Irish Taxi Forum
Public Area => Taxi Talk => Topic started by: Rat Catcher on January 25, 2021, 12:20:35 pm
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https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/ireland-s-catalytic-converter-thieves-they-re-like-formula-1-mechanics-1.4464308?mode=amp (https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/ireland-s-catalytic-converter-thieves-they-re-like-formula-1-mechanics-1.4464308?mode=amp)
Ireland’s catalytic converter thieves: ‘They’re like Formula 1 mechanics’
Organised criminals are targeting Toyota, Ford and Kia cars, and thefts are surging
Conor Lally Security and Crime Editor
Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 06:00
Frank Cullinane knew the moment he started his car on a cold morning just before Christmas that something was very seriously wrong.
“A sound like a jet plane came out of it so I switched it off straight away,” said the retired garda from Glasnevin, north Dublin. While he didn’t immediately realise it, he had just become Ireland’s latest victim of catalytic converter theft.
Other victims of the same crime have told The Irish Times of catching well-drilled and lightning-quick three- and four-man gangs – “like Formula 1 mechanics” – outside their properties during identical robberies.
They come equipped with very large car jacks, to lift a car off the ground in seconds, and electronic tools to cut the catalytic converters from underneath the vehicles, before they flee in waiting cars.
Figures obtained by The Irish Times from the Garda show that in 2017 just 79 catalytic converter thefts were recorded, increasing to 96 thefts in 2018. However, in 2019 the crime increased exponentially in the Republic with 989 thefts recorded.
The latest data, for 2020, shows 1,014 thefts recorded in the first 9½ months of last year, or on course for 1,300 catalytic converters thefts by year end; a 13-fold increase in just two years. Some 75 per cent of the crimes last year were recorded in Dublin.
Cullinane (78) says when his converter was taken his two cars were parked in the driveway of his house. “About 5 o’clock in the morning three or four fellas came in. I was sleeping, at the most, a few yards from where it happened. The noise woke up a woman on the road. She came out with her dog but these guys just jumped into their car and away they went. I drove the car that day and it was all right. They seemed to come back the next night and that’s when they took the converter.”
Brazen criminals
Cullinane’s repair job, including a replacement converter, came to €1,390. While he was happy to go on the record and tell his story, other victims who spoke to The Irish Times were more reluctant, citing safety. Nonetheless, they told stories of brazen criminals striking during day and night.
A woman in her 30s explains how the catalytic converter was stolen from her Toyota Prius – one of the most targeted vehicles – outside her house from a middle-class suburb of Dublin during Christmas 2019.
She “heard a drilling noise at about 4am” and didn’t realise it was somebody outside cutting a part out from underneath her car.
“The next morning I started the car and got this thundering sound from it. I got the AA out they told me ‘that’s your cat converter gone’.”
She then paid €2,000 to have the car fixed before it was targeted again two months later, she suspects by the same gang coming back for more. But this time she disturbed the men as they had jacked up her car, again outside her home, and were working under it trying to cut out her new converter.
“I heard them and flew down and opened the door. There was three or four of them, they were masked. Luckily I had caught them and they were scared enough . . . they ripped the jack out and slammed the car down; literally just ‘bang’. And then they sped off. There was only a little bit of damage to my car, which I got fixed for not much expense.
“It took these guys only about 90 seconds to do it. In 90 seconds they’re under the car, they’ve jacked it up, they just have to saw [the converter] off with power tools. They’re that fast; they’re like mechanics from a Formula 1 team.
“They didn’t shout at me, they weren’t aggressive towards me. They shouted something like ‘get the f**k out of here’. I think they were just startled they’d been interrupted and they wanted to get out of there immediately. I roared at them at the top of my voice.”
A patrol car was in the area and pursued the gang in a “high-speed chase”, though the thieves managed to escape.
“The guards seemed to be aware these guys were in the area, like they had had a few reports of other [catalytic converter robberies] that night,” said the victim.
The converters are made of a honeycomb structure designed to cleanse engine fumes as they pass through the exhaust. The metals used in the converters – platinum, palladium and rhodium – have surged in value, meaning their scrap metal value was now very high. There is also a market for converters to be used in other cars.
Each converter can be sold on the black market for between €300 and €600, though in one case that reached the courts in recent years the suspect had stolen 20 converters, which the court valued at €20,000.
The Garda believes thieves are carrying out surveillance on residential streets as well as public car parks, golf clubs, offices and hotels to identify cars to target.
“They’ll either strike there and then if they spot a car with a ‘cat’ in a car park. Or they’ll find a number of cars parked outside houses in the same area and they’ll come back and do a number of these robberies in rapid succession,” says a garda, adding the gangs often buy cars from scrap dealers and use them during the robberies as they have no registered owner.
A Dublin-based mechanic says his garage has at times dealt with three or four victims per week. A spate of crimes would usually occur in the same place before the thieves would move on.
“The common cars hit are the likes of the Toyota Yaris, the Toyota Prius, Ford Transit. The Kia Sportage is another one; those ones are expensive, about €2,000 to buy.
“On average you are looking at around €1,350 to replace a converter, but it can be a lot more expensive depending on the car and the damage done to wiring if the converter is ripped out.”
Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland says drivers should park in well-lit locations, opt for supervised car parks when they can and avoid parking in a location that may be very dark for long periods.
“For all of that, catalytic converter thefts have happened in places like golf club car parks, which you would think were supervised and safe,” he says.
“We’d advise [motorists] to stay well clear and call the guards if you disturb these guys. Do not attempt to intervene; it’s only a catalytic converter. You may be incredibly angry, but it’s not worth risking injury.”
One victim said he had no choice but to confront a gang as he found them in his back yard just after 11am one day two weeks ago.
He heard a car pulling into his yard on the gravel surface and in the few seconds that it took him to walk out his back door and into the yard the robbery was well under way. Three men had arrived into the yard, in a suburban area of Co Dublin, in a car. They had gently nudged his electrical gates with the front of their car until the gates broke open, allowing them to drive in.
