Stolen catalytic converter in london uk

Just guessing they would tow it, or drag it onto a flat bed truck?

 

My goodness! What on Earth is going on with the hitherto largely ignored (by the majority of illiterate motorists) and mostly derided (for pathologically stupid, inaccurate and ridiculous unscientific myths) 2nd Generation Prius?!!

First it became the star in a new “Crime Reality Show” that played out all over London and presently the UK (I’m talking about the “Grand Theft CAT” series). I did say REALITY...!!!

Now unscrupulous crooks are actually stealing them?!!
But.....How?
The Gen 2 is rather difficult to steal. It doesn’t have the Keyless system in the UK versions, thankfully, so those feckless little “Gone in 60 seconds” wannabes can’t rock up outside your houses with transmitter relay gizmos and open up your Gen 2 while your key fob is chillaxing on the kitchen table.....or worse, by the front door.

Now, unless some weasel like burglar managed to sneak into the house and stole the key fob or its duplicate, that vehicle cannot be nicked so easily.

Ergo, thefts of the Prius II in the UK are literally unheard of, and more likely to be accomplished only when the Grand Theft Prius candidate managed to get his hands on the key fob unit - the one you push into the slot in the dashboard.

There literally is no other way. Oh, sure, you can duplicate a key fob at the dealership.....but that involves a lot of documentation, your ID et al.

Seriously, in the UK, none of these LAZY feckless home grown criminals are going to waste their time trying to steal a 2009 (last year of sale in the UK - I hear it continued to be manufactured till 2011 in Japan!) Gen 2 Prius.
It just isn’t worth it! It’s too distinctive and you’ll soon be found out.

However....a dark thought just crossed my mind;
If it was stolen to order and literally hoisted / towed away (window broken, rear brake released, alarm blaring), then yes, I can see it being filched in such a manner, TAKEN APART, and the bits stuffed into a crate and transported to some backwater Eastern Europe country.
But again, difficult to believe! Too much trouble! Besides, east Europeans love their Volkswagens, Audi’s, Skodas et al. Prii don’t reign highly on their ownership scale.

Was it an inside job of sorts.....as in a relative might have orchestrated the whole thing? No offence intended of course.

If anybody else knows otherwise - or has any other true stories of wanton UK thefts of Gen 2 Prii, please enlighten us.


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I imagine so, its on street parking so unless there was access either end it would have to have been one of those grabber pick up things, as parking has always been tight down his road. Its condemned him to public transport now, as the insurance payout won't cover the cost of another decent Prius.

 

been reported as stolen, so if anyone does happen to see it about its worth reporting to the police, however I imagine its now missing the Cat. Again.

 

I very much doubt it, most of his relatives live in Ireland and I doubt they would do anything like that. If its anyone, it'll be one of his neighbours I imagine.

 

Sorry I asked the question
Of course it wasn’t family.
It’ll be feckless scrotes who believe they have a right to snatch other people’s property - and why not? Who is going to stop them?

I guess they didn’t just want the (original?) Catalytic Converter again, but other expensive components as well.

I suspect they’ll pull it apart and sell the bits. Did you know how much the air conditioning compressor alone is worth? Brake actuator? The whole engine / Hybrid Synergy Drive combo? HV Traction Battery? Was it a Tspirit model?

There’s a market in certain “poor” parts of Europe for stuff like that.....even in Russia I dare say, where I do know the Gen 2 Prius is revered among Hybrid enthusiasts.
I’m not claiming Russians are stealing them though - they’re too classy for that.

But somebody is!


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Prius is no Golf, maybe take a look at Auris Hybrid if you are comparing to Golf, they should be around the same price, or not? And are you comparing automatic transmission models? If not why not a Dacia if you wan't the cheapest car available no matter what?

 

First and foremost, I absolutely agree with the old adage - to each, his own.

People should buy what they want and what they’ll be happy with. And they shouldn’t be criticised, put down or otherwise made to feel inferior for their personal choices (as often happens to Prius owners).

On a purely scientific note, a Diesel engined car is a conventional car - with all the pluses and minuses you get with the ownership of such a vehicle.
The Hybrid Synergy Drive is tried, tested and proven, and despite the higher initial costs, does save money. They are probably best purchased as second hand deals, when the initial sting of depreciation has been absorbed by the first owner.
Toyota Hybrids don’t have the hassle of clutches (or worse still, double clutches). They sip petrol admirably and they are incredibly efficient and ultra reliable.
Unless you get targeted by a member of the Grand Theft CAT gang, you’re on to a winner.
They’re not about to be stung with higher fuel taxes or road tax bills because the Govt have suddenly decided that Diesel emissions are the Devils cigarette smoke and should be treated with punitive extra taxes.
And of course, you won’t suffer breakdowns as regularly as with a Prius hybrid....

BUT.....

I defend to the death, your right to chose what works for you - ergo, want a Diese because it seems it’ll suit your needs better?

By all means, DO get one


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Wow that’s shocking whole car stolen considering it has immobiliser factory fitted flat bed job most likely.

There are loads of cases cars being stolen to order but mainly vw golf sport types never realised prius was a sporty type one.

 

It defies logical explanation.

