Stolen catalytic converter in london uk

Whatever precious metals are inside there apparently Prius cats have a lot of it. No good ones are selling in the US for 350.

 

Someone with some efford could wire alarm system which trigger is grounded via catalytic along with other wires. Alarm is triggered when they cut cables.

But, may be no help since they are probably already running when it triggers.
Another thing is alarm system what detects car level changes, they sell those for prevent wheel stealings. For catalytic converter they may have to lift car so much that it triggers.

 

Apparently still commands a very high price in certain parts of Eastern Europe, which is sadly where these bastards are from. They’ll transport their ill-gotten gains there squirrelled away in a container of scrap metal, and it will then be “smelted” in a makeshift factory with no questions asked.
It’ll be in one of those poor backward countries where as long as palms are greased, no questions are asked.

You have to ask yourself who the mastermind really is, and who wants to buy so much platinum, palladium and rhodium under the radar. Who is it going to be sold to? Can these metals be utilised by terrorists to build something spectacularly dangerous?

Or is it just a clever Walter White style get rich quick operation?

Either way, they’ve done their homework very well, and chosen the perfect city to carry out their approximately 60 day (so far) continuous Platinum heist. No proactive police force left to stop them, no stop and search protocols. Local citizens too dumb or harassed to realise what the professionally attired criminals are getting up to, and with knife crime already out of control, nobody wants to interfere anyway.
These Lampreys must be laughing at how stupid and ineffective the UK Police are right now.

It’s the perfect crime.

Mind you, they wouldn’t last a week in a city like Moscow, or indeed any other Russian city (I’m not suggesting they’re from Russia - they aren’t!). Do this in Russia, and the citizens would gleefully tear them limb from limb. Even the Police there wouldn’t hurry to prosecute any revenge meted out on these parasites.

This is truly some kind of dystopian nightmare!


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My neighbor just got her Cat stolen from her work place recently. She drives a Toyota Highlander. Not sure what model year it is.

 

I’m at my local Toyota Dealership for my annual service this morning. Intermediate service costing £185 and hopefully not a penny more. The vehicle is in excellent shape - apart from being a powerful magnet for Catalytic Converter thieves.

Just had a chat with the dealership representative about any form of security that Toyota can recommend to prevent further theft of my CAT.

Disheartening to hear him warble on about how there’s “absolutely no security mechanism whatsoever” for protecting the 2003 - 2008 Prius vehicles, while at the same time gleefully acknowledging they’ve had scores of vehicles in for replacements (over the last 3 months) at the same time.

I literally had to remind him that there ARE solutions out there, but I was asking specifically about Toyota’s opinion or tech geared towards this.

I guess that’s Toyota’s sales guy rubbing his hands together at the prospect of scores more Gen 2 Prius being repeatedly ripped off while the dealership makes a killing on £2,000 replacement CATs per vehicle. Or dumping perfectly serviceable vehicles while rushing like lemmings to buy the latest Prius. We’re not all so rich!

I can appreciate Toyota themselves aren’t going to rush out a security solution to a vehicle which first came out in 2003 in the UK......but you’d really think the dealership could suggest or indeed research what 3rd party security options are available for their customers, even IF they might have to legally absolve themselves of all responsibility IF the solutions do not do the job as well as expected, or come with caveats.

However, telling your loyal customers that there’s “absolutely no protection whatsoever” is both erroneous and harsh in the extreme, bordering on a total lack of empathy - even as you put their vehicle in for a service.
Dystopian UK indeed.

Meanwhile, having looked at ALL the security options available in the UK and planet wide, I’ve decided to purchase the CatStrap Catalytic Converter Security Solution (CatStrap.net) - from the USA.

I am buying both the alarmed and non-alarmed versions. I’ll pay a professional mechanic to install it properly - with an overkill factor of installation.

It seems to me to be the most logical solution that might deter these parasites. They don’t want to spend 10 minutes struggling under any Prius - that’s enough time for an angry mob to appear, and viciously attack them - or (we can but dream) for the Police to turn up and arrest them.

With Kevlar straps bonded to and securely bolted to the twin Catalytic Converter pods AND the exhaust pipe running all the way up to the manifold end and also in the opposite direction, it will hopefully put off these parasitic life forms, and they’ll more than hopefully go molest an unprotected vehicle.

The threat of an ear piercing alarm going off as soon as they attempt any cutting (if they’re truly that “stoopid”) should put them off.

I’m also planning to back that up with a 24/7 CCTV Dashcam system being installed on board “The Spaceship”. I will even shell out on an onboard Lithium Battery unit that will provide auxiliary power when the vehicle is parked and unattended (so it won’t flatten the tiny 12v battery in the back of Prius). The battery will charge when the vehicle is being driven, and will switch over to be available to power the Dashcam when it is parked.

