Stealing of catalytic convertors from driveway.

[jaydee]

We had a news story the other night here in Perth where scum are stealing catalytic convertors.
Home CCTV shows a car drive past a house in the middle of the night.
Then somone runs into the driveway, slides under the 4WD using a battery powered saw and cuts off the catalytic convertor, gone in 3 minutes.
Owner comes out, starts up his car to go to work, WTF.
They interviewed a guy at an exhaust shop and said he's seeing more of it lately.
One car yard had 4 cars done.
Apparently worth about $200 at the scrap metal dealer.
Police in WA are trying to make scrap dealers more accountable and keep records like pawn shops have to. This mainly because of water meters and copper being stolen.
So just a warning so you don't become a victim.

[roKWiz]

Geeze what next......I'm not surprised after reading Ebv8 Terri project thread.
Worth good money for the platinum I guess.

I had to take the crooked KW badge off the front of my truck due to the price of them going skyhigh thanks to ebay. One recently sold for $1500.

[jpblue1000]

This comes and goes every few years. When the economy is doing tough the cats get pinched.
JP

[wodahs]

and $200 a cat id like to know the scrapper as last i knew it was $50 as a retired work colleague runs a bit of scrap from his yard that we help him with here in SE Perth
a few of us would wreck cars for parts to use or sell that we'd get on the cheap and he'd on the scrap

[Franco Cozzo]

This sounds like something that would have happened in the 1980s when cars just started being fitted with cat converters

Surely in 2020 a crappy old cat converter would be worth absolutely zilch for scrap.

[Jastel]

What's the dealers address??

I got $25 each for mine recently!!
Only $2 for car battery as well...prices are low now.

[Citroënbender]

Around my way the buyers are East Europeans or Afghans. But never got $150 a cat myself, lucky to see a third.

If people want to see what’s coming next check out the spare wheel thievery from lifted utes. Super slick.

[XC_Lizzard]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

This sounds like something that would have happened in the 1980s when cars just started being fitted with cat converters

Surely in 2020 a crappy old cat converter would be worth absolutely zilch for scrap.

Even in 2020 a crappy old cat convertor still contains recoverable platinum.

[happy1]

But those electric hack-saws are extremely noisy, often louder than an angle grinder! It would attract a lot of attention. I'm sure the whole neighborhood would be awake after cutting out one with a saw in the driveway in the middle of the night.

That story sounds fishy, almost like insurance fraud or a prank by some buddies, or revenge after some business gone bad.

Also, the scrap value of one Cat can't possibly be as you mentioned more than $25 to $50, It is a lot of work to cut out and refine the platinum from them.

Cheers,

[Citroënbender]

In the UK, cat theft tool of choice was a chain type tube cutter.

[wodahs]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

In the UK, cat theft tool of choice was a chain type tube cutter.

thats what id use
wraps around like an oil filter remover and hooks back in to its self and then you just tighten it move back n forth and tighten it letting the wheels cut the pipe but its still a lot of work for little profit and the cost of the tool to boot

[jaydee]

After doing a bit of a search it's pretty rampant, especially in the UK
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/ne...-daylight.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybMIkySaXk

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/cr...0-seconds.html

[Franco Cozzo]

Does a DPF have expensive materials in it? Because its much bigger and there's a whole lotta lifted Thailand specials about the place

[JC]

Originally Posted by wodahs

and $200 a cat id like to know the scrapper as last i knew it was $50 as a retired work colleague runs a bit of scrap from his yard that we help him with here in SE Perth
a few of us would wreck cars for parts to use or sell that we'd get on the cheap and he'd on the scrap

BA cat is worth $50. BF NA I6 cat is worth $280 odd for the paladium in them. Turbos worth around $200. FG worth over $300.....

[prktkljokr]

I sell mine to these guys, I had a converter from a Astra convertible that was worth $900, prices vary quite a bit, the guys who run around buying from Gumtree for $50, make decent coin if they nab some decent ones
https://www.catalyticconverterrecycling.com/

[ford71V8]

Yep, quite common right now in Adelaide it seems
The person we know that had their cat removed overnight looked for local mechanic help first thing that morning and was told she was number 5 for that week.
She was told it was a $200 return

[GO FURTHER]

Hmm... If cats are worth upwards of $200 to scrappers, then every wrecker in this country would have a wrecking yard full of cars with no cats.

