CATALYTIC CONVERTER STOLEN LAST NIGHT

[Lumpy Idle]

hey, does anyone have any tips that will help prevent these S#i+bags from stealing my new one after i get the car back from the shop?

my neighbor saw them (he's up late - this happened at 2:30 am) and when he realized something fishy was going on he hollered at them. they were done with the entire process in a couple of minutes!!!  the tow truck driver who towed my car to the shop told me that he gets a lot of calls for stolen cat's. and that as far as he knows the remedy fixes (commercially available strap, cable systems) don't slow these A$$holes down very much. it is going to cost me $500 out of pocket for the insurance deductible and it will again if they decide they want to go for my shiny, newly installed unit.

What to do?

[StuCorpe]

Sad, no idea why people do such things.

[Don G]

The world is full of people with a $300 a day habit that they cant afford to lose! Is that cat connected up with flanges? If so have your local muffler shop weld a flat bar across both flanges so they cant be separated, easy enough for the next R&R all you have to do is cut the welds or flat bar.  DonG

[Zoom Zoom]

That stinks. I think I might be looking to install a motion activated camera(s) that take decent pics at night. Although it won't solve the cost of replacement, you might manage to catch them for law enforcement! I'm thinking the ones hunters use out in the woods might do the trick.

I too would be concerned about them returning for the new cat. 

John Henry

[Bulldog9]

These dirtbags use a battery powered sawzall with a fast cutting metal blade and just hack off the exhaust pipe on both sides of the catalytic converter. They (or whever they fence to) evidently break them open to get the precious metals from the inside to sell.

[Lumpy Idle]

These dirtbags use a battery powered sawzall with a fast cutting metal blade and just hack off the exhaust pipe on both sides of the catalytic converter. They (or whever they fence to) evidently break them open to get the precious metals from the inside to sell.

yeah, i went onto the interwebz to look for some answers and i discovered that they do not care how old your car is or how old your converter because they bust them open for the metals inside.  what they do look for are vehicles that are higher up off the ground. my car is a honda element and they had plenty of room to get under it and saw and yank. it was made clear to me that these strapping systems do not work because they will just cut fore and aft of the security system and take the whole thing.

aaaarrrggghhh.

[rschrum]

Booby trap.

[fotoguzzi]

Motion Alarm?

[Gliderjohn]

Now if you were prepared ahead of time and could catch them in the act I have an electronic game caller with a remote that works from 75+ yards. It is loud at full volume. Now hide that under the car frame and wait. Once the guy has just crawled under the car hit the button for "mountain lion in heat scream". I assure you he will not hesitate to figure out what is there, he will just set a record for the 440 yd run.
GliderJohn

[Tom]

Deer cam off of Amazon.  One of many.

https://www.amazon.com/BlazeVideo-Controller-Activated-Waterproof-Continuous/dp/B07DL5WGTQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=BXRPP06HF64X&keywords=deer+camera&qid=1555121747&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=deer+%2Cindustrial%2C266&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1

[fotoguzzi]

Deer cam off of Amazon.  One of many.

https://www.amazon.com/BlazeVideo-Controller-Activated-Waterproof-Continuous/dp/B07DL5WGTQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=BXRPP06HF64X&keywords=deer+camera&qid=1555121747&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=deer+%2Cindustrial%2C266&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1

i use one of them, problem is your not there to apprehend the jerks.



Screen shot from the video,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NweIFqKt4SY

[RinkRat II]

     Have your muffler shop weld in flanges for a "test" piece of pipe, have them weld flanges on your new cat and when it comes time for inspection install the cat.

          Paul B

[Knuckle Dragger]

Dogo Argentino
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogo_Argentino

Bucovina Shepherd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucovina_Shepherd_Dog

Kangal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangal_Shepherd_Dog

Cane Corso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_Corso

[Bobic69]

Here in New South Wales scrap yards are obliged to get your i.d. and they don't pay for scrap in cash. Stops a lot of this silliness.

[Muzz]

Don't know whether it still is but the metal used originally in them was platinum.  Very very expensive.

[rocker59]

     Have your muffler shop weld in flanges for a "test" piece of pipe, have them weld flanges on your new cat and when it comes time for inspection install the cat.

          Paul B

That's what I would do.

No cat, no theft.

[oldbike54]

 What a Cat tas trophie .

 Dusty

[Yeahoo Whoyah]

they do look for are vehicles that are higher up off the ground

Simple solution, slam it!  They won't be getting under my driveway dinosaur. 

[zebraranger]

Even a cordless sawzall or cordless grinder with a cut off wheel makes some serious noise when cutting, I'd find a better parking place maybe closer to the house if possible. A couple of years ago they hit the local mall in broad daylight and managed to steel over 25 of them in one pop. Some shoppers heard and saw them, they just figured that they had broken down and was making repairs....

[wavedog]

This happens everyday in Mexico. Take your car in to a shop for any type of repair (even a tire change) and the cat will be removed. They are nice enough to weld on a peice of exhuast pipe in it's place.  This is all met with a shrug. No one seems to care.

