beware of cat thiefs
11-08-11, 03:38 PM
#1
beware of cat thiefs
if you have an OEM cat beware that people are stealing them now and have been for a while.
my girlfriend's S5 GXL was parked behind my shop and the new landlord was ripping down the fence to put up new retaining walls, low and behold when i went to move her car it sounded like a pissed off lawnmower. at least they were courteous enough to unbolt the header flange but destroyed the catback, not like it was welded and took as much effort to remove as the header....
but anyways, ME-OW! time to start capping some bitches.
my girlfriend's S5 GXL was parked behind my shop and the new landlord was ripping down the fence to put up new retaining walls, low and behold when i went to move her car it sounded like a pissed off lawnmower. at least they were courteous enough to unbolt the header flange but destroyed the catback, not like it was welded and took as much effort to remove as the header....
but anyways, ME-OW! time to start capping some bitches.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 11-08-11 at 03:43 PM.
11-08-11, 05:03 PM
#4
nooooo,
Broke *** ,wont get a job, always praying on others hard earned personal belongings suck!!
All I have to say is hi to "MR. Springfield Armory XD9 and MR. "THROW AWAY".
They sell it to recycling yards, in some cases depending on the size of the cat and the internal material you can get $15-$80 cash.
BTW...... BMWs carry platinum in their cats. There was a big cat robbery in a dealer in tampa Florida. They took a crap load of cats from the cars on the dealer lot. Netted a little of $3000 a few years ago.
Broke *** ,wont get a job, always praying on others hard earned personal belongings suck!!
All I have to say is hi to "MR. Springfield Armory XD9 and MR. "THROW AWAY".
They sell it to recycling yards, in some cases depending on the size of the cat and the internal material you can get $15-$80 cash.
BTW...... BMWs carry platinum in their cats. There was a big cat robbery in a dealer in tampa Florida. They took a crap load of cats from the cars on the dealer lot. Netted a little of $3000 a few years ago.
Last edited by Alex Rodriguez; 11-08-11 at 05:07 PM.
11-08-11, 05:39 PM
#5
more like $100-150 per main cat for these cars.
i'm working on getting the local recyclers to stop purchasing used cats from "walk ins", this should be common sense anyways. but it's probably an uphill battle because they make money on the precious metals, people have been stealing copper wire for years yet recyclers still have no objection to buying it from just anyone. then again if i can find the cat it's obvious it's a match to this particular car as it was cut through the adapter for the main cat which slipped over the exhaust, ie 2 pipes cut at a certain angle and the header flange was unbolted so the length and angles would be just like a fingerprint for this car.
being in posession of stolen merchandise is just as bad as stealing it yourself. the OEM cat costs close to $2k which is well past grand theft(granted i can't even recall what style converter this car originally had, hopefully it was aftermarket and they only get $10 for it...well technically they stole 2 cats, both precat and main).
if i happened to come across someone in process, i honestly won't even mention on this forum what i would do. the police don't give a ****, they took a 10 second police report and we won't hear another word about it, just like the windshield that was vandalized.
i'll probably see if i can contact the ADA for the county, but also doubt they will do much unless it is more widespread than i have heard, usually these things go in phases but this area is severely depressed.
i'm more irritated than anything about the fact that it's going to take me half a day to reverse the damage, not counting cost of a cat which thankfully i actually have a good OE cat for emissions testing purposes lying around. i'm already dumping a few hundred into rebuilding the motor for it, another half day replacing the busted windshield not counting the misc repairs that it needed in the first place.
i'm working on getting the local recyclers to stop purchasing used cats from "walk ins", this should be common sense anyways. but it's probably an uphill battle because they make money on the precious metals, people have been stealing copper wire for years yet recyclers still have no objection to buying it from just anyone. then again if i can find the cat it's obvious it's a match to this particular car as it was cut through the adapter for the main cat which slipped over the exhaust, ie 2 pipes cut at a certain angle and the header flange was unbolted so the length and angles would be just like a fingerprint for this car.
being in posession of stolen merchandise is just as bad as stealing it yourself. the OEM cat costs close to $2k which is well past grand theft(granted i can't even recall what style converter this car originally had, hopefully it was aftermarket and they only get $10 for it...well technically they stole 2 cats, both precat and main).
if i happened to come across someone in process, i honestly won't even mention on this forum what i would do. the police don't give a ****, they took a 10 second police report and we won't hear another word about it, just like the windshield that was vandalized.
i'll probably see if i can contact the ADA for the county, but also doubt they will do much unless it is more widespread than i have heard, usually these things go in phases but this area is severely depressed.
i'm more irritated than anything about the fact that it's going to take me half a day to reverse the damage, not counting cost of a cat which thankfully i actually have a good OE cat for emissions testing purposes lying around. i'm already dumping a few hundred into rebuilding the motor for it, another half day replacing the busted windshield not counting the misc repairs that it needed in the first place.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 11-08-11 at 05:53 PM.
