[brontecleaning]

Hi, fellow cleaners, beware thought it would not happen to me, but over night i had my full exhaust system with cat stollen of my sprinter. £2500 replacement will be going through insurance. Also losing 2-3 days work, ped off with the job at the moment with this and tough trading conditions feel like calling it aday. Anyone else suffered same misery?. I do no of a securiety device which can be fitted, but still can be removed with power tools. Unfortunately I have High roof and unable garage. Great van, and would be sorry to swap for something smaller.

[garybristow]

Unbelievable,done a job few months back,run the tm hoses through the front doors ,warned the client to be aware the front door would be open slightly,someone walked in took 2 sets of car keys,both cars gone in broad daylight
using the windows now wherever poss
gary

[Mike Halliday]

my mate is in an argument with a garage about the same thing, they told him to drop it off on a Sunday night so they could start work on it first thing Monday morning.  During the night his exhaust system was nicked.

the garage are saying it is his responsibility and should claim on his insurance, he is saying the garage told him to leave it the night before so they are responsible

[brontecleaning]

Gary did they try to put any blame on you, and do you know if the insurance paid out?

[brontecleaning]

Mike was the van left o?ver night on the road or on garage land?

[Phil Akerman]

Had the same happen to me put van in for a service they said to leave it at the front of the garage
when they went to get it the cat was stollen the garage did pay for a new one.

[Mike Halliday]

Mike was the van left o?ver night on the road or on garage land?

it was parked on an industrial estate, so on private land but still open to the public.

he's arguing that as the told him to post the key through the letter box they then had possession of the vehicle as they had the keys on their premises ( although just pushed through the letter box)

[brontecleaning]

Garage just phoned me with eatimate £2700. I wonder how much the thieving bast--d will get for it

[John Kelly]

This happened to a van over the road from us last week. Not sure if its scrappies or for another van.

[clinton]

Not heard of this new theft then with the exhaust systems..

Thanks for posting then as it will be a warning to be on your guard.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

there so easy to pinch three bolts and its off, there after the cat and you will find they will bin the rest , hubby just made a metal cage for yours and welded it all in place , they will just move on now to some other van

p.s. they will be back for your new one buy the way as they will get more money for a newer cat when weighed in , also these ex. are fetching 1500 pounds on the black market easy money for scum

[brontecleaning]

Is it just sprinters they are after?

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

yes mostly its down to how easy to get off and what there worth , i know a few lads that run cat less , plain steal jobs , custom made with holes drill in for the sencers to fit in , here and put there pipes back on for mot time , they will run alittle lumpy but they dont have any bother with vans apart from that

[Neil Williams]

Been there, got the tee shirt and book etc.
I took the main Ford dealer in this area to court over it for much the same type of incident, only in my case it was the colour coded front bumper and a few other minor exterior pieces.
Sorry it was in their possession and therefore their responsibility. They paid up in the end, probably had more to do with the CCJ I put in place against them that got their attention that I was serious.
But cat convertor theft isn't new because of the platinum in there. Big money.

my mate is in an argument with a garage about the same thing, they told him to drop it off on a Sunday night so they could start work on it first thing Monday morning.  During the night his exhaust system was nicked.

the garage are saying it is his responsibility and should claim on his insurance, he is saying the garage told him to leave it the night before so they are responsible

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

not being funny mr brontecleaning but maybe you should find an old back street welding place where a old guy of 60-70 been working there since he was 16 and get him to make you something to stop them comeing back , even if he wants 200 quid will be cheaper then loseing it again

[AshWhite]

A main dealers I used to work in went through a spate of being done over - went in a few times and relieved several cars of their alloys, as well as the catalytic convertors. They sacked 2 security companies (whose guards were on site at the time, having a snooze in the used car sales portakabin).

[Raymondo]

http://www.vanlocker.co.uk/armacat.html

[brontecleaning]

Yes first thing i will do when i get the van back is to have a guard fitted of a mate of mine who converts vw campers. I did get a letter from the police warning me about thefts, but of cou rse you dont think it will happen to yourself.  I wonder if mercedes and other manufacturers will do anything about it or are they happy to keep selling the parts?

[garybristow]

they did not blame me and they got paid out in full
i was interveiwed by the insurance co
sorry for late answer
gary

[dan paton]

check with your local mot station for peace of mind but i've been told by a trusted mechanic that diesel motors can be fitted with a downpipe instead of a cat as they get a smoke test not an emissions test . its only petrol vehicles that need one apparently they'd been failing lots of diesels but new guidelines have now been issued  but dont take my word for it call your mot station and ask.
                            dan