catloc

[diverdave]

Hi, I have booked my gen 4 Prius in next Tuesday to have a catloc fitted, I have read on here that it is the best deterrent available, but I was wondering if anyone who has had one fitted has still had their catcon stolen.

[BhxTrev]

Hi Dave,

I recently had one fitted to my car although I have never had my cat stolen.

Where I used to live in the Midlands I always garaged my car at night because it would have been a sitting target to leave it out. Since moving to a more rural location, certainly while sorting out, I cannot garage my car so it’s left in a rather dark quiet situation outside over night. While I was having my car serviced at Toyota Harlech, they had mentioned that there was a failed attempt to remove the cat from one of their curtesy cars.

It certainly made my mind up to get the cat lock fitted & according to the garage all the cars that they had fitted them to, have not so far had a problem. Hopefully they are right but I’m still aware the cat lock isn’t foolproof but it does make the cat removal more difficult & as part of the job you are then registered with a company that has details of a code that’s stamped into the body of the cat.

There’s little more we can do really but it’s either cough up the best part of £300 for a cat lock or risk having it stolen with a cost in excess of £1000 plus all the aggro. I suppose Toyota ought to start fitting these cat locks as standard to their cars after all an extra couple of hundred quid on the price of a new car isn’t going to put you off buying it, especially as it’s a Toyota!

[diverdave]

Hi Trev,

Thanks for your reply, I also haven't got a garage so I have to leave it in an allocated parking space, I have heard of a couple of reports from dealerships that they have noticed failed attempts at removing the cat, so that gives me a bit of peace of mind. As for the code that is stamped on the cat do all Toyota dealerships do this as a matter of course ?

As I said in my post I think that this is the best that we can do at the moment.

[BhxTrev]

Hi Dave, 

I don’t know whether all Toyota garages offer this registration of a code/number with a security company as a matter of course, in fact after I had the cat lock fitted they gave me an info sheet with the details of how I register the code stamped on the cat, with the online company. I have to say I wasn’t expecting to get this service included but I’m quite pleased because it’s an extra level of security. They also fixed small stickers on the inside of my fix part of my rear windows advertising the fact that a cat lock had been fitted & registered.

It would be worth asking your Toyota dealer if they offer this registration as part of the deal, if not then try other Toyota outlets. Like I said I don’t know if it’s part of having a cat lock officially fitted by Toyota but there’s a fair bet having bought Toyotas for years, that all of their garages offer the same service.

[FROSTYBALLS]

See https://catloc.co.uk/security-marking/

https://www.retainagroup.com/isr/

[BhxTrev]

Hi Frosty,

As ever, most informative. Thanks for this info.

[prescotian]

has anybody had the toyota tilt sensor fitted to a gen 3 2011

[TonyHSD]

41 minutes ago, prescotian said:

has anybody had the toyota tilt sensor fitted to a gen 3 2011

This no point at all, thieves doesn’t mind alarms going off, they can do the job in two minutes. Cat plate may save you better. 👍

[Catlover]

10 hours ago, prescotian said:

has anybody had the toyota tilt sensor fitted to a gen 3 2011

It takes about a minute for the tealiefs to jack your car and cut out the cat. If a tilt alarm sounded what would the reaction be........ just think the times a car is on a car park and the alarm is going off, does anyone do anything more then look at it. If you heard an alarm going off, you look around and see a car jacked up with couple masked guys working on it....what would you do....remember they have a power till in their hand, probably a base ball bat as well. Would you really intervene? Stupid thing to do. How about dial 999....robbery in progress! 10+ minute wait for pc plod to appear. Remember, they only need a minute and they gone with the cat.

Yesterday I had an eBay bought catloc plate fitted to my Prius and Auris hybrid. Hopefully they take a look underneath, decide it’s going to tak 3 minutes and not 1, and go do another car. Better option then an alarm I think.

[prescotian]

Thanks for reply, as a family with 3 prius's my son had his CC stolen by his front door and found out on his way to work, first we knew of problem it was a well kept secret.

So my thinking was I'd know before I'd go out if I have a car that would function.

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, prescotian said:

Thanks for reply, as a family with 3 prius's my son had his CC stolen by his front door and found out on his way to work, first we knew of problem it was a well kept secret.

So my thinking was I'd know before I'd go out if I have a car that would function.

I dont want them to get to the point they stole it, costing me well over £1000 and a car off the road till one in stock. Thought is having a plate will slow them down so much they will go away and do someone else.

[PeteB]

On 10/29/2020 at 3:36 PM, diverdave said:

Hi, I have booked my gen 4 Prius in next Tuesday to have a catloc fitted, I have read on here that it is the best deterrent available, but I was wondering if anyone who has had one fitted has still had their catcon stolen.

I've seen a handful of posts from people who've had a cat stolen despite a catloc being fitted (most of not all had already been hit once, hence the catloc).

Obviously, anything that reduces risk may be worthwhile, but there are no guarantees.

Here's one example, which if you read down didn't have a happy ending:  

 

[wass]

I have been reading about disappearing catalytic converters for some time. What I dont really understand is why I have only seen reports of catalytic converters being stolen from Toyotas. Are Toyota catalytic converters easier to steal? Are Toyotas easier to jack up? Do toyota use thinner metal on their exhaust systems? Most cars with internal combustion engines use catalytic converters. My non Toyota car is routinely locked up in an alarmed garage at night but it is always parked in the same spot in a multi-storey car park with no cameras in the day time.The incidence of catalytic converter related crime in that public car park is very lowhowever, I have noticed that there arent many Toyotas in the car cark either.