Once in the yard, two of the men – wearing hats and scarves to hide their faces – jumped out of their car; one quickly placed a very large car jack under his hybrid vehicle and raised it off the ground. His accomplice moved under the vehicle and began using electrical hand-held cutting tools to cut away the section of the exhaust mechanism containing the catalytic converter.
Quick getaway
The third man – wearing a PPE face mask – remained in the gang’s vehicle, turning it to ensure it was facing out into the street, ready for a quick getaway.
Having seen what was happening from his kitchen window the victim immediately grabbed his phone, walked into his yard and began recording the men while shouting at his girlfriend to call gardaí.
“They were as calm as you like; that was one of the really notable things about it. One of them shouted for me to stay back,” the victim said. “They’d brought specialist equipment with them. The chassis of the jack they had must have been more than a metre long.”
Even when the victim threw a bicycle in the path of the gang’s car to block it, one of the men pulled the bike out of the way, and the driver nudged the car forward to ready for the escape. All the while the third man kept cutting away under the victim’s vehicle; determined to get the converter despite that fact that the victim was on the scene and filming.
Once the converter was cut free the men lowered the victim’s car and jumped in to the waiting vehicle with the jack and stolen converter and were driven off at speed. The victim’s Toyota Prius cost just more than €1,300 to have repaired.
“I got an estimate to get the electronic gates fixed and that was about €1,300 as well,” the victim says. “You know, people talk about ‘organised crime’. . . these guys were so, so organised. They knew where the car was, they expertly pushed the gate open, they turned their car during the crime.
“Even the small electrical saw they had; it was small enough to put into the cavity where the catalytic converter is and they cut away about 1½ metres of exhaust pipe. The preparation that went into it, even their manner and how brazen they were; so, so organised. This wasn’t chaotic at all, it was premeditated, cool.
“I was stabbed before, years ago, and so I had no intention of actually getting in front of these guys. My forlorn idea was that I might slow them down so the guards might get there. But they were in and gone in about two minutes, maybe slightly less. The guards would want to be out on the road to catch them. They’d clearly done this many, many times before. This was Fast and Furious kind of stuff.”
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You can see now why the Greens want cars off the road cut down on crime .If there were no cars especially petrol cars you could wipe out this crime overnight .We should get behind banning petrol cars make the world a safer place .How long before they use one of these electric tools to cut somebody .
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The taxi fleet will be at least 50% electric by this time next year... if Free Now meets it's emissions targets. I guess it's up to us and bus/DART/LUAS drivers to set a good example for amateur motorists.
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I'm gonna make up a plate to cover the cat on my heap,just need to get up to my mates workshop and stick it on the lift,remove two brackets and template the space,the two brackets will hold the plate in place,gonna use 3mm steel plate.
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Could they cut the brackets? Have you considered a mercury tilt switch or some such wired to the horn via a relay to power it when the ignition is off?
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I'm gonna make up a plate to cover the cat on my heap,just need to get up to my mates workshop and stick it on the lift,remove two brackets and template the space,the two brackets will hold the plate in place,gonna use 3mm steel plate.
The new KEEP U CAT from Halpo .Could you market that idea Hal go out and fit them might be a winner .
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... or better still, with a Prius could you not connect the cat body to the high voltage battery in some way - again only powered when the ignition is off - and fry the first fucker that tries?
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... or better still, with a Prius could you not connect the cat body to the high voltage battery in some way - again only powered when the ignition is off - and fry the first fucker that tries?
How would you isolate the cat from the body ?
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Could they cut the brackets? Have you considered a mercury tilt switch or some such wired to the horn via a relay to power it when the ignition is off?
First your Decedence regarding Starvation now this .Big Dommos Grand kids grankids would boot the doors or whack the ball off of the car to set the alarm off .You forget not all of us have secure off street parking and a garage converted into a Gymnasium at our disposal .
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Wired properly you'd have to raise the car to close the tilt switch. However you could employ a more traditional under car deployment of such a switch by combining it with a few pounds of semtex. In that case any kid that figures out how to tilt the switch without raising the car won't do it again.
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I would start with reversing it into the garden your Professional or semi pro thief as these lads seem to be wouldnt like to operate with his back to his assassin .
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A quick read of the article reproduced in the OP suggests they don't give a bollix. When the man with the video camera confronted them they treated it as an online tutorial...
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A quick read of the article reproduced in the OP suggests they don't give a bollix. When the man with the video camera confronted them they treated it as an online tutorial...
A camera wont bother you but a tall fella with a Four Iron or pitching wedge aiming at your kneecaps will put manners on you .
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I'm gonna make up a plate to cover the cat on my heap,just need to get up to my mates workshop and stick it on the lift,remove two brackets and template the space,the two brackets will hold the plate in place,gonna use 3mm steel plate.
The new KEEP U CAT from Halpo .Could you market that idea Hal go out and fit them might be a winner .
I was just thinking the same.
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Unless you put manners on him first. I'd say these lads are well equipped for physical confrontation.
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Wired properly you'd have to raise the car to close the tilt switch. However you could employ a more traditional under car deployment of such a switch by combining it with a few pounds of semtex. In that case any kid that figures out how to tilt the switch without raising the car won't do it again.
Would you not be better just putting a sticker we love stickers on the boot saying .ITS HER CAR PROCEED AT YOUR OWN PERIL .
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Or let them have it... if the insurance coughs up 2 large it'd be at least twice the value of the heap...
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Or let them have it... if the insurance coughs up 2 large it'd be at least twice the value of the heap...
And no doubt they will also hike up your premium , no such thing as a "free lunch"
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They couldn't put it up much for a 2 grand claim, could they?
BTW, Taxi Fair (01 4851996) quoted me €1,404.50 with all the bells and whistles, includes a COVID '19 discount they negotiated with Liberty in the region of €500.
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Might be more of an insurance issue if the car exploded and they said the cat couldn't cool itself properly... always best to notify them of any alterations, I guess.
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Might be more of an insurance issue if the car exploded and they said the cat couldn't cool itself properly... always best to notify them of any alterations, I guess.
