Educate me about catalytic convertor theft

SexyGreyFox

SexyGreyFox

SexyGreyFox

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So a friend has head their catalytic convertor stolen off a Morrisons car park in daylight.
They rang their insurance who said it will cost too much to repair so will have to 'write off' the car.
Some people in the office said you can run without one but will need to put a straight pipe on (I have read this can be done).
Another person said 'You can go to Joe Bloggs Garage and they'll do you one for about £300 but others said that is illegal and will invalidate insurance.

So what is it, pretty sure someone on here has experienced this?
 
all depends on the vehicle, and how much damage they did removing the cat. normally in broad daylight they wont just undo the bolts nowadays they use cordless cutters or manual cutters to rag the pipe.
running without the cat can cause all sorts of problems and is usually a mot failure.

daughter had hers cut off and we ended up replacing the whole exhaust and cat via ebay was about 350 if i remember correctly vauxall zaphira. asked the insurance and they said on a 2008 it would write it which i thought was silly untill you realise that they were basing prices on manufactures rates over four figures with labour , so as she knows the car she decided to take the hit and pay for it herself......well bank of mum and dad with muggins doing the labour :).
 
you can get shields that bolt on under the car to cover the cat which would hamper them but they are really brazen about it.
 
gc123 said:
daughter had hers cut off and we ended up replacing the whole exhaust and cat via ebay was about 350 if i remember correctly vauxall zaphira. asked the insurance and they said on a 2008 it would write it which i thought was silly untill you realise that they were basing prices on manufactures rates over four figures with labour , so as she knows the car she decided to take the hit and pay for it herself......well bank of mum and dad with muggins doing the labour :).
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This was the bit where somebody said you can't do because insurance would be invalid, it has to be done by a proper Honda garage!!
 
The car will run fine. Mechanically.

However your exhaust gas will now fail an emissions check. Which is the point of the cat, to clean up the exhaust gas before it gets out.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
This was the bit where somebody said you can't do because insurance would be invalid, it has to be done by a proper Honda garage!!
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If i'm reading this right, someone is telling you that fitting an aftermarket cat at an independent rather than a Honda one, at a Honda dealership, will invalidate insurance?

Absolute crap, if that's what is being suggested
 
You can probably find a used one cheap and then either DIY it or pay a local garage. It just need to get done before the next MOT, but it will probably loud AF without it.

Insurers will get stupid quotes to fix it which is why they want to write it off.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
So a friend has head their catalytic convertor stolen off a Morrisons car park in daylight.
They rang their insurance who said it will cost too much to repair so will have to 'write off' the car.
Some people in the office said you can run without one but will need to put a straight pipe on (I have read this can be done).
Another person said 'You can go to Joe Bloggs Garage and they'll do you one for about £300 but others said that is illegal and will invalidate insurance.

So what is it, pretty sure someone on here has experienced this?
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You can't run a straight pipe and get through emissions on 99% of cars - and even if you can, having the cat visibly removed and replaced by a straight pipe is an MOT fail anyway.
 
Once upon a time in a truck you parked with the fuel tank tight against something to prevent fuel theft, these days its sod the tanks and make sure the cat is impossible to get near, they don't even need to jack a truck up they just slide underneath with a Stihl saw. :/
 
Nasher said:
You can probably find a used one cheap and then either DIY it or pay a local garage. It just need to get done before the next MOT, but it will probably loud AF without it.

Insurers will get stupid quotes to fix it which is why they want to write it off.
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Wont be that cheap though, hence people stealing it. Though it will be better than brand new, that’s for sure.
 
Amos91 said:
Wont be that cheap though, hence people stealing it. Though it will be better than brand new, that’s for sure.
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They are cheaper on ebay. I'm not sure why they bothered stealing it as it's only ones from hybrid cars which are expensive.

The fact insurers write off cars for this is stupid. The car is perfectly fine.
 
Nasher said:
They are cheaper on ebay. I'm not sure why they bothered stealing it as it's only ones from hybrid cars which are expensive.

The fact insurers write off cars for this is stupid. The car is perfectly fine and it pushes the insurance costs up for everyone for no reason.
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The raw metal prices have all gone a bit mental. Even Clio 172 genuine cats are being bought by recyclers in the region of £400-500. Hybrids definitely do top that though!
 
Nasher said:
They are cheaper on ebay. I'm not sure why they bothered stealing it as it's only ones from hybrid cars which are expensive.

The fact insurers write off cars for this is stupid. The car is perfectly fine.
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yeah good plan. Fuel the problem by buying the replacement...

Japanese tend to have higher precious metals and the cats on hybrids tend to be in better continue due to the EV mode on Prius. Of course the Jazz doesn’t really have an EV mode so I’m not sure you point it really relevant, valid or indeed helpful.
 
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