I am thinking of changing my car for a 2016 Prius, however, I draw the line at seemingly being forced into fooling around with supplimentary anti theft devices. Just how commonplace is catalytic converter crime? Has anyone seen any figures?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Certain Audis, Hondas, Mercedes Sprinter vans and vehicles with good ground clearance (SUV's, pick ups, etc) are susceptible to cat theft as well.

[Catlover]

The bGen4 Prius is a very nice car to drive, very economic. Monday this week I drove approx 50 mile return and averaged just over 71 mpg. That was some M-way, some A and some B roads.  The Prius is easy to jack up, like any car really.  The reason why Hybrids are attractive to cat thieves is because the cats are cleaner inside (due toi the engine only running approx 50-55% of the time), Cleaner inside means cleaner precious metals - which is what they after - they not stealing to sell on the cat, they stealing for precious metals.  I seen video and it takes about 1 minute to take out a cat - they use cordless grinders, Its noisy, yes - but would you interupt a thief if he has an assistant with a baseball bat in his hand,  Scrap merchants are supposed to log various items coming in, and inform police of anyone returning with same sort of items........but whose checking? (No one). Thefts of cats can be into a container and out of the country and no one knows.   I put a plate on mine, a catloc, purchased from someone south London, cost £45, local garage fitted it for £15. A lot of catlocs are 1.5mm or 2mm, this one is 3mm so gonna take longer.  Its easy but you need a vehicle ramp preferably. You can put a couple of securing bolts on, anything to slow the theft and the thief go away and find an easier, faster theft. Thats what it is about, a deterent..

[TonyHSD]

Hi, Toyota hybrids been a highly popular target because of the reasons mentioned above plus it’s super easy to get into the cat under the car where other makes and models it’s more difficult. Thieves are working by order mostly and this is what have been told to steal from, metal recyclers local and from abroad are the one to blame, they pay good money and stimulate thieves to steal. They usually works in group of three or more, have professional jacks and tools, ready to fight but in general looking for a quick and easy steal due to the fact they have their runaway car full of stock and not taking a risk been caught by members public or police, the lost would be huge. They get paid very well indeed, £300 upwards per person on a good day it’s very likely  👍 

[PeteB]

On 12/16/2020 at 9:32 PM, Catlover said:

... would you interupt a thief if he has an assistant with a baseball bat in his hand...

or worse.  One chap reported hearing noises outside his house, looked out a window to see his car jacked up with a guy under it.  When he went outside one of them approached him with a machete, which persuaded him dart back inside and watch as the dastardly deed was finished.

[Catlover]

42 minutes ago, PeteB said:

or worse.  One chap reported hearing noises outside his house, looked out a window to see his car jacked up with a guy under it.  When he went outside one of them approached him with a machete, which persuaded him dart back inside and watch as the dastardly deed was finished.

Very wise move, no time for bravery, nor stupidity.

See one police force down south-east somewhere raided a place and found 5 cats, evidence of others - first time I heard of positive action.

[TonyHSD]

A well trained man like police or ex forces man can easily disarm those crocks but it’s a bit of risk and the worst is what will happen afterwards. Police will lock you up or the thieves will return for revenge, the problem is that if you witness that happens to your own car you never know how will react for the moment, as you said “ no time for bravery, nor stupidity “ , hopefully we will never find out. They just better take it. Putting another 100 k miles then will remove the plate and stick a label on the car please help yourself with my catalytic converter 😂👍👌

[wass]

I suppose that once the thieves have stolen a cat from outside someones home, they are bound to return on repeated occasions since they will know that the cat fitted to the car is almost new. Maybe the best option once a cat has been stolen is to buy another type of car entirely.

  I would imagine that cars parked outside homes at night are the easiest targets. Its rather a pity that the police dont appear to have the time to publish crime prevention statistics which might highlight the most susceptible areas, times of day, times of year etc. As regards actually catching thieves, we should assume that under current funding, it is unlikely that sufficient resources will ever be available and this in itself establishes a life of crime against private individuals as an easy career option with little training required and minimal cash outlay.

[Catlover]

Geof (was),  what car would you recommend someone to buy.

Catalytic converters to cars have been a legal requirement since 1993.

[ian999]

Five men in Lincolnshire were arrested in connection with catalytic convertor theft, police have also siezed 2 motors from them.

[TonyHSD]

This madness can be stopped easily in no time , however the men with power that just need to adjust the law slightly seems like does not accept those as serious crimes and police cannot do anything, even they doesn’t care about it. Is it that difficult to ban a car parts as scrap metal trade? , not at all. They can do that and any man on the street with a used car part in hand that can not proof it is from his personal vehicle and he is not a registered trader with license for breaking cars counts as criminal the outcome will be very different. Today’s are the cats, tomorrow perhaps the batteries of Ev’s 🤭🚗👌 my Battery is dead, the car won’t not start ,.. ops it’s not dead buddy,  it’s just not there 😂👌

[wass]

4 hours ago, Catlover said:

Geof (was),  what car would you recommend someone to buy.

Catalytic converters to cars have been a legal requirement since 1993.

Cars that are a buggar to get a jack under

 

[wass]

4 hours ago, Catlover said:

Geof (was),  what car would you recommend someone to buy.

Catalytic converters to cars have been a legal requirement since 1993.

By the way, do you really love catalytic converters?