Stolen catalytic converter in london uk

As Data says they are simply not interested. I got the distinct impression from the lady who phoned me on behalf of the Met Police that this is a victim less crime and very low down on their list of priorities.

She told ME to pursue the council for CCTV evidence, and if anything turns up to let them know. The Council will not deal with me, they will only deal with the police. It's a vicious circle.

Car's been with the accident repair place (accident repair, that's a joke, this was no 'accident') now for 48 hours and I have heard nothing. Not a dicky bird. As usual I suppose I'll have to chase things. Been without a car for six days now and it seems my insurance and the accident repair centre are oblivious. A courtesy car was mentioned, but never materialised.

 

Insurance are dragging their feet on the matter of fixing your car? They haven’t supplied you with a courtesy car? That seriously sucks.....and speaks volumes about how customer service from some insurance companies makes it feel like a right ripoff after paying all those premiums for years.

I was fortunate however, Tesco insurance collected my Prius the very next day after the incident AND organised my courtesy car which I picked up the same evening!
I did have business insurance, and also enhanced courtesy car as additions to my insurance package, but there was no quibbling and I have to say I was very impressed indeed!

However, I have heard of insurance companies treating their customers with disdain - that seriously sucks. Being kicked in the gonads when you need them the most.


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This fellow is buying catalytic convertors for cash it’s being advertised on Facebook it has been illegal not to pay cash for scrap to trace the source just goes to show how fearless these people are from those stealing it to those processing it.

Just annoying that you go to work or shops expect to drive home and instead your cars parts are stolen. Then add insult to injury the police close the case within hours and issue a crime reference for you to claim off insurance.

Just hope that these fools get trapped when the jack fails or slips on them.

 

Mine was stolen from a residential car park. As I didn't drive it for more than a day, I have no idea when it was taken and there's no CCTV. I've had mine replaced since with a cheap aftermarket one.
Last weekend, someone parked another Prius in the same car park and the cat was stolen but mine still remains, so I am assuming (or hoping) that supports the theory they are checking first and only going for originals which they can easily discern.
Therefore, I am wondering if it's a worthwhile preventative measure to have your cat replaced pre-emptively.

[Paused writing post to take call from friend whose father just had his stolen from Ikea Edmonton car park literally now]

If just the cat part could be sourced and replaced without the rest of the exhaust, you would save on the cost of the sensor and the inconvenience of having the car off road. On top of that, if you could sell your own cat for scrap previous metals, you could cover all your costs or even make a profit.

Ideally, if the cat section could be sourced and changed like in the following YouTube video (search name in YouTube as I can't post links)
MagnaFlow Ceramic Catalytic Converter Installation - 2007 Toyota Prius - etrailer
It should be cheaper than the full mid section sold for £100 on eBay and more environmentally friendly.

If you can find somewhere legit to sell the old cat, there's potentially some good money to be made there for a mechanic if anyone wants to take up the idea. Feel free to reach out if anyone wants to collaborate on such an initiative to save owners from the costs and prevent the thieves from making that money.

Or is anyone interested in running a campaign to warn and educate Prius owners? The key is to have an affordable or free (and I believe this is feasible as outlined above) way of them getting themselves somewhat protected.

 

If those guys became "victims of their own success", can you picture the the list of suspects?

 

That’s a relief that they are actually looking for the genuine ones and won’t strike again but you never know can’t be too careful I guess Edmonton ikea I was told Sainsbury on the Cambridge road same thing happened but it was Honda Accord

As for educating the Prius owners I think we think it won’t be us until they strike so too little too late. The thing is if you got genuine one then maybe cat lock or what you suggest may be an option remove and replace the part.

 

My car have it catalytic converters stolen today but I don’t live in London I live in South Cambridgeshire car anti theft alarm did not go off only to find they cut that an couple of week ago now waiting for my car to be repair

 

Shouldn’t you report this to the police?

 

I have they give me An crime number for my claims

 

And to Facebook for terms-of-service and criminal activity violations?

 

But they've mostly banned them from civilians, making this sort of thievery a far less hazardous or risky career. Combined with a very low priority from police -- "victimless crime"?? -- and of course this activity becomes far more prevalent.

Of course, victims shooting these thieves is illegal everywhere in the U.S. too. But there are enough victims willing to take their chances with police and juries to make this sort of thievery far more risky, producing relatively short life expectancies. That risk of victims shooting back also forces police to give these crimes a higher priority.