I'll be drilling holes in the plate to allow air to flow around the cat.....it's more of a deterrent for when they jack the car up and see that it not just a simple cut......if the did come back,i'm sure they'd be more prepared.
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No harm in making sure there's dots on the eyes and crosses on the tees! Nobody wants to give them insurance companies any ammunition. Did you renew with Pierce yet and did you try Taxi Fair... your quote was similar to mine, if memory serves...
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On my car the Catalytic converter is nearer to the front so reversing in could give the scumbags an advantage.They only got one bolt cut before I scared them off.
I don't like leaving it unattended anymore.Kinda ruined it a bit.I've had travellers knocking at the door looking to buy the whole car for the Cat.
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I'm letting the plate lapse for the year so i've insured it privately,the new policy starts on the 27th,i spoke with the PSV arm of Pierce and they said that AXA are only offering the SD&P part while Level 5 is in force...although there's a possibility that might continue if you were to believe that Mehaul cunt....anyhoo,it still cost me 700 to insure but AXA being the generous fuks that they are don't require me to remove door stickers,only that i keep the roofsign off.
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Yu gorta tink outside the box ..thers loads them plates yu can buy but i dont tink ther worth a bollix ...as far as I know they dont touch the new prius so if I had one them imports ide buy some plastic metal yu can get in halford an coat the top of the cat wit it then ide buy cople them parcel cutters from woodies ...yu know the ones wer yu break a piece off wen it gets blunt ....anyway ide stick them all over the top of the cat an on any screws or joint an ide let the cunt cut the fingers off himself an ide have me sword down me back an
ide say work away lads thers too many of yu please dont hit me or antin I've a heart condition an watch them
Until yet man start screaming his head off an blood pumpin out his finger less hand then ide go up to the big dopey baldy cnut that smells of BO ( thers always a big dopey cnut that reeks of BO )an ide behead him on the spot an then slice the other 2 down the front an yur man on the ground pumpin his blood all over the pavement ide chop all hid limbs off at the joints so heed live to tell his mates not to come near me cause I'm a mad cnut .....
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Octy....you've put a lot of thought into that....haven't you? lol
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Octy....you've put a lot of thought into that....haven't you? lol
I actually enjoyed writing that hal ....got great release from it have to say :D...
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7 ton for private... they didn't do you any favours, fuckin shower of cunts.
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7 ton for private... they didn't do you any favours, fuckin shower of cunts.
I know they didn't but still 1300 cheaper than taxi insurance.
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I've paid nearly 2 grand for private ....cnuts kept robbin me account....I've done 3 thousand km since march ....thers fukin spiders webs all over the inside me car an had get a new battery cause it died ......going be war on the phone come renewal.... ::fds
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Hal what about a bit of Diamond Mesh save you drilling weld it to a few metal fixing plates .Should do the job without increasing the temp but .Consider would a shield catch debris and become a fire hazard .Gold Club looks like the best deterent and possibly a halogen with a censor and a claxon inside the car .
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When i get it on the lift i'll have a look to see what the possibilities are,if the plate needs to be bent slightly to stop debris getting caught,well i'll do that,
I don't think a mesh is any sort of deterrent,i'll consider putting some sort of tabs on the bolts that hold the two(3 hole) brackets that are already there that will hold the plate in place.....if they really want it...they'll fukin get it,it's just a case of making it as difficult as possible....and maybe keep some molotov cocktails handy to help them see the error of their ways what they're doing!!
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This would take a bit of cutting through
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https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/ireland-s-catalytic-converter-thieves-they-re-like-formula-1-mechanics-1.4464308?mode=amp (https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/ireland-s-catalytic-converter-thieves-they-re-like-formula-1-mechanics-1.4464308?mode=amp)
Ireland’s catalytic converter thieves: ‘They’re like Formula 1 mechanics’
Organised criminals are targeting Toyota, Ford and Kia cars, and thefts are surging
Conor Lally Security and Crime Editor
Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 06:00
Frank Cullinane knew the moment he started his car on a cold morning just before Christmas that something was very seriously wrong.
“A sound like a jet plane came out of it so I switched it off straight away,” said the retired garda from Glasnevin, north Dublin. While he didn’t immediately realise it, he had just become Ireland’s latest victim of catalytic converter theft.
Other victims of the same crime have told The Irish Times of catching well-drilled and lightning-quick three- and four-man gangs – “like Formula 1 mechanics” – outside their properties during identical robberies.
They come equipped with very large car jacks, to lift a car off the ground in seconds, and electronic tools to cut the catalytic converters from underneath the vehicles, before they flee in waiting cars.
Figures obtained by The Irish Times from the Garda show that in 2017 just 79 catalytic converter thefts were recorded, increasing to 96 thefts in 2018. However, in 2019 the crime increased exponentially in the Republic with 989 thefts recorded.
The latest data, for 2020, shows 1,014 thefts recorded in the first 9½ months of last year, or on course for 1,300 catalytic converters thefts by year end; a 13-fold increase in just two years. Some 75 per cent of the crimes last year were recorded in Dublin.
Cullinane (78) says when his converter was taken his two cars were parked in the driveway of his house. “About 5 o’clock in the morning three or four fellas came in. I was sleeping, at the most, a few yards from where it happened. The noise woke up a woman on the road. She came out with her dog but these guys just jumped into their car and away they went. I drove the car that day and it was all right. They seemed to come back the next night and that’s when they took the converter.”
Brazen criminals
Cullinane’s repair job, including a replacement converter, came to €1,390. While he was happy to go on the record and tell his story, other victims who spoke to The Irish Times were more reluctant, citing safety. Nonetheless, they told stories of brazen criminals striking during day and night.
A woman in her 30s explains how the catalytic converter was stolen from her Toyota Prius – one of the most targeted vehicles – outside her house from a middle-class suburb of Dublin during Christmas 2019.
She “heard a drilling noise at about 4am” and didn’t realise it was somebody outside cutting a part out from underneath her car.
“The next morning I started the car and got this thundering sound from it. I got the AA out they told me ‘that’s your cat converter gone’.”
