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Thread: Catalytic Converter stolen

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  1. #1
    Master wildheart's Avatar
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    Catalytic Converter stolen

    Came back to my car Pedham Place Golf Centre Kent after a round of golf. Started the engine it sounded like a Spitfire. Its a Lexus RX 400h. I thought the exhaust had blown. Took it into Kwik Fit, they showed me how the thieving ba***** had cut the exhaust with a grinder.
    I was gobsmacked. Apparently stealing of these items is very common. I rang the golf club today, they were warned by the Police that these thieves were in the area. They did not sign the information as they did not want to drive away customers.
    As my car is adapted I cannot drive another vehicle.
    I hope the scum enjoy karma when it comes their way.
    A quick question?
    I need to drive the car to my garage, will it damage the car? Is it dangerous?

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


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    Last edited by wildheart; 20th October 2019 at 20:24.

  2. #2
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Man!

    Short distance should be ok.

    Repair bill will be big.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  3. #3
    Master wildheart's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Man!

    Short distance should be ok.

    Repair bill will be big.
    Kwik Fit reckon £600 +, I’ve rung my insurance it’s covered which is a relief!


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  4. #4
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    Some people will nick anything. A few years ago the boiler was stolen out of the house that I rent out. Fair play to the police because a few weeks later they found my boiler which was plumbed in to my ex-tenants new house. Shame they didn't do me the courtesy of turning the water off before they cut through the pipes :-(

  5. #5
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wildheart View Post
    Kwik Fit reckon £600 +, I’ve rung my insurance it’s covered which is a relief!
    I would go main dealer if you can.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    I would go main dealer if you can.

    Very sensible suggestion !!

    B

  7. #7
    Sorry to hear this. Perhaps also make sure your insurance company know the golf club failed to pass on police warnings?

  8. #8
    It's becoming a big problem nowadays.

    The prices of the precious metals in the catalytic converters have skyrocketed in the last 18 months - palladium is now worth £1,300/oz, while rhodium goes for £4,000/oz. Hybrid cars are the ones most targeted as their cats are used less frequently to process pollutants, so the precious metals are less corroded.

    R




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  9. #9
    Master
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    Surely the cat converter is related to nothing but emissions. You could chop the whole exhaust unit off if you felt like it and it would do nothing to the engine or at other than being less green.

  10. #10
    Craftsman
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    Family members honda accord was written off by someone stealing the cat.

    Repair cost was too high Vs car value.

  11. #11
    Happened to me 18 months ago.

    Taken from my driveway (whilst we slept in bedroom just above) along with a few others in the road. Honda took couple of months to source a new one and insurance cost was ~£1200.

    Advised not to drive it far - illegal and danger of fumes in car.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Happened to me 18 months ago.

    Taken from my driveway (whilst we slept in bedroom just above) along with a few others in the road. Honda took couple of months to source a new one and insurance cost was ~£1200.

    Advised not to drive it far - illegal and danger of fumes in car.
    We see a few cars with nicked cats at my garage. Nearly always Honda's.

  13. #13
    On the other hand where I am living a bike share company went bust, left the bikes littered around the place getting rusty, young chap w no money sees one and waits for a month, it never moves (company is bust so you can not unlock it anymore). Takes angle grinder to the lock, uses it as his personal transport, catches the eye of a couple of the local finenest. Aggravated theft (he used an angle grinder) he gets the minimum penalty - 6 months in jail or he can avoid by paying the equivalent of UKP 5,000.

    No comment on his actions (theft is theft) but it just goes to show the difference between places wrt to the punishment for theft.

  14. #14
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by eldrich View Post
    On the other hand where I am living a bike share company went bust, left the bikes littered around the place getting rusty, young chap w no money sees one and waits for a month, it never moves (company is bust so you can not unlock it anymore). Takes angle grinder to the lock, uses it as his personal transport, catches the eye of a couple of the local finenest. Aggravated theft (he used an angle grinder) he gets the minimum penalty - 6 months in jail or he can avoid by paying the equivalent of UKP 5,000.

    No comment on his actions (theft is theft) but it just goes to show the difference between places wrt to the punishment for theft.
    Perhaps he would have been better off spending his money on a bike instead of a cordless angle grinder 😂
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by oldoakknives View Post
    Perhaps he would have been better off spending his money on a bike instead of a cordless angle grinder 
    Buy a man a bike, he’s only only got one bike. Buy him a cordless angle grinder, he’s got as many bikes as he wants.

