Talk Quesada forum

Just forewarning residents, some time overnight, a neighbour of mine had the catalytic converter removed and stolen from his German people carrier. He was told by the garage that his was one of several stolen overnight.
This theft was in the Dona Pepa 2 area.
He now has to wait for a replacement and the converters are expensive.

They also tried to get mine off my sprinter but failed I think they must of been disturbed.

And when you have the new one fitted they will come back and take that as well ...nice little earner . Invest in a cat lock , a little pricy but a lot cheaper than buying new cats and the work and labour involved ..!!

My neighbour was told the replacement cost could be between 1000 EUR and 3000 EUR. I read on the AA website that they are usually cut off, but it looked like they simply removed the nuts/bolts, so would have been quiet. I was reading till about 2am and my neighbour's car was more or less outside our house, but I did not hear anything.
I do wonder whether the stolen converters are scrapped for the precious metal or recirculated intact in the local car market. As another member indicated, the thieves now know where their targets are and might steal the replacements.
In the UK, I have just bought a 2 year old BMW X3 and will now look at a Cat lock, or some other means of deterring the thieves.

There is now a Thatcham approved electronic alarm you can have fitted, have yet to find a price yet tho as it seems that you have to have it fitted by an approved fitter.

Many thanks for the info!

I looked at a solution from a different angle. I bought a small PIR GSM detector on eBay, got a PAYG SIM card from Carrefour and position it each night so that it detects movement around my car and front patio. If it does, it sends me an instant text message to my mobile phone.

Found it ... Pro-catt 11/111 manufactured by Secure Micro Solutions Leeds . Thatcham approved at £139.99 for basic model + other options [ sms etc ] , seem to be a fit it yourself standalone system . A lot better set up than the Cat Strap monstrosity available in/from the USA ..!!

Many thanks for that!

What sort of cars are they targeting ? New ? Any Special Make ? How long does it take to remove the component ?
Any further info would be most beneficial to car owners in that particular area and Quesada in general, as it is most likely these thieves will move to another area in the near future