Stolen catalytic converter in london uk

Email bounced back again. Stupid online newspaper has an email address for reporting stories.....that doesn’t actually work

Yup! Welcome to Dystopia UK. This is like a very bad episode of a Netflix Black Mirror TV series....


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Can anyone make a bit of noise about this on Facebook? I don’t have an account (and can’t stand it) otherwise, I’d have done so already.

How about Twitter? All you need is to link this thread, I think. Hopefully, it might start trending......though I’m sure the online trolls will be having a field day too!


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Metal theft in general is rife? Seems like a few years back it was in the news more here: not sure if it's subsided some, or what. Copper wire for example: thieves did horrendous expensive damage to electrical systems. Around our area you'll sometimes see abandoned wire snippers, lengths of wire insulation. And of course piles of discarded needles and various paraphernalia.

Watch The Selfish Giant, a story of two teens geting into trouble with this.

 

Anyone got anything to say about the cheap new cats that are available on ebay? There seem to be a few for £150ish that are apparently a good fit for the car - very significantly less than the one from Toyota. Also might be a good buy if it's just going to be stolen again. The excess on my insurance is £300 and they've warned me I'm going to lose my no claims discount and face a significantly increased premium.

 

My excess is £350. I also face increased premiums due to the actions of these thieves, but my no claims bonus is protected. I’ve heard there are cheap CAT replacements out there, but logically, they won’t be anywhere near as original as the OEM Japanese manufactured CATs - of this I am certain.

Fitting these will likely result in increased emissions, and possibly the HSD not working within design parameters. That could mean an increase in fuel usage, the ICE not running at optimal capacity, and even possible damage in the long run, caused by premature wear of certain ICE components.

Ergo, despite the pain to my wallet via increased premiums, I’ve gone down the insurance route so that an OEM Catalytic Converter at about £2k can be fitted professionally, bringing my 2008 Prius Tspirit back up to standard.

Also, with my Prius immobilised by the theft since 20th November 2018, and waiting for parts to be shipped to the UK (consignment reliably rumoured to be arriving only 14th December 2018), I am grateful for an insurance provided rental that allows me to work daily - or I would have been either badly out of pocket - or lost my job (or both) by now.

Of course it depends on your circumstances.
It would be nice to hear from the guy who purchased a replacement from Kwikfit for £466....is it working okay; is the vehicle still responding normally like it did before, or does it operate slightly differently?

If the CAT is £150, then it’s not the real deal and is far off the mark from £2,000. It might not even last 12 months - the vehicle could even fail its next MOT purely on emissions!
Methinks a £150 CAT on eBay is a bad idea, unless it was specifically a salvaged part from a very low mileage Prius being flogged off cheap.

It’s like iPhone chargers - always buy the real McCoy, or that cheap Saturday boot sale market charger could catch fire...or your iPhone could explode into flames and burn your house down. It’s happened before. I like a bargain like the next guy, but there are bargains and there are fakes!

What I’m really worried about is a repeat of this dastardly thieving act by these brazen CAT burglars. What is the point of fixing it.....if they’ll just show up again sooner or later (in broad daylight), and steal it once again in under 90 seconds?
That goes for each and everyone of us already affected, and those yet to be struck.
BTW, still no word of this in the National Press.

How do we protect ourselves from this happening again?


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The thought of it being stolen again is at the forefront of my mind to be honest - it hardly seems to make sense to get it replaced under the insurance if it's going to get stolen again next week.

 

I can appreciate doing it on the cheap if you have the time to spare and your car isn’t important to your daily job. Mine of course, is.

I planned via my insurance for an eventuality where I might end up without a car due to an accident or other unforeseen circumstances, so here I am, thankful for 3 or 4 weeks of rental car use covered by insurance, while mine is being fixed to its original spec.

Either way, I wouldn’t have fixed my Prius with a cheap Cat. I can’t afford £2k so Insurance it is. Once fixed, I may we’ll have to part exchange it for another hybrid that isn’t being targeted for its Catalytic Converter - if there isn’t a resolution to the problem.

It is sad that we should have to pick up the bill after being robbed blind like this - not through our own incompetence, but through the incompetence of those that allow thieves and vagabonds to roam free unchecked in London.

I’m dismayed that we UK citizens seem to have been easily cowed into giving in, to foreign criminals, and allowing our own law enforcement agencies (actually the government’s fault) to treat us like 3rd class citizens in our own country by refusing to serve and protect us when it really matters. We’re paying taxes for nothing. That’s the definition of a SCAM.


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Muffler repair a la Shakespeare, lol.

Save it for Fred's House of Politics?

 

Hi
I had a missed call on Saturday at 5:40pm from the met. about the theft. The officer asked again whether there was any CCTV footage and said not to phone them back if there wasn't. I've been asked about CCTV footage by all 3 police people I have talked to. It would appear that unless you have video evidence the "Investigations Team" don't do anything! The voicemail said that without CCTV the case would be passed on to Lewisham Police to deal with.
I have this morning (Monday) had a reply to the email I sent to the MET with a link to this forum and a reminder that I have provided the contact details of 2 witnesses and how to find 3 bystanders working within spitting distance of the theft while it was happening. I now have a PC with a name who is assigned "to this crime report".

Can you tell me how you persuaded your Insurance company to pay to have your 2008 T Spirit repaired by the Insurers?
I have been told my 2007 one with 120000 miles will be written off. And that's with a £495 excess being paid and no courtesy car.
They wanted to take it away to be valued but I asked them to send someone to the car instead, because it is still taxed and the recovery costs would have to be paid by someone. ..presumably me!
The valuer is coming to see the car this morning.
What did they value your car at mr Data? Perhaps you could send me a private message if you prefer? Thanks in advance.

