Cat stolen today

[Stivino]

12 minutes ago, mcntosh said:

So much for the marine-grade steel in the catloc. I also have the Toyota one. Maybe I should have saved my money.

Marine grade only means that it won't corrode.

[Mojo1010]

Sorry to hear, a few years ago I was seriously considering getting an auris hybrid until i read about cat theft. My neighbour's auris had it taken at night. Doesn't have to be your last hybrid as the Yaris and corolla have the cat at the manifold where it cannot be get at. 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Mojo1010 said:

Sorry to hear, a few years ago I was seriously considering getting an auris hybrid until i read about cat theft. My neighbour's auris had it taken at night. Doesn't have to be your last hybrid as the Yaris and corolla have the cat at the manifold where it cannot be get at. 

Agreed, Auris is the most targeted one from all and not only the hybrids but also the 1.6 petrol as they have same cat exhaust set up. Prius gen 2 and 3 and Prius plus are the next and many Lexus cars including ct200h. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Stivino said:

Marine grade only means that it won't corrode.

It would appear that ships aren't built using it! Possibly just a fancy alternative name for stainless steel of a specific grade.

[Stivino]

6 minutes ago, olonas said:

It would appear that ships aren't built using it! Possibly just a fancy alternative name for stainless steel of a specific grade.

Only certain parts will need to use that grade.  

[Steven83]

3 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

Sorry to hear, a few years ago I was seriously considering getting an auris hybrid until i read about cat theft. My neighbour's auris had it taken at night. Doesn't have to be your last hybrid as the Yaris and corolla have the cat at the manifold where it cannot be get at. 

Is this true? I was just about to ask this question on the forum.

So the Corolla and Yaris are safe from cat theft?

is it the same for Lexus models? 
 

thanks 

[Cyker]

The newer models have the main cat bolted to the engine so it can't be nicked without cutting through the bulkhead between the engine bay and the passenger compartment or removing the engine.

They also have less of the metals the thieves are after so they're more likely to go after other cars - It seems they're been briefed surprisingly well on what cars have valuable cats, and it's not just hybrids: SUVs with exposed cats are particularly at risk too because their high ground clearance makes it very easy as they don't even need to be jacked up!

 

[Steven83]

9 minutes ago, Cyker said:

The newer models have the main cat bolted to the engine so it can't be nicked without cutting through the bulkhead between the engine bay and the passenger compartment or removing the engine.

They also have less of the metals the thieves are after so they're more likely to go after other cars - It seems they're been briefed surprisingly well on what cars have valuable cats, and it's not just hybrids: SUVs with exposed cats are particularly at risk too because their high ground clearance makes it very easy as they don't even need to be jacked up!

 

Thanks cyker. I quite fancy a Corolla as I had one for a few months as a courtesy car but I’m still uncertain if it is worth the risk as I need to continue to use the car park where mine was just stolen. 
 

I’ve just been reading on the Corolla forum and there has been one stolen but if seems the morons took the muffler instead. 
 

do we yet know if the 2.0 or the 1.8 is the less likely to be targeted? 

[tfc]

You need something like this , just needs modifying a little 🤣

 

[Cyker]

Also good for a countryside picnic barbecue!  

40 minutes ago, Steven83 said:

Thanks cyker. I quite fancy a Corolla as I had one for a few months as a courtesy car but I’m still uncertain if it is worth the risk as I need to continue to use the car park where mine was just stolen. 
 

I’ve just been reading on the Corolla forum and there has been one stolen but if seems the morons took the muffler instead. 
 

do we yet know if the 2.0 or the 1.8 is the less likely to be targeted? 

So far, aside from copycats nicking the aforementioned resonator, I haven't heard of any of the newer Toyotas being targeted.

That said, for some reason, there have been incidences of people nicking the front of the new Yaris, so it's not all roses!

The newer ones so far seem to be at far lower risk of theft than the older ones, but as with all things the risk is not zero!

[flash22]

On 4/22/2023 at 12:48 PM, tfc said:

Yes it's called a cordless angle grinder.  

A reciprocating saw with a long hardened/carbide blade

[TonyHSD]

Newer models are definitely safer bet. When we had ours taken there were two chr and 3 Prius gen 4 along the street before our car and they did not touched them, just ours, easy target. 