She then paid €2,000 to have the car fixed before it was targeted again two months later, she suspects by the same gang coming back for more. But this time she disturbed the men as they had jacked up her car, again outside her home, and were working under it trying to cut out her new converter.
“I heard them and flew down and opened the door. There was three or four of them, they were masked. Luckily I had caught them and they were scared enough . . . they ripped the jack out and slammed the car down; literally just ‘bang’. And then they sped off. There was only a little bit of damage to my car, which I got fixed for not much expense.
“It took these guys only about 90 seconds to do it. In 90 seconds they’re under the car, they’ve jacked it up, they just have to saw [the converter] off with power tools. They’re that fast; they’re like mechanics from a Formula 1 team.
“They didn’t shout at me, they weren’t aggressive towards me. They shouted something like ‘get the f**k out of here’. I think they were just startled they’d been interrupted and they wanted to get out of there immediately. I roared at them at the top of my voice.”
A patrol car was in the area and pursued the gang in a “high-speed chase”, though the thieves managed to escape.
“The guards seemed to be aware these guys were in the area, like they had had a few reports of other [catalytic converter robberies] that night,” said the victim.
The converters are made of a honeycomb structure designed to cleanse engine fumes as they pass through the exhaust. The metals used in the converters – platinum, palladium and rhodium – have surged in value, meaning their scrap metal value was now very high. There is also a market for converters to be used in other cars.
Each converter can be sold on the black market for between €300 and €600, though in one case that reached the courts in recent years the suspect had stolen 20 converters, which the court valued at €20,000.
The Garda believes thieves are carrying out surveillance on residential streets as well as public car parks, golf clubs, offices and hotels to identify cars to target.
“They’ll either strike there and then if they spot a car with a ‘cat’ in a car park. Or they’ll find a number of cars parked outside houses in the same area and they’ll come back and do a number of these robberies in rapid succession,” says a garda, adding the gangs often buy cars from scrap dealers and use them during the robberies as they have no registered owner.
A Dublin-based mechanic says his garage has at times dealt with three or four victims per week. A spate of crimes would usually occur in the same place before the thieves would move on.
“The common cars hit are the likes of the Toyota Yaris, the Toyota Prius, Ford Transit. The Kia Sportage is another one; those ones are expensive, about €2,000 to buy.
“On average you are looking at around €1,350 to replace a converter, but it can be a lot more expensive depending on the car and the damage done to wiring if the converter is ripped out.”
Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland says drivers should park in well-lit locations, opt for supervised car parks when they can and avoid parking in a location that may be very dark for long periods.
“For all of that, catalytic converter thefts have happened in places like golf club car parks, which you would think were supervised and safe,” he says.
“We’d advise [motorists] to stay well clear and call the guards if you disturb these guys. Do not attempt to intervene; it’s only a catalytic converter. You may be incredibly angry, but it’s not worth risking injury.”
One victim said he had no choice but to confront a gang as he found them in his back yard just after 11am one day two weeks ago.
He heard a car pulling into his yard on the gravel surface and in the few seconds that it took him to walk out his back door and into the yard the robbery was well under way. Three men had arrived into the yard, in a suburban area of Co Dublin, in a car. They had gently nudged his electrical gates with the front of their car until the gates broke open, allowing them to drive in.
Once in the yard, two of the men – wearing hats and scarves to hide their faces – jumped out of their car; one quickly placed a very large car jack under his hybrid vehicle and raised it off the ground. His accomplice moved under the vehicle and began using electrical hand-held cutting tools to cut away the section of the exhaust mechanism containing the catalytic converter.
Quick getaway
The third man – wearing a PPE face mask – remained in the gang’s vehicle, turning it to ensure it was facing out into the street, ready for a quick getaway.
Having seen what was happening from his kitchen window the victim immediately grabbed his phone, walked into his yard and began recording the men while shouting at his girlfriend to call gardaí.
“They were as calm as you like; that was one of the really notable things about it. One of them shouted for me to stay back,” the victim said. “They’d brought specialist equipment with them. The chassis of the jack they had must have been more than a metre long.”
Even when the victim threw a bicycle in the path of the gang’s car to block it, one of the men pulled the bike out of the way, and the driver nudged the car forward to ready for the escape. All the while the third man kept cutting away under the victim’s vehicle; determined to get the converter despite that fact that the victim was on the scene and filming.
Once the converter was cut free the men lowered the victim’s car and jumped in to the waiting vehicle with the jack and stolen converter and were driven off at speed. The victim’s Toyota Prius cost just more than €1,300 to have repaired.
“I got an estimate to get the electronic gates fixed and that was about €1,300 as well,” the victim says. “You know, people talk about ‘organised crime’. . . these guys were so, so organised. They knew where the car was, they expertly pushed the gate open, they turned their car during the crime.
“Even the small electrical saw they had; it was small enough to put into the cavity where the catalytic converter is and they cut away about 1½ metres of exhaust pipe. The preparation that went into it, even their manner and how brazen they were; so, so organised. This wasn’t chaotic at all, it was premeditated, cool.
“I was stabbed before, years ago, and so I had no intention of actually getting in front of these guys. My forlorn idea was that I might slow them down so the guards might get there. But they were in and gone in about two minutes, maybe slightly less. The guards would want to be out on the road to catch them. They’d clearly done this many, many times before. This was Fast and Furious kind of stuff.”
https://www.millercat.com/catshield (https://www.millercat.com/catshield)
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I'm gonna make up a plate to cover the cat on my heap,just need to get up to my mates workshop and stick it on the lift,remove two brackets and template the space,the two brackets will hold the plate in place,gonna use 3mm steel plate.
https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen3 (https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen3)
$160.00.
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Might be more of an insurance issue if the car exploded and they said the cat couldn't cool itself properly... always best to notify them of any alterations, I guess.