However, if we were unwittingly participating in an episode of “The Twilight Zone”, I would suggest THAT stolen Prius was lifted straight up off the quiet street (in a beam of unearthly glittering light) while we were all asleep at 2.30am in the dead of night.

It’s probably the only KNOWN Prius to have travelled faster than light, to another galaxy in the hold of a UFO mothership.

It’s probably in a museum on another planet light years from Earth right now, where it is the latest star exhibit of “Alien Automobile Technology”......probably the only proof that there IS intelligent life on Earth after all - because it’s a Hybrid.



Light hearted humour aside, I hope that Prius is found and we really find out what happened to it....


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no worries Data Daedalus, not a problem what you said. I just don't know what happened to it, I'll speak to him soon to find out exactly what happened, and then update on here.

 

Well thats the problem ofcourse, I love my 2008 prius to bits and would never consider owning anything else ( just a later prius model ) but im fed up of the anxiety of worrying everytime I go to my car if the CAT has been stolen again or not. And now reports of thefts of Gen3 CAT's are surfacing it just makes me wonder if hybrids have any future.


While its true that theres no reports of after-market CATS being stolen so far on this forum you cant deny the worry is constantly there.

 

I've had enough of worrying about the car, its going in March next year. I can't deal with the worry of where I leave it now, constantly wondering if it'll sound like a tank again when I get back. Even with all the additional protection I have done to the car I'm still thinking that it'll be targeted again.

On a different note, has anyone received a letter from Toyota warning of the theft issues? Bit too late for me!

 

When I traded in 'The Sitting Duck' I looked extensively at many diesel powered cars, but none of them passed the upcoming ULEZ charge that will cover the entirety of London from 2021. Only very high priced (near new) diesels passed.

The Honda Civic Hybrid (what I ended up with for a few months) should not really be called a hybrid. It's nothing like a hybrid and is not reliable at all.

I blame Mr Sadiq Khan for everything.
I do believe there is a London mayoral election next year. I wonder if any candidates will stand on a ticket to remove the extension of the ULEZ charge. Should one do so, they'll have my vote and no mistake.

 

Unfortunately Nozz, I know that feeling very well.
I could not sleep at night knowing my old Gen 1 was sitting outside waiting for someone to come along and take what they like off it in the full knowledge that the local constabulary will do frigg all about it.

I now drive about in a horrible petrol car. It truly is an awful drive, but at least I know it'll be in tact when I return to it.

I miss my Prius.

 

Were the 2nd gen Prius more or less unique in having exceptionally valuable CAT's? I guess they are, but I don't see that there's a direct connection between hybrid vehicle and expensive CAT.

 

It would appear the extended ULEZ charge is NOT in the best interest of indigenous Londoners, or any member of the rank and file citizenry who work hard for a living providing valuable support services within this zone.

My impression is that our so called Mayor is colluding with very wealthy faceless entities to turn London into a place only the shockingly wealthy can survive.

Ordinary citizens who work for a living are being priced off the road and subsequently out of the city.
Please note, the stinking rich will drive whatever they want into the extended ULEZ area, whenever they want. The charges are NOTHING to them.

Every year, the very same people who have bought up swathes of expensive London properties will continue to import their hyper expensive Supercars from the Middle East into London for the summer months - and they’re already driving them within the existing congestion zones and prohibitive costs everyday.

The cost to them is literally irrelevant. The cost to the rest of us WORKING FOR A LIVING London (and UK) citizens is literally a game changer that WILL break most of us, both financially, mentally and ultimately in our personal lives.

If this Extended ULEZ charge does go through, it will ruin a great many careers, businesses and lives as a whole.
This is purely pandering to the richest in London, while alienating generations of Londoners and telling them their own city is no longer for them, and they should sell up and leave.

Perhaps our Mayor has fantasies of turning London into a billionaire’s playground - exclusively for the rich, while the riff-raff (that would be the rest of us) and their ordinary cars are banished to the periphery of the capital - in slums and hovels.

Billionaires live in London and their service personnel (read slaves) can ride their bicycles 20 miles into London everyday to earn their crust of bread.

That our Mayor is detached from reality, I have no doubt.
When Hybrid vehicles which genuinely reduce emissions in London are allowed to be plundered, damaged and freely molested (with criminal intent afore thought) for a whole 12 months without any intervention or plan to stop these cat thefts and bring the perpetrators to justice, you just know the reason for the extended ULEZ has nothing to do with enhancing London’s eco credentials.

A smart thoughtful Mayor would have NO qualms declaring the theft of catalytic converters in London and its immediate environs an “Eco Terrorist” act - with draconian punitive measures brought against anyone caught in the act or otherwise convicted of such a crime. But the extended ULEZ was never about protecting the environment.

It’s just a convenient cover excuse to allow billionaires, corporations and political pygmies to take control of London and tax the ordinary citizens off London’s roads, out of sight and certainly out of mind.

Infinitely depressing!!!


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I think its the fact that the gen 2 Prius has 2 cats right next to each other, so the thieving bar stewards get double the valuable material to melt down and make money from. I don't know about the Gen 3 or other Prius as to how many they have, but once word gets around that Gen 2 cars are easy to pilfer from then it starts a line of thefts. That is my thinking of it all.

 

Looking on autotrader price for gen2 prius has plummeted and price for gen3 prius is still sky high