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Hmm... If cats are worth upwards of $200 to scrappers, then every wrecker in this country would have a wrecking yard full of cars with no cats.

Well the ones that pull the cats straight away.

I have a mate that has a wrecking yard, he has been broken into a few times and all they take is his stash of cats and alloy rims.

[roKWiz]

Nothing surprised me anymore.
A few years back, bronze, brass and stainless propellers were going missing from moored boats, marinas and boatyards.
We had at least six boats loose their props one night in a secure DIY boatyard most of us heard nothing.
Inflatable dinghy's were the other high theft items from marinas. We caught 2 idiots in the night trying to pull a fellow liveaboarder's dinghy over the security gate in Newcastle marina, after they had cut all the lines off his foredeck to get it.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Hmm... If cats are worth upwards of $200 to scrappers, then every wrecker in this country would have a wrecking yard full of cars with no cats.

I have yet to see a cat converter on a Falcon at pickapart.

(Edit) Converters are $103.50 on their price list.

[CyberWasp]

The price of Cats has taken a dive overnight.

[Tonz]

oh furr balls

[Jastel]

Price depends on where you live obviously...away from the refining places like me they pay low as they need to freight it down to the big smoke. And the recyclers need several tons to make a trip pay.

Think my cars are safe at $25 per cat.

[Tonz]

over this part of the state we are usually friendly but when some foreign knob starts advertising to but cat converters on FB he was politely told how to rearrange his head between his as s cheeks

[towtaltowing]

Originally Posted by JC

BA cat is worth $50. BF NA I6 cat is worth $280 odd for the paladium in them. Turbos worth around $200. FG worth over $300.....

Prices have gone up this week


There’s a few varies on the above
But mostly yes
And some cats are worth a lot more than u think


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xisled]

One of my good friends owns a wreckers in the wester suburbs of Melbourne.

First thing he does is remove the cat from the car and puts it into a bin so he can sell.

He makes a fair bit monthly depending on what cars he has wrecked for the month.

Not many people realise cats are worth anything, so not surprising they get knocked off.

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Around my way the buyers are East Europeans or Afghans. But never got $150 a cat myself, lucky to see a third.

If people want to see what’s coming next check out the spare wheel thievery from lifted utes. Super slick.

Surprised it doesn’t happen more.5-6 years ago some enterprising bod got himself a full set of new tyres and rims by knocking off the spare wheels of the Rangers in the new car yard.After that they now don’t leave the spares winched up under the back of newies.

[Citroënbender]

In ZA it’s done with a sliding door van like an older Hiace. They pull up right behind a ute parked nose-to-kerb, old mate crouched in the back opens the sidling door and throws a rug under the ute rear. Winds down the spare from inside the van.

When it’s on the deck, ducks out/under, unhooks the carrier and pulls the wheel/rug sandwich into the van, they drive off.

[.:4:.]

From memory in NSW atleast im pretty sure an individual cant scrap more then $80 worth without an ABN. Also they cant pay cash anymore, it has to go in a bank account. Its to stop the tax free income. On demos ive seen many arguments over scrap cable. My old boss makes thousands per year in scrap alone. He even bought an electric cable stripper so every few weeks would get an apprentice to spend a day or 2 stripping because stripped copper is worth more then sheathed.
Years ago, the junkies down the street from where i then lived would go around at night to houses being constructed and strip out the new cabling. One sparky got jack of that, so put j boxs on everything and livened it all up. One of the junkies got pretty badly blown up.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

In ZA it’s done with a sliding door van like an older Hiace. They pull up right behind a ute parked nose-to-kerb, old mate crouched in the back opens the sidling door and throws a rug under the ute rear.
When it’s on the deck, ducks out/under, unhooks the carrier and pulls the wheel/rug sandwich into the van, they drive off.

Also good for the occasional drive by kidnap I guess.