Those are my solutions. Overkill? Probably. Expensive? Definitely. Effective? To a degree, I’d say yes. These thieves aren’t dumb. They’ll want to avoid anything that identifies them, are makes it very difficult to harvest a Prius Catalytic Converter. The Dashcam might scare them into believing the vehicle is a police bait car.

Also, this eliminates the possibility of the average nutter slamming into the back of my Prius (again) and getting away with it. It would be nice to capture the footage of the actual incident for insurance or police (?!!) purposes.

If there’s any member of the Metropolitan Police Force reading this, for goodness sake, setup up a sting operation, get some BAIT CARS out there and catch these brazen Prius CAT criminals. They’ve been running free in Greater London for over the last 90 days! NINETY DAYS...!!! Do something!!!

May the odds be ever in our favour.


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Back a few pages I suggested a registration number on every Cat. Make them all traceable? Couple this with policing of the scrapyards: anyone bringing in Cats has to show photo id, and make trying to sell a Cat with number ground off a crime.

 

Brilliant idea , except the CAT burglars (now upgraded to a crime syndicate) are not selling them in the UK as there are very strict rules and regulations about buying CATs as scrap over here. Introduced during the spate of CAT thefts from vans / light trucks over the last couple of years.

The thieves are targeting London, then transporting their ill gotten gains out of the country to Eastern Europe via containers filled with scrap metal. In their countries, there are no laws preventing the recycling of CATs. In any case, they’ve got buyers willing to pay top dollar out there for the precious metals with no questions asked. Palms can be greased at their borders to allow anything through.




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happy Christmas!

 

A Happy Christmas to you and all the other members of Prius Chat too, no matter in the world where you might be.

May you all have a great festive season with your loved ones, families and friends!

Have a wonderful time.


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what country are they from? you said not Russia? This sounds like mafia operation.

 

I’ve found the answer. I’ve looked into the CatStrap from the U.S but after paying $189 for the kit and $72 shipping it makes it too pricey for what is, basically an exhaust strap and some steel rods with a cheap Chinese’s vibration alarm from eBay.
I’ve made my own (see pictures)
I tested how long it takes to cut off using the parts they left behind form the old exhaust and let me tell you it’s virtually impossible to cut through, never mind when it’s fitted under the car. With my cordless saber saw it took 3 blades to get through half of it and then the cables kept snagging and moving with the blade so stopped the cutting process all together.
I even tried an Angle grinder and that made a right mess with sparks and bits flying everywhere and unless you can get a 9 inch disc under the car you can’t get the blade to get all the way through.
I’ve also fitted another device to the exhaust which I won’t talk about on here but put it this way I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.
It’s been fitted to the car and there are no vibrations or nosies come from it when in normal use.
The parts to make this cost me just over £110 from euro car parts, Screwfix and eBay.
Bring it on.

 

Back to knights in armor!

 

That’s the kind of innovative CAT security system I’m looking for.
I’d pay anyone to install that kind of customised protection on my Prius in a heartbeat!

Looks like something straight out of Mad Max......but I love it...!!!



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This is catstraps installation video.

It’s all very basic materials.
I just took it to the next level integrating steel cables to create a cage, as the kit they sell doesn’t really protect the Prius exhaust fully. All the crooks do is cut closer to the manifold and the 2nd cut further down the pipe.
All parts need to be stainless steel as it’s harder to cut through and less likely to rust.
I bonded all parts with exhaust paste compound, so even if a cut is made the parts still stick to the exhaust making it really awkward to remove.

 

Final update: I got my car back from the garage today. It's running perfectly and for a fraction of the cost that Toyota were quoting to fix it. I can't recommend Eastdown motors at Hither Green highly enough. So after nearly a month I have made a profit of £1200 And have my lovely car back. Unfortunately though, the garage were working on another prius whose catalytic convertor had been stolen. The scumbag thieves are still active in SE4 it would seem. Grrrrr.

 

Everyone comes out ahead financially, except the insurers. Do they care, or is it a drop-in-the-bucket scenario, and it's not worth their while to complain? And/or the cops won't pursue, insufficient manpower/funds? It's farce, lol.

It is a lot of grief and inconvenience for owners.

I've thought more than once about something I read a few years back, how in Moscow, whenever it would start to rain, there was this phenomena: all cars pulled over to the curb to install their windshield wipers. There was a rash of wiper thefts, and anyone who didn't remove their wipers had them promptly stolen.