 

Spoke to fella who works for recovery the Prius is being targeted the tools they are now using are those the firemen use to cut the pillars of cars to take the roofs off but a smaller version no noise just pinches the pipes cuts them clean off. Not sure how cat loc can withstand that type of tool yes it is a good option against battery operated saw since the cable will cause nuisance to cut but no chance against this type of tool.

He goes he has recovered cars from outside police stations, Camden high street nowhere is safe.

StrongArm® (Fire) | HURST Jaws of Life

 

This has been suggested in the past, but looks extremely unlikely! Those devices cost an arm and a leg - they’re very costly indeed.

Very, very few cars in the UK will have a CatStrap installed - it took almost a month for the two I ordered to arrive.

ALL the videos in which these low life criminal scum have been caught operating, show them using a simple portable electric saw which is more than adequate enough for the job.

These criminals have hit the mother lode; their greatest outlay has been the electric saw and the quick release hydraulic jack. They’ve also invested in enough cloned number plates so they can run rings around ANPR.
They probably even change plates every few hours!

They’re not gonna invest thousands of pounds in that device you mentioned, as they’ve already done pretty well without it.




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A mechanic I spoke to suggested the same that they use hydraulic snips, but it transpired to be just an assumption from him. He hadn't seen any videos and wasn't aware of the existence of battery powered reciprocating saws and what they're capable of, so was just guessing what they must use but saying it as if he knew.
Unless the recovery man has actually witnessed or heard first hand accounts of such a device being used, I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

I'm not saying it's impossible, just needs to be proven.

In any case, can you get hydraulic snips (or any powerful enough snips) that don't need to be pumped by hand or plugged in to a bigger drive unit?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Insurance companies are always judged by me on how good they are once I have made a claim.

Needless to say I shall be looking elsewhere after this debacle is completed. Tesco Insurance looks good.

 

The recovery guy told me to get the next CAT welded to the frame of the car.

Only problem being surely they ('The Criminals') will only notice once they have already cut through the exhaust. Suppose at least the CAT will not be removed.

As I have no car at the moment I have had to do a lot of walking. I have noticed there are very few 2000 - 2010 Prius cars parked up. I wonder if this criminal activity is starting to filter through.

I did see one. A 2008 model parked in Asda carpark. Had I seen the owner I would have warned them to be on the lookout.

 

If you've had an after-market replacement, you should be okay as it seems they're not going for them.

AS for warning owners, the problem is, other than never leaving their cars or taking them out of the garage, there's not really anything they can do at the moment, to be honest. That's why I'm keen to explore the option of preventative replacement of the cat's.

 

Really hope you are right about the after market CATS. I shall hold on to that thought.

You are also right about warning Prius owners. Not much can be done. That makes this all the more frustrating. I know someone (after I told her about mine being stolen) who takes their neighbour shopping with her so that the neighbour can stay in her 2005 Prius whilst the driver goes inside Asda. The neighbour's friend reminds me of Geoff Capes, so any potential CAT 'CRIMINAL' better watch out!

I think I'll take him with me in the future should mine be repaired.

 

Hi you should report to police and shouldn't wait for insurance claim as it will be settled against your insurance policy and your renewal will be higher. Better to get the car back from Toyota as they might say to your insurance that its a insurance write off due to cost involved in replacing the catalytic converter(£1800) but you can get it changed much cheaper if you buy Klarius catalytic(£175) converter from ebay and sensor(£50). Local garage will change it for you for £100. Believe me its not worth going through your insurance.

 

It’s noble trying to warn other Prius owners about these brazen thefts, but unless you drive up to them in YOUR Prius, and try and explain why you’re bothering them, they’re likely to think you’re up to no good or trying to scam them.
Some will even think you’re about to mug them. Or, stick a zombie knife in them.
That’s the reality of the terrible world we live in today. Very sad.

Even the shops who own the car parks are probably monitoring these thefts happening, but have adopted a “Don’t get involved” attitude. It all comes down to costs.

Which is why it should be the Police issuing continuous warnings about this Grand Theft CAT crime spree, considering over 1,000 2nd generation Prii have been ruthlessly violated already.

It’s no good trying to convince us;
“it’s a victimless crime....therefore it’s okay; suck it up...”.
No it isn’t!
It’s absolutely unacceptable in a country of this standard.




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