11-08-11, 05:54 PM
#7
no thanks, our current cat just cost me $1k in vet bills for surgery, then this. it's been a shitty week.
by the way, it was cut with a sawzall so good luck defending against it. also had to jack up the vehicle to get at it so even low to the ground cars are not immune as they used to be. trucks used to be the big target for this kind of theft because they wouldn't need to be jacked up to remove it. too bad the incline wasn't steeper, it would be nice to see darwinism in action with a flattened thief under the car when i came outside.
by the way, it was cut with a sawzall so good luck defending against it. also had to jack up the vehicle to get at it so even low to the ground cars are not immune as they used to be. trucks used to be the big target for this kind of theft because they wouldn't need to be jacked up to remove it. too bad the incline wasn't steeper, it would be nice to see darwinism in action with a flattened thief under the car when i came outside.
Last edited by RotaryEvolution; 11-08-11 at 06:07 PM.
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11-08-11, 06:27 PM
#9
or sell them to people who need them for emissions, it boggles me that people pitch them and cali is clamping down on aftermarket replacement cats so old OEM cats are worth their weight in gold, or well at least in platinum.. save at least one for your own car, sell the rest to the community who got rid of theirs without sense. i have about 5 or so OEM cats and i know they're worth more than recycling fees, look up how much an OEM replacement is and you might crap your pants.
11-09-11, 12:17 AM
#13
Hard times USA strikes again just one more thing to worry about at night. Good thing theres a gun show up here this weekend maybe I can buy some kind of motion sensor turret that pops out of the ground.
On a side note Karack I seny you an email about some work Id like done on my fd. My computer was acting wierd so if you didnt get it let me know.
On a side note Karack I seny you an email about some work Id like done on my fd. My computer was acting wierd so if you didnt get it let me know.
11-09-11, 09:36 AM
#15
It's not just BMW cats that contain platinum - - the chemical catalyst coating on the honeycomb requires platinum (or palladium and rhodium) in order to work. Platinum is the most commonly used, even though it's expensive, because it lasts longer - - which is why nearly all OEM cats use platinum: they have to provide long warranties on the emissions systems these days.
11-10-11, 05:18 PM
#16
the implications matter
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Trucks are the worst because they don't even need to jack up the vehicle. There's a reason I'm working on a full skid for my Jeep. I think I could have the cat out in about 30 seconds otherwise.
11-10-11, 05:25 PM
#17
rotard
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I will laugh so hard when someone tries to steal mine, it's gutted. On a serious note there are plenty of people getting their cats jacked down here in the Dallas/ft worth area as well.
11-18-11, 12:58 AM
#21
I hate that ****, they even have had that up here in our area, it's kinda rural so it's surprising. I don't have any cats on my GS but it's lame that people have such a lack of morals these days. All these Toyota trucks and four runners were mainly targeted, because something in the OE Toyota cats makes them more valuable than the others is what I understand.
11-18-11, 02:25 AM
#22
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Thats ridiculous. Thanks for the heads up. With Mazda charging exorbitant prices for OEM cats, and California's law requiring each aftermarket replacement cat be made exactly for each model specific car, this would be a pricey fix after having one stolen.
http://mazdatrix.com/e5.htm
http://mazdatrix.com/e5.htm
11-20-11, 03:27 AM
#24
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finding the correct cat in stock was hard, since odb2 cats are vehicle specific. cant use a universal weld on, in cali. smog computers show which cat id number is allowed for that vehicle.
also a neighbor had the cat stolen from his 4runner at night. he posted a note warning of the lowlifes in the area on the mailboxes. a neighbor told him his tacoma cat also was stolen at night. all the victims trucks/suv can be crawled under. my friend now has to worry about losing the new cat at home and at work. im thinking they are not looking for weld ons, nor odb2, just oem. i wonder if they have serial numbers.
11-20-11, 03:55 AM
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I hate that ****, they even have had that up here in our area, it's kinda rural so it's surprising. I don't have any cats on my GS but it's lame that people have such a lack of morals these days. All these Toyota trucks and four runners were mainly targeted, because something in the OE Toyota cats makes them more valuable than the others is what I understand.
Last edited by night; 11-20-11 at 03:58 AM. Reason: correct number