 

Having been a student of Architecture in the former Soviet Union (4 years in Minsk, Belarus), I can confirm that this is absolutely TRUE...!!!

I noticed cars NEVER had their screen wipers on, particularly in summer. When I eventually plucked up the courage to ask one of my tutors why he didn’t have any wipers on his vehicle, he told me they would be stolen - he had them stashed away INSIDE the car...!!!

I thought that was mind boggling at the time, as the Soviet Union loved to boast about their lack of decadent crime!


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Incidentally, I’d like to make an official shout out (and a massive thank you too), to The Governor for his invaluable help in installing a custom made protection cage around the newly installed Catalytic Converter on “The Spaceship”.

As you can see, he’s done a fantastic job which should disuade these thieving parasites from trying to steal it - based on their modus operandi (there’s that word again ) which seems to be “Gone in 60 seconds”).

I now realise this is more than likely the well thought out work of a crime syndicate who seem to have done their homework well. Speed of theft is crucial to their success. As is the lack of ANY London Policemen in the streets!!! They dress up like mechanics and act confident with added aggressive posturing during the actual theft - then they’re GONE..!!! Scuttling off like the cowardly weasels they really are....

I wouldn’t be shocked if they’re armed, though methinks because they’re built like brick sh*t houses, they’ll rely on battering any heroes to the ground with their fists. Or slicing them up with the electric razor saw.

Of course there’s a Mr Big. He’s probably reading this forum right now - likely anonymously, to see how they’re doing (and how effective their little money making scheme is on defenceless Londoners), if there’s any news of the police planning a sting, and of course to see if the London Prius Owners are planning some vigilante action that might ruin the syndicate’s plans or even expose them.

I wish we had modern day “Cray Brothers” to catch these bastards and teach them a lesson that would end in a shallow grave or quicksand - for encroaching on London turf. Let me be clear; I absolutely abhor violence, but these blood sucking sons of Dracula are begging for a wooden stake where it hurts!!!

I’ll shut up now.

p.s. Once again, THANK YOU “THE GOVERNOR”..!!!



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Why don’t you get like 15 guys together with baseball bats and set up your own sting? Beat those guys so bad they wind up in traction for 3 months. I would say it’s pretty messed up if you have video of the crime and the police won’t help but we have the same thing here with porch pirates.

 

Very tempting indeed. Unfortunately, once you’ve (theoretically for now) set a trap, zeroed in on these outstanding parasites of the community, and beaten them within an inch (or a centimetre? ) of their worthless thieving lives (a baseball bat bashing they’d thoroughly deserve for causing so much pain and inconvenience to Prius owners who heavily rely on their uber reliable vehicles for their day to day existence), here’s what will happen.

The full might of our Metropolitan Police Force (Service?) of London, will spring into action; leave will be cancelled as the assault of two “innocent” EU citizens hits the headlines.

Helicopters with searchlights blazing will be crisscrossing the immediate suburb where these RATS “met their Waterloo”. Door to door enquiries will commence, with the British Bobbies leaving no stone unturned for what will be spun as racial violence (tied in with Brexit as the cause ) against two hard working enterprising EU citizens who came to the UK to WORK.

Finally, word will get out that a bunch of normally mild mannered (Prius owning) vigilante group were involved in this dastardly crime for relatively obscure reasons, and as a result, Gen 2 Prii will be stopped in streets, their drivers dragged out and interrogated at truncheon point (yes, I’m being awfully sarcastic now - pinch of salt, and all that).

Eventually, once the online investigators swing into action and peruse Prius Chat with a metaphorical magnifying glass, the perpetrators of this heinous act will be identified and all of them captured in early morning (4.00am) raids across London.

The sorry lot will be paraded on TV, sporting bumps from truncheons (do they still use those), and the odd taser burn here and there. At least one of them (me?) will be trussed up like Hannibal Lecter. I’d have to be, as I’d be indignantly foaming at the mouth with incandescent rage!

The Beak (old slang for Judge across the pond) would waste no time sending the sorry lot down for a stretch and then some, making a BIG example of them (for having the righteous temerity to try and protect Gen 2 Prii in London by apprehending and punishing the aforementioned thieving parasitic lifeforms of vaguely human origin.
Thieves lives and human rights matter in London.
As for the law abiding honest citizens? Meh!
It’s open season on them!

p.s. I hope most of you laughed your heads off at my satirical weekend scribbling. T’was meant to amuse; not a call to arms.....

Wait.....what’s that knock on the door? Helicopter circling the house? Oh law! Now I’m really....Er....stuffed!!!

Have a nice weekend, and Happy New Year to everyone on Prius Chat




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