See this heat shield hanging down, I see cars parked on the side of ten roads in London and these hanging down on the,, which means the fellas with the saws just been around 🫢

My girls even make a jokes with me, they often asked me “ dad where didn’t you parked your car”? And when I reply they are telling me “ lol, good luck with your cat converter then, you will be lucky if they missed you  “ 😂🫢

[yossarian247]

On 4/22/2023 at 8:35 AM, Steven83 said:

Legally De-Cat that should say.

Strictly speaking you can't legally de-cat anything. If it had a cat from new it's supposed to still have one. Having said that in the early 2000s I de-catted a '97 Xantia diesel, but de-catting wasn't really talked about then (with diesels anyway), and wasn't an MOT issue at that time. It would be an immediate MOT failure now.

[Davidhee58]

Sorry to hear this scary story!, so far the cat thefts have had 2 seperate attemps on my car since the Toyota catloc and tilt alarm were installed after my cat was stolen in 2019, lucky me, though they did some minor damages to the jack point area, hadn't touched my catlock yet! I don't know if the catloc, or the tilt alarm, was deterrent to the thefts, then they gave up?  

 

[AisinW]

17 hours ago, Davidhee58 said:

Sorry to hear this scary story!, so far the cat thefts have had 2 seperate attemps on my car since the Toyota catloc and tilt alarm were installed after my cat was stolen in 2019, lucky me, though they did some minor damages to the jack point area, hadn't touched my catlock yet! I don't know if the catloc, or the tilt alarm, was deterrent to the thefts, then they gave up?  

 

I think both deterred them.  In busy area, catlock is more effective but in suburban, alarm is more effective. Does anyone tried painting the cat with heat resistant paint before?  I found some on Lidl couple weeks ago. It is black tough.  I wished it is glowing orange or yellow. 

[Steven83]

1 hour ago, AisinW said:

I think both deterred them.  In busy area, catlock is more effective but in suburban, alarm is more effective. Does anyone tried painting the cat with heat resistant paint before?  I found some on Lidl couple weeks ago. It is black tough.  I wished it is glowing orange or yellow. 

If you watch the video I posted they cut through my cat lock while people are passing and it was 2:30pm.

 

They don’t care who see’s them and they would probably use violence if challenged.

 

I’m sure using deterrents will stop some, but clearly not all.

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Steven83 said:

If you watch the video I posted they cut through my cat lock while people are passing and it was 2:30pm.

 

They don’t care who see’s them and they would probably use violence if challenged.

 

I’m sure using deterrents will stop some, but clearly not all.

Indeed. Those low life’s are really prepared to fight and cause you more issues. They are also often dressed as mechanics and wear high visibility vests. All passerby should do is to call the police and not intervene in any other way. Have you had hybrids Badge removed from your car? Sorry to ask maybe second time. 

[AisinW]

There are few things we can do, take pictures or video of the scene.  Their cars or plate can help investigations.  We also cought some of the mafia in mainland europe. They works as organization and often travels accross countries with van/trucks. Fortunately, Swiss and Germany border are pretty tight to smuggle stolen bikes, furnitures, or metals. 

[Davidhee58]

9 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Indeed. Those low life’s are really prepared to fight and cause you more issues. They are also often dressed as mechanics and wear high visibility vests. All passerby should do is to call the police and not intervene in any other way. Have you had hybrids badge removed from your car? Sorry to ask maybe second time. 

Following your suggestions, I removed all hybrid badges and painted the front and back Toyota logo in black as well, thought all of these might make my car hard to be recognised as a Toyota hybrid, but they still attempted on my car, what else can we do?🥵

[TonyHSD]

10 hours ago, Davidhee58 said:

Following your suggestions, I removed all hybrid badges and painted the front and back Toyota logo in black as well, thought all of these might make my car hard to be recognised as a Toyota hybrid, but they still attempted on my car, what else can we do?🥵

Thanks. Nothing else really, just hope these men not to stop by. They cut off 1.6 petrol as seen on a video that two cars one hybrid and non hybrid were targeted at the same time. , however depending on the area and who they are some definitely will skip the non hybrid Toyota models. 
I would say it’s a pure luck.