a few days and when I moved it the cat was missing. It doubled his bill. But on something like a sprinter I've heard its over a grand. Honda Jazz are 400+ as well so popular

We could see they used a ratchet pipe cutter, quick and quiet.

I'm thinking about welding some steel rod along the side of the exhaust so the cutter won't fit. Also take longer if they try sawing it. Won't stop em if they want it but will take a lot longer to get it

 

[DrivingMissDaisy]

My Mums Jazz has just been done, parked on a disabled bay outside her house. Just after midnight and they had a third person drive them off in a Mercedes. She was devastated as she’d had it about 4 weeks and it was her first automatic which she loved. They are Motherless Beings. She’s back on the road now thanks to kind friends but is panicking every night Incase they come back again. She’s 82 and lives in Aldershot. Yes she’s still driving herself and friends to Bingo but only small journeys. It’s her life... But these thieves are out in force in that area .

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[Nixdorfer]

Scumbags, the only silver lining is they usually only want the genuine ones. So if she's had an aftermarket replacement fitted its a bit less likely to happen again.

 

[The Dotties]

I wouldn’t know one if I saw it. Are they fitted to the fiat X250 (2011) does any one know?

 

[Nixdorfer]

Virtually everything on the road, petrol or diesel will have some sort of CAT except the really old stuff. Some are tiny and hardly worth their time, some are REALLY expensive, Sprinter, Jazz expecially

If its anything like our 2007 x250 then they have a big fat juicy one in an easy to get to location

Gonna try and modify ours when I can get under it. They use a ratchet pipe cutter to keep the noise down so need to find way to stop them using that. Got some ideas

 

[Deneb]

These

Gonna try and modify ours when I can get under it. They use a ratchet pipe cutter to keep the noise down so need to find way to stop them using that. Got some ideas

These work well.

 

[Landy Andy]

I wouldn’t know one if I saw it. Are they fitted to the fiat X250 (2011) does any one know?

Yes you will have one fitted. All vehicles pretty much after 2000 do. Most of the time thefts are from bigger engines, as they have the biggest cats, and also 4x4 as they have big engines and the ground clearance to get underneath to be able to remove it.
I can see it being tight to get under most Motorhomes to cut them off.

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[Reallyretired]

Ive seen signs at dealers saying all cats have been removed from vehicles. Dont know whether its true though.

 

[Lenny HB]

I thought CAT thefts were a thing of the past. Had one nicked of our van in 2010 & the van was only parked a few feet from the front door. You guessed the Pik-eys were in the area at the time.
There was a phase of nicking DPF's as well don't think there is as much rare metal in them.
Our last 2 Ducato based vans have had DPF's so there is only a single cat fitted right up behind the engine, just the DPF underneath whereas the earlier Ducato's had 2 CAT' s one behind the engine and one underneath.