  16. #16
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    What a scummy world we live in.

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  17. #17
    Master thegoat's Avatar
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    Had my Vito done a while ago . Apparently the Mercedes vans at the time were prime targets. It takes them less than a minute to cut them out . Luckily, I had a local garage looking after my vehicles so he didn’t charge as much as I expected.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by thegoat View Post
    Had my Vito done a while ago . Apparently the Mercedes vans at the time were prime targets. It takes them less than a minute to cut them out . Luckily, I had a local garage looking after my vehicles so he didn’t charge as much as I expected.
    That’s just Manchester for you ;)

    They fitted a catlok to my vito to prevent this because it was apparently so common on them

  19. #19
    Master wildheart's Avatar
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    I should get my car back today? My insurance have agreed to pay the thousand plus bill. I see in the press that some of these thieves were prosecuted and received a £250 fine with £450 costs...that's a great deterrent! Here's a clip of the scum in action. Look out for them, coming to a town near you soon!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koMd_zvTkAg

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by wildheart View Post
    I should get my car back today? My insurance have agreed to pay the thousand plus bill. I see in the press that some of these thieves were prosecuted and received a £250 fine with £450 costs...that's a great deterrent! Here's a clip of the scum in action. Look out for them, coming to a town near you soon!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koMd_zvTkAg
    It’s a real shame the hydraulics didn’t suddenly fail on that trolley jack....

  21. #21
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    Lightbulb

    Quote Originally Posted by wildheart View Post
    I should get my car back today? My insurance have agreed to pay the thousand plus bill. I see in the press that some of these thieves were prosecuted and received a £250 fine with £450 costs...that's a great deterrent! Here's a clip of the scum in action. Look out for them, coming to a town near you soon!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koMd_zvTkAg
    If you nééd your car, then perhaps ask your garage to fit a decat pipe temporarily. You could drive around no téchnical problem.
    Since your car ecu has environmental memory, they would need to fit an O2 sensor extender too so the environmental crime is not recorded.
    Yes, technically illegal but so is stealing the cat in the first place.

    Concerning the Golf club, what good would warning the customers do?
    Also is it not the Police´s job to prevent this?
    I mean; if you catch a bloke in the act and whack him, yoú get cited!! Take a photo of him, yoú get whacked.

    p.s. a decat pipe stops stealing effectively.
    Last edited by Huertecilla; 23rd October 2019 at 16:46.

  22. #22
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wildheart View Post
    I should get my car back today? My insurance have agreed to pay the thousand plus bill. I see in the press that some of these thieves were prosecuted and received a £250 fine with £450 costs...that's a great deterrent! Here's a clip of the scum in action. Look out for them, coming to a town near you soon!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koMd_zvTkAg
    Can't believe the scumbags do it in broad daylight, wearing masks and nobody intervenes/calls the police! Stunning.
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by wildheart View Post
    I should get my car back today? My insurance have agreed to pay the thousand plus bill.
    Is it sorted, did garage manage to source c. converter from somewhere?

  24. #24
    Thieves usually target 4x4s or vans as access easier and quicker.

  25. #25
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    Been in the news recently:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-49767195

    And there was another thread in here last year where the same happened to another member:
    https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...63#post4742663

  26. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by mtagrant View Post
    Been in the news recently:
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-49767195

    And there was another thread in here last year where the same happened to another member:
    https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...63#post4742663
    Me!

  27. #27
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Me!
    Look like it was expensive and took quite a while to fix unfortunately

  28. #28
    Master
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    kwik fit and others generally cheaper than main dealer. My honda needed one and the Honda part was £1k, Kwik fit was £400. The Kwik fit one was the third I'd had fitted. The original died and I had it replaced by an exhaust/tyre place @£400 but this unit failed. Honda tested it and said it was faulty (I wasnt going to get into an argument with the replacement fitters) so it was replaced under warranty but failed again. It seems they had a faulty batch so I got my money refunded. The Kwik Fit one has been fine. Nissan Quashquai have been targeted for a sim card in the dash. It's easy money for the thieves and clearly there isn't a will to prosecute.