I'll be drilling holes in the plate to allow air to flow around the cat.....it's more of a deterrent for when they jack the car up and see that it not just a simple cut......if the did come back,i'm sure they'd be more prepared.
https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen3 (https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen3)
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There's a bloke over on boards who says if you put something on it and they really want it they'll put a chain around it and tear it off the car causing even more damage.Sounds extreme but they're probably on the drugs so anything is possible.
They came into my front garden and tried to use either an angle grinder or a reciprocating saw.Dunno how they thought I wouldn't hear them at 4am.
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I think they contain a small amount of Platinum it is probably hard enough to recover so you got to wonder is it worth their while or is the gig rob them to sell back .Surely it would be easier to mug a traveler for their jewelry than rob a silencer if you want precious metal !
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They probably thought you'd be asleep and they'd be gone before you got dressed, MfH.... although the crew in the paper are like Formula One mechanics so they probably woulda hung around to see if you wanted a selfie if they thought you might mechanically minded.
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SEEMS LIKE THE OLDER SHITHEAP IS WORTH THE MOST ....Platinum Group Metal Recovery from Spent Catalytic Converters Using XRF
By Stephen Dietz
03.20.2014
There are precious metals in those catalytic converters.
A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic vehicle emissions to less harmful substances by way of catalyzed, or accelerated, chemical reactions. Most present-day vehicles that run on gasoline, including automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, and planes, have exhaust systems employing a catalytic converter.
The catalyst component of a catalytic converter is usually platinum (Pt), along with palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh). All three of these platinum group metals, or PGMs, are extremely rare but have a broad range of applications in addition to catalytic converters. Platinum, for example, is used in laboratory and dental equipment, electrical contacts and electrodes, and jewelry, while palladium plays a key role in fuel cell technology. With numerous applications and limited supply, these valuable metals are an attractive target for recovery and reuse from spent catalytic converters. In 2010, the total value of Pt, Pd, and Rh reclaimed from the recycling of spent catalytic converters was $3 billion.
Determining the recovery value of the PGMs in a catalytic converter begins with knowing the composition and ratios of the metals used. Automotive catalyst material is made either of a ceramic substrate, mostly cordierite coated with a precious metal containing a wash coat, or of a metallic substrate with an aluminum oxide wash coat also containing precious metals. The average concentration and the ratio of Pt and Rh were more or less constant 20 years ago, so a simple weighting was sufficient to arrive at a good estimation of the precious metal content. However, the price of these three elements has fluctuated strongly over the last 20 years, depending on the supply, demand, and speculation. These variations, as well as the tightening of emission legislation, have had a direct correlation on the composition of the catalysts, which themselves have had a strong influence on demand.
Currently, the composition, which depends on the engine displacement and the type of fuel used, varies dramatically. The formulation can consist of only Pt, or various ratios of Pt-Pd-Rh, Pt-Rh, and Pd-Rh. Most of today’s recycled catalytic converters come from cars manufactured, on average, 10 to 15 years ago. The recoverable amounts of Pt, Pd, and Rh in each can range from 1-2 grams for a small car to 12-15 grams for a big truck in the US.
The corresponding value in recoverable PGMs ranges from $25 to a few hundred dollars per vehicle. Moreover, the trade of ground-up material sold as catalysts can be very dangerous because of possible alterations, which can mean inclusion of lead or spent nickel-cadmium batteries.
To avoid considerable financial losses, companies need to quickly and accurately determine the contents of Pt, Pd, and Rh in spent catalytic converters at the collector’s site or in the refineries. But there is no technique for analyzing non-homogeneous materials like catalytic converters directly without sample preparation. Therefore, the collected catalysts with ceramic substrate undergo a “de-canning” operation, which is the extraction of the honeycomb-structured ceramic material from the steel case. All of the ceramic is then sorted crushed, milled, and mostly blended with other catalysts. In contrast, converters with a metallic substrate are first shredded or milled, and then the metallic parts are separated using magnets and winnowing from the wash coat powder containing precious metals. Because of this enrichment, the PGM content of these wash coat samples is usually much higher than that for milled ceramics. In both cases, the materials are pulverized to a maximum 250µm and loaded into sample cups or sample bags for analysis, and then analyzed using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology.
A recent study evaluated x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis as compared to lab assays for achieving this objective. To see the results, including the correlation curves, repeatability data, methodology, and comments, read Automotive Catalytic Converters application summary.
As little as $25 dollars and all that damage ?
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I'm gonna make up a plate to cover the cat on my heap,just need to get up to my mates workshop and stick it on the lift,remove two brackets and template the space,the two brackets will hold the plate in place,gonna use 3mm steel plate.
https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen3 (https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen3)
$160.00.
That's a lot of detailed work for something that won't be seen.....i'll definitely put some holes for air to circulate.
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Is that US$ or AUS$?
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Is that US$ or AUS$?
read Automotive Catalytic Converters application summary.
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https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/ireland-s-catalytic-converter-thieves-they-re-like-formula-1-mechanics-1.4464308?mode=amp (https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/ireland-s-catalytic-converter-thieves-they-re-like-formula-1-mechanics-1.4464308?mode=amp)
Ireland’s catalytic converter thieves: ‘They’re like Formula 1 mechanics’
Organised criminals are targeting Toyota, Ford and Kia cars, and thefts are surging
Conor Lally Security and Crime Editor
Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 06:00
Frank Cullinane knew the moment he started his car on a cold morning just before Christmas that something was very seriously wrong.
“A sound like a jet plane came out of it so I switched it off straight away,” said the retired garda from Glasnevin, north Dublin. While he didn’t immediately realise it, he had just become Ireland’s latest victim of catalytic converter theft.
Other victims of the same crime have told The Irish Times of catching well-drilled and lightning-quick three- and four-man gangs – “like Formula 1 mechanics” – outside their properties during identical robberies.
They come equipped with very large car jacks, to lift a car off the ground in seconds, and electronic tools to cut the catalytic converters from underneath the vehicles, before they flee in waiting cars.
Figures obtained by The Irish Times from the Garda show that in 2017 just 79 catalytic converter thefts were recorded, increasing to 96 thefts in 2018. However, in 2019 the crime increased exponentially in the Republic with 989 thefts recorded.
