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catalytic converter theft


b6bloke

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I heard on the news last week that this is on the increase, and it is happening in this area a lot more.

Over the weekend my GF's dad has had 3 taken, 1 off his own car and 2 off customers cars from his garage. I have just found out that another mate has had his taken and a guy at work had his taken a few weeks ago.

Its bad enough with the dirty bastard tat men coming around using their van as a great excuse for stealing without this happening!

Are the police really doing enough? I saw a woman jump out of one of these pick ups last year with some bolt cutters and cut the lock off a bike chained up and throw it in the back of the van, a guy i know was decorating his kitchen and put the oven and radiatior outside while he painted, he came out and saw them throwing them on the back with the excuse "we thought it was scrap" they had climbed over his garden fence and unlocked it! The police were not interested. They took the bikes off our friends kids while they were playing football and used the same excuse when their mom caught them.

They police really should be stopping these **** as to do this they must surely have a licence.

If you run a petrol car you need to be aware of the risk of catalytic converter theft, particularly if your car has large ground clearance. Thieves are targetting catalysts – located in the exhaust system under the vehicle – because of the high vlaue of the precious metals they contain.

In these harder times and with precious metal prices rising steadily, the demand for parts that contain them is rising. As a result, the risk of theft of catalytic converters is on the increase again.

Catalytic converters (CATs) have been fitted in the exhaust of the majority of petrol cars manufactured since 1992 and by chemical reaction substantially reduce harmful pollutants from the exhaust.

The metal case of the CAT contains a ceramic honeycombed structure providing a massive surface area across which the exhaust gases flow.

Precious metals – platinum, palladium and rhodium – are coated onto this ceramic structure as catalysts (a catalyst modifies and increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed itself) for the reactions that 'clean' the exhaust;

•Oxidising (adding oxygen) carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons to form carbon dioxide and water, and

•Reducing (remove oxygen) from other gases such as oxides of nitrogen

Theft

The start of the credit crunch in 2008 and high prices for precious metals resulted in a noticeable increase in thefts of catalytic converters. Thieves simply cut the catalytic converter from the exhaust pipe of a parked car and sell them on to scrap metal dealers.

Taller vehicles (4x4s) are particularly vulnerable as the converters are more accessible. Because they tend to have larger engines, they contain more of the precious metals too.

The ceramic honeycomb has to undergo a chemical process known as 'carbochlorination' to recover the precious metals it contains – generally abroad in countries such as China, Poland, Canada and Latvia.

Once an unmarked converter has been removed from a vehicle it's quite difficult to match it to that vehicle as there aren't any distinguishing marks.

Reduce risk

To reduce the risk of theft of your car's catalytic converter:

•Garage your car whenever possible

•Park in well-lit busy areas

•Look out for people working under cars

•If the car's high risk consider marking the metal shell of the converter with a unique mark, so that if it is removed by thieves it will be easier to trace back to your vehicle

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I think the government need to step up their plans to avoid scrap metal buyers buying clearly stolen goods. i.e. making them licensed plus no cash sales for example. This will help a lot although I guess the hardcore will find a way around it.

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This is nothing compared to the stupid feckers that steal the signalling cables from railway lines. It has apparently already cost Network Rail £44mil in the last three years and is Britain's biggest growing crime. Its causing accidents and possibly death.

Then there's the tossers I've started seeing lately stealing the stuff people leave outside charity shops, to flog them at car boot sales, lowlife scum.

Crime is down according to the stats though...

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Crime is down according to the stats though...

Because we're all learning that the polis are no f**king help at all.

Example 1 - My motorbike got reversed into parked, fairing damaged, indicator broken, various scuffs. It was actually knocked over, and the driver picked it up, before driving off. Parked right under a cctv. Witness saw it, but didn't get reg but exact time and description. I reported it. I was simply given a "producer". I asked a fortnight later what the pp was, and "they'd do an investigation". They refused to let me view the council cctv, despite the counsel saying I could, from the police station. I never heard back. Result - £300+ down as plod can't be bothered to watch 5 mins of cctv.

Example 2 - My car got stolen. Plod say that someone took it and scrapped it. The scrapper says he got a phone call from someone who's name he can't remember, from a number he didn't keep, and who never gave an address, saying they could have the car. As a result, plod say firstly, they won't investigate as the value of the car is too low! Secondly, they say that they won't even release the scrappers details to me, as "he isn't the suspect". When I asked who was, they say the "mystery caller", and cite DPA as the reason for refusing to pass on the details.

Given the police are so totally useless, to the point of actually being "obstructive" to rightful justice, I say the oinly way we can get any, is to take it into our own hands, until the police realise the culture they are creating and decide to do something about it.

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I had a new boiler fitted a couple of weeks ago. The old, knackered was collected within an hour of being put in the back yard. Imagine my surprise when DHL turned up the next morning to collect it. Thieving wotsits must have spotted the gas man's van and been lying in wait for him to leave before lifting it. To be fair, they took two bags of rubbish too - presumably thought there might be something worth having in there too.

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Where I work (Mercedes Commercials) we had a spate of more than 20 being stolen in one evening it's a major problem for us and our customers, the precious metals in there make them valuable for selling on.

Apparently not.

What has happened, is that the original cats were being stolen for the metals, but by semi-sophisticated people who could organise return to places where cats can be stripped. Now, because new cats are so expensive, and supply being short - theres often waiting lists, particularly for commercial vehicles, and cats are now being stolen, simply to sell on, for far more mon ey than the original spate of cat thefts ever got for the recycling!

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This is nothing compared to the stupid feckers that steal the signalling cables from railway lines. It has apparently already cost Network Rail £44mil in the last three years and is Britain's biggest growing crime. Its causing accidents and possibly death.

Then there's the tossers I've started seeing lately stealing the stuff people leave outside charity shops, to flog them at car boot sales, lowlife scum.

Crime is down according to the stats though...

Saw a sign on the M42 the other day "No signals between junctions 4 and 8 due to vandalism" yep! someone had that for the metal too!

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