[Nic in Western NYS]

I like those cat converters. Sorry they are getting stolen.  That's really a bad thing.
Signed,
Your atmosphere

[Rough Edge racing]

     Have your muffler shop weld in flanges for a "test" piece of pipe, have them weld flanges on your new cat and when it comes time for inspection install the cat.

          Paul B

  Yes, being drunk helps.. ....Federal law prohibits repair shops from modifying any part of the emissions system.It might even be a criminal penalty. Not worth the risk to any reputable shop,but a back alley shop might do it..Actually I believe the test pipes are a thing of the past .....
 As an electrical contractor I did work for one of the larger dismantle yards in New York state. They had constant loos of cats on late model wrecks...The thieves bought or stole jacks and cordless saws from Harbor Freight and left the tools behind after taking their fill of parts..The police were not able to catch them...The owner stationed men on the roofs of the storage buildings with cameras..Got photos of the thieves entering after using a culvert under the highway to get up close and get past the chain link fencing..The police acted on it and caught the thieves in the act...

[twowheeladdict]

I have a garage for my vehicles, an electric fence around the property, (to keep the animals in), and a power gate at the road. 

Would be thieves know all of us in the country are armed and willing to defend our property.   

[John Croucher]

Engrave "Stolen from (enter Name), address, phone number" on the part.  Then when the perp tries to sell it, the buyer will know it it stolen.  In indiana and Kentucky you have to provide I.D. to scrap or pawn. 

I have an unattended coil laundry.  Everything has "Stolen from Coin Laundry" wrote in black marker on  it.  That way a family member can be shamed  by other family members for stealing stupid stuff.  They take  toilet paper, used garbage bags out of cans, paper towels, pick up cigarette butts, other peoples clothing.  Over all though, most people are very civil and orderly. Corruption is not limited to the poor, mentally ill, sick, drug addict or alcoholic.  Rich, famous, political, LEO, people of faith or anyone is capable of doing wrong against other humans and nature.  I have faith that people in general are  good.  And have lots of insurance.

So, how did the car sound when you started it? 

[Lumpy Idle]

So, how did the car sound when you started it?

i didn't start it up at all. when i got there my neighbor had already scoped it out and pointed out that they had left a small beat up bottle jack under the car. we initially assumed they were coming for the tires but that he scared them off.  when taking out the bottle jack i looked underneath and then noticed some cut cables and the hole where the cat. used to be.

i live in oakland, california and there is new homeless encampment near a freeway overpass not too far from my place. my parking is street parking. i do not have the luxury of a private driveway or a garage, alas. there are now a couple of guys at that homeless camp who have a shiny maroon pickup truck and are doing a thriving business in stealing bicycles and aluminum car rims/tires. they remover the wheels from the bike and cut the spokes out with a small bolt cutter. the aluminum rim goes into the bed of the truck and the rest of the bike is just scattered around the homeless camp. the car rims go into the bed of the pickup after they have sliced off the tires. the whole thing is tarped over and waits until they fill the bed - then i assume its off to the recycler.  the cops do nothing.  if you call this in on the local non-emergency number the dispatcher will listen patiently and then .....nothing happens.   from what we can piece together the crew stealing the cat's is a different bunch altogether.  my neighbor noted that they were driving a black mercedez.  i guess there is money in stealing aluminum.

[oldbike54]

^^^This type of crime is almost always committed by professional criminals , if there is enough profit in something , stopping it can be very difficult .
 Some years back a couple of friends went to Dallas for an event , they spent the evening at a high end motel in a *safe* part of town . The next morning they discovered that everything worth stealing from the $50K Lincoln Navigator they were driving was gone . The thieves used a very small drill bit to drill strategically placed holes around the door lock on the passenger side , knowing how to bypass all of the security mechanisms . The Ford was equipped those little TV's for the rear seats , a high end stereo , leather seats , all of the amenities . The thieves removed almost the entire interior in about 3 minutes per the security cameras that the desk clerk apparently wasn't watching , then simply drove away in a vehicle parked just out of camera shot .

 Dusty

[nbags]

you probably need to not worry as aftermarket cat converter are worth very small amount of money in scrap ,what i have done in the past was to paint it  with bright orange paint ,my thought was when i called the police i would describe it properly and my be a scrap yard may not want to be involve in a possible illegal activity ( well they may get caught easier )

[Lumpy Idle]

hi all,

just got the car back from the shop. the whole job came to $2,647 and included the usual repair shenanigans of charging ludicrous amounts for nuts and bolts. the thing that really stands out though is the listed charge for the honda oem catalytic converter. anyone wanna guesss. ok, don't.  it was $1,982 for the converter alone. i was stunned. out of pocket i was only liable for my $500 deductible but the cost of the cat from honda was ridiculous.  in CA we need to use CA approved converters and they can be had online for varying prices but a reasonable average was around $350 so you can see that honda's price is wildly over the mark.

i asked the guy at the shop whether or not painting it orange and etching in my car license # would help. he chortled a bit and said "no, not really."

[Tom]

 

[RinkRat II]

    Hopefully precautions can be taken as any officer of the law will tell you " They'll Be Back".   
 
       Paul B