If I do end up keeping the car I am tempted to fit a £149 ebay cat. It probably wouldn't get stolen and even if I have to replace it every 12 months it would still work out cheaper!

 

Hi Prius Gen bloke 2,

I didn’t persuade them in any way. They did threaten that it might be written off, till I pointed out that the private 53 plate was no representative of the vehicles true age - it’s actually a 58 plate. It’s a Tspirit with leather interior, Sat Nav and takes voice commands. It’s in rather good condition for its age.

It also has a shade under 109,000 miles on the clock and full service history.

Lastly, I’m actually paying business insurance on account of my job, and even shelled out for enhanced courtesy vehicle for relevant eventualities, no claims protected, and legal aid.

I suspect they took all that into consideration.

However, they probably didn’t expect such a tidal wave of £2k claims coming in from Gen 2 Prii owners at that time, so I may have just been lucky!!!

It sucks having a 2007 at a barely run in 120k miles written off on account of the CAT being nicked!!!

When I get “The Spaceship” back, I may have to cut my losses and part exchange it for something that doesn’t have an easily accessible gold mine installed underneath it’s body.

Yes, that will hurt me psychologically. I can’t believe this lovely iconic vehicle has gone from quiet unnoticed superstar to something desired by criminals who can’t wait to violate the poor vehicle in broad daylight......

As for the Police.....‍‍‍......because the FAIL is too great.




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The valuer has just been and pointed out that the wing has been pushed out at the cill, & will need replacing as well because the thieves jacked the car up wrong.
But he said a replacement cat is £1200. (+vat??) He said he's not sure if it's a write off until he puts all the info into the computer ...but that was before he noticed the pushed out wing.

It is harsh to have to shell out £495 (admittedly mostly my "voluntary" insurance excess) do without a car for weeks and face a big rise in my Insurance premium next year all due to no fault of my own.
My Insurance is "Comprehensive" but that word doesn't seem to mean anything.
I'm just trying to get my head around the "No Fault" claim thing. If this isn't one I don't know why.

 

I've decided not to go through my insurance. The excess is £300, I'll lose my no claims and they'll probably write off my car in the end anyway. They're not willing to honour the courtesy car straight away until they've had 10 days to assess the car at a garage 100 miles away. So I've bought a cheap £100 cat from cats2u, got a sensor from Toyota (advice was not to get a cheap sensor), and 2 hours labour. £450 in all. Hopefully it won't get stolen again...

 

Phoned Toyota in Croydon.
They have had large numbers of Cat's requested "20 or 30 in last 2 weeks alone". And there are 11 Toyota dealerships all with the same issue - huge numbers of thefts. More in N.London according to them.
Toyota now sell a £180 anti theft device which makes it more difficult to steal.
The bad news is that the exhaust with 2 sensors is £2284 and labour adds £280.
Some Insurance companies are now paying for the security device because the cats are being stolen as soon as they are replaced.
So that's a total £2744!
And with the prospect of Insurers paying out again, sometimes within weeks I am expecting my car to be written off.
...oh and even if you've got the money there's a lead time of 3-4 weeks.
And if this is a europe-wide problem I suspect the 1 month lead time may be optimistic...

 

That seems like a quick solution.
Thanks for pointing it out.
I do sort of feel as though the Insurance companies I have been paying for decades without incident owe me a claim - but it doesn't really work like that. It's always win/win for the insurance companies.

 

Thank you for the update about the £180 security device - I’ll have to get one of those fitted pronto!

I got a call out of the blue today, from Rye Street Group; my Prius was ready - repair work completed.

They’d already towed it home by the time I got back. I’d left instructions for it to be parked in a neighbour’s secure drive - they complied; thank you, Rye Street Group!

I’m presently, metaphorically, sitting by the window, shotgun in hand, scanning the area with binoculars, waiting for one of those parasites to come for my newly installed CAT.

Me? Paranoid? Yup! Absolutely.

Went for drive after I’d dropped off the Hyundai i20. Was thinking maybe I’d miss the newer 67 plate vehicle? Meh! The Spaceship drives better, is actually quieter (surprise...!!), hugs the ground like a limousine, and has a nicely weighted steering that....FEELS the road. The joy of going downhill and recuperating energy via regenerative braking! The wonder of climbing a hill like a B777-200 climbing out of Heathrow, and switching to cruise control for a quieter than ever ride! The wonder of electric only motion in traffic. I’m actually looking forward to my early morning commute tomorrow morning - CAT burglars permitting!

Thanks for posting the different options available for repairing a cat burgled Prius. At least there are more options than I imagined.

Priority? THAT security device!!! A.s.a.p.


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Hi Prius Gen 2 bloke;

Can you please specify which Toyota dealership is selling the £180 CAT anti-theft device?

I have just called my dealership (Jemca Toyota Edgware Road) and they’ve categorically denied knowledge of any such device being marketed my Toyota. They claim they haven’t heard of it.

Now, this might be pure ignorance on the part of the service department person who spoke to me.
However, I’ve got my repaired Prius back, and do not feel safe leaving it parked in the street, until I have a sensible degree of protection in place. I do not want to suffer another theft like this again.

Right now, I feel like a particularly juicy and desirable TURKEY in the run up to Xmas, being secretly observed with culinary malice aforethought.

Please advise accordingly.

Thank you.


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Hi yes sure
It was the Toyota service & parts dept in Croydon. I think it was Martin I spoke to. 02086495904. He did say there was a 3 or 4 week lead time tho.

 

Thank you, Prius Gen 2 bloke!


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bold as brass! is MI5 on the case?