Stealin' rotton no good bastards...

[Jr ///M5]

They stole the catalytic converter from Aubrey's '91 318is, just a few blocks from college in Cincinnatti while he was at a friends house.

Son-of-a-bitches....they might get $100 for a 20 year old cat, but it'll cost 4 or $500 to replace it, not to mention the hassle. Stupid thiefs, they even sawed out the resonator.

Sure would like to catch someone in the act, I'd shove that sawzall up their ass with the trigger locked on.

Thanks for letting me rant.....

JR

[Paul in NZ]

wtf?,they jack up the car and cut out he cat?For scrap value?

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

What idiots. Damage a car for such little profit. You'd think they coulda made more money based on that effort if they only applied it to a real job. That sawzall treatment would be too kind.

[genphreak]

Soemone must told them they can empty the platinum out and sell the dust (or swap it for crack)

I know that some of those bimmerforums members will do anything to survive... even ripping off someone else's-

"We thought it was dumped" ... LOL!

Oh for the good ol days when to get ripped off you had to go to a Bimmer breaker or dealer... now all u have to do is park your car on the street!

[mikell]

Some jerks will steal anything - just to steal something - value isn't a big deal. I mean, wouldn't you get mroe scrap vaule by stealing the alloys? As for real jobs - you kidding? that means getting your ass out of bed and showing up - vandalism is self directed exercise.
Maybe there's a new cable show called "tear up my car" or "criminals in training" or something - you know, timed events like "saw out the converter".

[Jr ///M5]

Talked with Aubrey today, he told me they caught the thieves stealing more catalytic converters. What are they thinking? Nobody's going to report it? Maybe they thought their customers would actually like the sound of the car with no exhaust system. We discussed some options on getting his system back together. It's kind of hard when he's 340 miles away. Maybe using an aftermarket cat with no resonator and have the muffler shop bend and weld the thing together. The two seperate systems from the headers back is almost a $600 bill. I really doubt there will be any restitution from the thieves, at least they stopped them before they did more damage to others.

[Ross]

The train station parking lots were being hit for a while near Chicago when scrap prices were sky high a couple years back(the two cats from an E34 530 got me $400). SUVs with ample ground clearance were especially popular targets. Scrap prices are rising again. Must have been skinny thieves getting it from the 318.
Insurance?
I like your idea with the sawzall. Perhaps remove a section of their "pipe" with it as well.

[BigKriss]

damm, ive never heard of that happening in australia

[Omega]

This is the new crime in the UK. Some Peugeots have two cats and they cut them out and sell them form the platinum. Get about £300 each so an easy crime to do for a good reward.

As for e34's, the cat is probably worth more than the rest of car in scrap value.

[genphreak]

Guerilla car recycling has been occuring in the street for years. It's just heating up, like everything else. Soon some despo will get shot stealing junk off a 20 yo car as the owner owned a firearm and decided to start waving it around. Cats should only be recycled from/by licensed dismantlers.

[Jr ///M5]

The other day Aubrey drove the cat-less 318is about 20 miles to have it welded back together, he opted out for the straight pipe connection. No cat, no resonator..he said it sounded a little more throaty, but no reverb through the car at speed. I'm hoping the muffler is sufficient for enough back pressure not to burn the sodium filled exhaust valves in the little DOHC 4 cylinder. He's happy now since his baby is fixed and he's mobile again. The next cat thief is going to be shocked.

[genphreak]

It wouldn't surprise me if they come along and cut the pipes you welded back in thre out, just in case there's some platinum left in there. And if they cut right through the weldzones to do it... LOL :) Hope this mean all's well ends well.

[Jr ///M5]

Gotta hand it to the motivated college student, 1. Motivated by the girlfriend 2. Eagle Scout training kicks in, 3. Got the car to the shop without a tow bill or a ticket. 4. The work was done for $50 and he's good to go with just a hint of badass in the exhaust note. Remember those days of resourcefullness???