The latest data, for 2020, shows 1,014 thefts recorded in the first 9½ months of last year, or on course for 1,300 catalytic converters thefts by year end; a 13-fold increase in just two years. Some 75 per cent of the crimes last year were recorded in Dublin.
Cullinane (78) says when his converter was taken his two cars were parked in the driveway of his house. “About 5 o’clock in the morning three or four fellas came in. I was sleeping, at the most, a few yards from where it happened. The noise woke up a woman on the road. She came out with her dog but these guys just jumped into their car and away they went. I drove the car that day and it was all right. They seemed to come back the next night and that’s when they took the converter.”
Brazen criminals
Cullinane’s repair job, including a replacement converter, came to €1,390. While he was happy to go on the record and tell his story, other victims who spoke to The Irish Times were more reluctant, citing safety. Nonetheless, they told stories of brazen criminals striking during day and night.
A woman in her 30s explains how the catalytic converter was stolen from her Toyota Prius – one of the most targeted vehicles – outside her house from a middle-class suburb of Dublin during Christmas 2019.
She “heard a drilling noise at about 4am” and didn’t realise it was somebody outside cutting a part out from underneath her car.
“The next morning I started the car and got this thundering sound from it. I got the AA out they told me ‘that’s your cat converter gone’.”
She then paid €2,000 to have the car fixed before it was targeted again two months later, she suspects by the same gang coming back for more. But this time she disturbed the men as they had jacked up her car, again outside her home, and were working under it trying to cut out her new converter.
“I heard them and flew down and opened the door. There was three or four of them, they were masked. Luckily I had caught them and they were scared enough . . . they ripped the jack out and slammed the car down; literally just ‘bang’. And then they sped off. There was only a little bit of damage to my car, which I got fixed for not much expense.
“It took these guys only about 90 seconds to do it. In 90 seconds they’re under the car, they’ve jacked it up, they just have to saw [the converter] off with power tools. They’re that fast; they’re like mechanics from a Formula 1 team.
“They didn’t shout at me, they weren’t aggressive towards me. They shouted something like ‘get the f**k out of here’. I think they were just startled they’d been interrupted and they wanted to get out of there immediately. I roared at them at the top of my voice.”
A patrol car was in the area and pursued the gang in a “high-speed chase”, though the thieves managed to escape.
“The guards seemed to be aware these guys were in the area, like they had had a few reports of other [catalytic converter robberies] that night,” said the victim.
The converters are made of a honeycomb structure designed to cleanse engine fumes as they pass through the exhaust. The metals used in the converters – platinum, palladium and rhodium – have surged in value, meaning their scrap metal value was now very high. There is also a market for converters to be used in other cars.
Each converter can be sold on the black market for between €300 and €600, though in one case that reached the courts in recent years the suspect had stolen 20 converters, which the court valued at €20,000.
The Garda believes thieves are carrying out surveillance on residential streets as well as public car parks, golf clubs, offices and hotels to identify cars to target.
“They’ll either strike there and then if they spot a car with a ‘cat’ in a car park. Or they’ll find a number of cars parked outside houses in the same area and they’ll come back and do a number of these robberies in rapid succession,” says a garda, adding the gangs often buy cars from scrap dealers and use them during the robberies as they have no registered owner.
A Dublin-based mechanic says his garage has at times dealt with three or four victims per week. A spate of crimes would usually occur in the same place before the thieves would move on.
“The common cars hit are the likes of the Toyota Yaris, the Toyota Prius, Ford Transit. The Kia Sportage is another one; those ones are expensive, about €2,000 to buy.
“On average you are looking at around €1,350 to replace a converter, but it can be a lot more expensive depending on the car and the damage done to wiring if the converter is ripped out.”
Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland says drivers should park in well-lit locations, opt for supervised car parks when they can and avoid parking in a location that may be very dark for long periods.
“For all of that, catalytic converter thefts have happened in places like golf club car parks, which you would think were supervised and safe,” he says.
“We’d advise [motorists] to stay well clear and call the guards if you disturb these guys. Do not attempt to intervene; it’s only a catalytic converter. You may be incredibly angry, but it’s not worth risking injury.”
One victim said he had no choice but to confront a gang as he found them in his back yard just after 11am one day two weeks ago.
He heard a car pulling into his yard on the gravel surface and in the few seconds that it took him to walk out his back door and into the yard the robbery was well under way. Three men had arrived into the yard, in a suburban area of Co Dublin, in a car. They had gently nudged his electrical gates with the front of their car until the gates broke open, allowing them to drive in.
Once in the yard, two of the men – wearing hats and scarves to hide their faces – jumped out of their car; one quickly placed a very large car jack under his hybrid vehicle and raised it off the ground. His accomplice moved under the vehicle and began using electrical hand-held cutting tools to cut away the section of the exhaust mechanism containing the catalytic converter.
Quick getaway
The third man – wearing a PPE face mask – remained in the gang’s vehicle, turning it to ensure it was facing out into the street, ready for a quick getaway.
Having seen what was happening from his kitchen window the victim immediately grabbed his phone, walked into his yard and began recording the men while shouting at his girlfriend to call gardaí.
“They were as calm as you like; that was one of the really notable things about it. One of them shouted for me to stay back,” the victim said. “They’d brought specialist equipment with them. The chassis of the jack they had must have been more than a metre long.”
Even when the victim threw a bicycle in the path of the gang’s car to block it, one of the men pulled the bike out of the way, and the driver nudged the car forward to ready for the escape. All the while the third man kept cutting away under the victim’s vehicle; determined to get the converter despite that fact that the victim was on the scene and filming.
Once the converter was cut free the men lowered the victim’s car and jumped in to the waiting vehicle with the jack and stolen converter and were driven off at speed. The victim’s Toyota Prius cost just more than €1,300 to have repaired.
“I got an estimate to get the electronic gates fixed and that was about €1,300 as well,” the victim says. “You know, people talk about ‘organised crime’. . . these guys were so, so organised. They knew where the car was, they expertly pushed the gate open, they turned their car during the crime.