  29. #29
    Master wildheart's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrushton View Post
    kwik fit and others generally cheaper than main dealer. My honda needed one and the Honda part was £1k, Kwik fit was £400. The Kwik fit one was the third I'd had fitted. The original died and I had it replaced by an exhaust/tyre place @£400 but this unit failed. Honda tested it and said it was faulty (I wasnt going to get into an argument with the replacement fitters) so it was replaced under warranty but failed again. It seems they had a faulty batch so I got my money refunded. The Kwik Fit one has been fine. Nissan Quashquai have been targeted for a sim card in the dash. It's easy money for the thieves and clearly there isn't a will to prosecute.
    My quote from Kwik fit was £1,900!

  30. #30
    Master
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    There is a lot of discussion on The Lexus facebook group about this.
    Long story short forget a new cat. Get the exhaust sleeved for a hundred quid or so and job done.
    Hybrids are not subject to emissions tests as the engine revs cannot be set. This also means the cat does not need to be inspected.

    So far my 400h has avoided this fate but then it sits on my drive most of the time.
    Most are targeted in car parks where a spotter will note a car parking up and the team will come in and rip out the cat while shopping is done.



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  31. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by julian2002 View Post
    Long story short forget a new cat. Get the exhaust sleeved for a hundred quid or so and job done.
    Hybrids are not subject to emissions tests as the engine revs cannot be set. This also means the cat does not need to be inspected.
    There is no post cat (bank 2) lambda sensor?

  32. #32
    Master wildheart's Avatar
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    Just received this from Kent Police:

    Offence: Theft from motor vehicle

    Report status: Following a review of this crime, the decision has been that there are no further proportionate lines of enquiry and subsequently the report has been filed pending any further information coming to light
    Should you have any further information that could assist in identifying an offender please call 101 and quote the crime report number above or alternatively, please reply to this email.

    Kent Police operates the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime. This ensures you are kept updated on the progress of your crime investigation through regular contact from the police. You have automatically been opted into this. Should you not wish for these updates, please contact us.


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  33. #33
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    The theft seems to be more common on hybrids as the cat is meant to be less used on these so more sought after.

  34. #34
    Grand Master number2's Avatar
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    My understanding is that Suv hybrids are favorites, because they are higher off the ground so easier to access the cat, and as has been said - being hybrid the cat is cleaner.
    "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."

    'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.

  35. #35
    Master IAmATeaf's Avatar
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    How much do these cats sell for? Wondering if I need to branch into a new area

  36. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
    How much do these cats sell for? Wondering if I need to branch into a new area
    I don’t think they steal to sell, it’s the precious metals contained within!

  37. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by dougair View Post
    I don’t think they steal to sell, it’s the precious metals contained within!
    They’re still sold...

  38. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
    How much do these cats sell for? Wondering if I need to branch into a new area
    Jazz ones go for around £250. Prius about £300.

  39. #39
    Master IAmATeaf's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan View Post
    Jazz ones go for around £250. Prius about £300.
    Bloody hell, no wonder they are so brazen from the vids that I’ve seen, none of this under the cover of darkness, they just pull up, get under the car and start cutting.

  40. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan View Post
    Jazz ones go for around £250. Prius about £300.
    That's a lot of precious metal in something that probably costs ~£1000 to buy.

  41. #41
    Grand Master Foxy100's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by IAmATeaf View Post
    How much do these cats sell for? Wondering if I need to branch into a new area
    You just need to add 'lea' to your name!
    "A man of little significance"

  42. #42
    Craftsman
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    Another Rx400 cat bites the dust. Outside my home.
    Bar stewards threatened me with a baseball bat. Just concerned they might come back for the replacement

    Anyone know how good the lexus mark 2 cat lock is please?

  43. #43
    Master Kirk280's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bins View Post
    Another Rx400 cat bites the dust. Outside my home.
    Bar stewards threatened me with a baseball bat. Just concerned they might come back for the replacement

    Anyone know how good the lexus mark 2 cat lock is please?
    Nightmare. Glad to hear you are not hurt.

  44. #44
    Do diesels have a catalytic converter or just a DPF?

  45. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by noTAGlove View Post
    Do diesels have a catalytic converter or just a DPF?
    Catalytic converter

  46. #46
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    Had mine stolen from my Ford Explorer in 2007. Sounded like a Sherman tank when I started it up:) it’s a pity scrap yards /metal merchants don’t ask questions as they are feeding this type of theft.


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  47. #47
    Master
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    15-20 year old Rover V sixes are the latest target. At £400 a pop, they are worth more than most of the cars!

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