Talk Quesada forum

If they can access underneath the vehicle with a cordless grinder can take less than 1 min to remove , depending on size and weight the scrap value is around 80/100 euro , the replacement and the replacement of other exhaust components can potentially run into several thousand euros ..!!!

There is a lot of information on the net. I do not know much, but it seems the thieves target vehicles with plenty of ground clearance such as SUV's and vans because they can lay underneath the vehicle to get access to the engine/Exhaust area. Someone on the forum said they tried to take the one from his 'Sprinter' van but failed. My neighbour has a Mercedes people carrier/van.
My guess is that if the vehicle is in a compound and away from people, they will use a battery operated cutter. But if they do not want to make any noise because the car is outside a house, they will have to spend time quietly unbolting it, as they did with my neighbour's Mercedes.
I am not mechanically minded, but I could see that the majority of the exhaust pipe was still attached, but there was maybe a one to two foot gap between the exhaust and the engine, where the cat converter sits. Depending on the vehicle, I read a new converter can be cost between 1000 EUR and 5000 EUR.