“Even the small electrical saw they had; it was small enough to put into the cavity where the catalytic converter is and they cut away about 1½ metres of exhaust pipe. The preparation that went into it, even their manner and how brazen they were; so, so organised. This wasn’t chaotic at all, it was premeditated, cool.
“I was stabbed before, years ago, and so I had no intention of actually getting in front of these guys. My forlorn idea was that I might slow them down so the guards might get there. But they were in and gone in about two minutes, maybe slightly less. The guards would want to be out on the road to catch them. They’d clearly done this many, many times before. This was Fast and Furious kind of stuff.”
For MFH:https://www.millercat.com/catshield/gen2
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The power tools they use are quite noisey.They woke me up.I think I saw at least three.One driving and keeping sketch ,another operating the jack whilst the other got underneath the car.I was half asleep TBH.
If I'm trading in me car next year I might take the cat off meself and sell it before I get the scrappage deal.
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The power tools they use are quite noisey
Probably got them at a Sunday market....Miwalkie.
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Could a man of your mechanical abilities take the cat off and keep it just for the NCTS,
Hal MfH?
There were garages renting out CATs by the day for the NCT on petrol Avensisisis back in the day.
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Maybe..theres no emmision test on a hybrid yet.As long as it doesn't set off any codes it might not be necessary at all.
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Maybe..theres no emmision test on a hybrid yet.As long as it doesn't set off any codes it might not be necessary at all.
I'm sure they'd notice it's absence during the underbody inspection.
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A mate of mine once had sex with the exhaust pipe on the back of his lorry.
He found out a week later he was HGV positive.
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Maybe..theres no emmision test on a hybrid yet.As long as it doesn't set off any codes it might not be necessary at all.
I'm sure they'd notice it's absence during the underbody inspection.
I'm not sure it's part of the test.You could probably pass if a blank tube was welded/clamped to the rest of the exhaust.
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The power tools they use are quite noisey
Probably got them at a Sunday market....Miwalkie.
Cordless, because not all caravans have enough sockets:https://www.screwfix.ie/p/makita-djr186z-18v-li-ion-lxt-cordless-reciprocating-saw-bare/8334R?gclid=CjwKCAiA9bmABhBbEiwASb35V4fkTHhh6kefxOxHBq4MuKacB6ivvshdx8Fy5SVq9TxFpZxsqVwVohoC6XoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Dunno if anyone seen on Sky news yesterday it but some chap in the UK confronted the lads cutting the CAT of his Lexus is200(a fancy prius) and they pulled a gun on him and he legged it.
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Dunno if anyone seen on Sky news yesterday it but some chap in the UK confronted the lads cutting the CAT of his Lexus is200(a fancy prius) and they pulled a gun on him and he legged it.
Merch its hardly more lucrative to rob the exhaust than to rob the whole car for scrapping .Is there some secondry value to those cats .Is there some toxic part or something that terrorists can use to make dirty bombs of something .Economically it dosent seem make sence to rob them just to recover the precious metals ?
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Precious....you obviously have not seen any of dem HOBBIT movies rofl rofl rofl
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^^^Dunno John if you got 4/5 or more cats a night it's not a bad way to feed yer drug habit.
I've heard they take them during the day too.They park beside your car in a shopping center and put a high vis on and everyone just thinks they're fixing the car.....with an angle grinder..Dirtbags.
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Maybe..theres no emmision test on a hybrid yet.As long as it doesn't set off any codes it might not be necessary at all.
I'm sure they'd notice it's absence during the underbody inspection.
I'm not sure it's part of the test.You could probably pass if a blank tube was welded/clamped to the rest of the exhaust.
Did they not change the rule a few years ago that EGR and Cats and DPF must be in place for NCT?
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There's a market for them, no doubt about that. Funny as it might seem, you'd get more for the cat than the car in MfH and Hals' cases.
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Mines a low kilometrage 2011....don't be mixing me up with the rabble...an 05 in this case!!
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On the Nissan website my heap is worth 4k in scrappage off a new Leaf.
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On the Nissan website my heap is worth 4k in scrappage off a new Leaf.
Can you get that on top of the taxi grant or can you only claim the largest single Grant ?
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If you change this year and you work for Free Now they will give you up to €600 in cold hard credit against commission. What are you waiting for?
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Yes it should be on top of the NTA grant John.Only paid 6k for it 2013..
RC I'm not coming back until this thing is settled and vaccines are given out so I'll squeeze every last mile out of the Prius.All them incentives will still be there next year.The Freenow offer is a bit miserable TBH.
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I don't think there is a government scrappage anyway it's just a discount in disguise.Could be wrong though.
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Ah come now, MfH... they're putting up €6,000,000 of their own money in cold hard commission against freight. Hardly, miserable. Throw in their impending investments in point to point self drive car hire, electric scooters/bicycles/rickshaws, etc and they will restart the economy single handedly. Ireland will be the envy of the developed world. We will experience migration on a scale never seen before and property prices will double every week for many many years to come.
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Are they offsetting Bmw/Daimlers carbon footprint using our taxis?
They only have one building in Dublin so I can't imagine where the reasoning comes from.
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Yes it should be on top of the NTA grant
But it's not afaik.
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I guess the firm is taking responsibility for the emissions from all the work it controls. Hence, assuming it meets it's target, by this time next year the vast majority of it's fleet will be electric vehicles and it's clients will be able to choose scooters, self drive, bicycles, etc to further improve the environment.
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The price of them electric cars...Seat Leone petrol...23.500e Electric 4.1000e...FFs
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You'd get a nice Tesla or eTron for €100k... treat yourself FFS!
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Know a driver who just got his Kia eNiro plated up, and has his €20k grant approval, plus his €600 from state for his home charger, and €600 from FN for same. Borrowed €25k at €502pm for 60 mths. Hadn't checked, but will, his paperwork to see if there is grant clawback should he decide to retire in a couple of years.
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anybody who attempts to buy an electric car for a taxi needs to be reported and brought before the courts. dangerous carry on.
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Know a driver who just got his Kia eNiro plated up, and has his €20k grant approval, plus his €600 from state for his home charger, and €600 from FN for same. Borrowed €25k at €502pm for 60 mths. Hadn't checked, but will, his paperwork to see if there is grant clawback should he decide to retire in a couple of years.
You have to insure it as a taxi for 3 years.
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How would they know if you reduced the cover to private? I know a good few men who have done that for well over the permitted 3 months, at least one of whom was assured by his broker that neither they nor the insurance firm will grass to NTA.
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Is this cat theft a problem for 2014 auris hybrid, wifes car.
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I know the Auris Hybrid is a car they target but not sure if the 2014 model is,if you have access to a lift or jack it up...and use axle stands....and see for yourself if the Cat is easily accessible,
I made a plate for my 2011 Prius using 3mm steel.
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What did you weld it to?
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What did you weld it to?
Didn't weld it to anything!!
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How did you fix it to the vehicle?
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I had it on a lift and removed two brackets that are held by three bolts on each bracket.
(https://i.postimg.cc/5XC5cmWc/20210201-144610.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5XC5cmWc)
Piece of art!! lol
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Fuck sake, they'd knock that off with a left hook never mind an angle grinder.
Ironically, Stuart Kessie is selling cat guards on psv.ie. I guess if a man who made his money stealing car parts doesn't know how to secure these things nobody does.
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So ye said before.
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The way to beat them is a car with hydraulic suspension like Citroën C5, press of a button it drops to the ground, ya wont get a jack under it then.
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R put a intergalactic immobilizer on it
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is this more worser or less worser than the covid?
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Flatten your curve......6 for the price of 5 at Weight Watchers....ask for Ben Done
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That's an awful lot of destroyed cars:
https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/0415/1210030-garda-dublin/ (https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/0415/1210030-garda-dublin/)
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That's an awful lot of destroyed cars:
https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/0415/1210030-garda-dublin/ (https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/0415/1210030-garda-dublin/)
"Your man who sold them to me told me they were all his" ::fuck ::fuck
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And clearly the yard is a business....that has no doubt being buying from the culprit.
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I've had three different travelers trying to buy me car,I'm assuming for the Cat.One even knocked in today.Nobody wanted when it was brand new now 15 years later it's desirable.
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I've had three different travelers trying to buy me car,I'm assuming for the Cat.One even knocked in today.Nobody wanted when it was brand new now 15 years later it's desirable.
They're probably checking for cameras. I said earlier about leaving the handbrake off. Can you leave the car in neutral and handbrake off? That'd soften their cough.
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Good suggestion SB unfortunately the hybrid system engages the drive train to P when it's powered off.So if you leave it in Neutral it switches itself to P when you power it down.
If I can't repair it for the NCT I'll need to start shopping for something newer.The latest I can keep it is April 2022.By the time we get back to work there will be barely 6 months work left in her.It's probably worth more as scrappage at this stage.
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Good suggestion SB unfortunately the hybrid system engages the drive train to P when it's powered off.So if you leave it in Neutral it switches itself to P when you power it down.
If I can't repair it for the NCT I'll need to start shopping for something newer.The latest I can keep it is April 2022.By the time we get back to work there will be barely 6 months work left in her.It's probably worth more as scrappage at this stage.
My garden is sloped, which probably helps. I've no doubt they'll wait til I go to the supermarket, or walk the dog in the park.
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What's wrong with it, MfH?
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What's wrong with it, MfH?
Lack of exercise!!
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Long story but I've rebuilt the battery twice and it drives but it's throwing up a temperature sensor code from the battery pack.Never happened before.Could be a dodgey cell or a damaged temp sensor.Problem is it needs to be dismantled again which is a massive pain to inspect it properly.If I can't repair it cheaply and quickly I'm tempted to scrap it even if I'm not immediately going back on the road.It won't get through the NCT with the red warning triangle on the dash.I'm sure I can solve it but not sure if it will be worth it for a few months of use.
None of this would have happened if I was working the car.It's just spending too long lying up.My plate needs to be reactivated by August so I'll work myself up to opening it next week.Although I said that two weeks ago..
Part of me wants to get it roadworthy again just to wind up the lads in town in their nearly new Superbs doing next to feck all.Drives them nuts to see such an old vehicle still in the fleet.A few drivers I know are on their third vehicle since I bought mine in 2013.
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Long story but I've rebuilt the battery twice and it drives but it's throwing up a temperature sensor code from the battery pack.Never happened before.Could be a dodgey cell or a damaged temp sensor.Problem is it needs to be dismantled again which is a massive pain to inspect it properly.If I can't repair it cheaply and quickly I'm tempted to scrap it even if I'm not immediately going back on the road.It won't get through the NCT with the red warning triangle on the dash.I'm sure I can solve it but not sure if it will be worth it for a few months of use.
None of this would have happened if I was working the car.It's just spending too long lying up.My plate needs to be reactivated by August so I'll work myself up to opening it next week.Although I said that two weeks ago..
Part of me wants to get it roadworthy again just to wind up the lads in town in their nearly new Superbs doing next to feck all.Drives them nuts to see such an old vehicle still in the fleet.A few drivers I know are on their third vehicle since I bought mine in 2013.
Time flys, I’ll have had me pujo 3 years as a taxi in July, it’s always nice to know you’ve more time on a vehicle and not having to spend to keep yourself in the game. I’m seeing lads spend the best part of €15k for a 161 saloon and I’ll still be on the road until December 2027.
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Maybe I'll give it a wash to remind myself that it's worth keeping for another year.I saw something yesterday that they've found some new Indian variant of covid.Hard to spend with so much uncertainty.
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Maybe I'll give it a wash to remind myself that it's worth keeping for another year.I saw something yesterday that they've found some new Indian variant of covid.Hard to spend with so much uncertainty.
There’s lads out here in 211 brand new taxis, honestly it’s admirable they they are investing in the taxi trade and are optimistic about the future of it.
But I wouldn’t be investing in a new car until we know what the post pandemic economy looks like.
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I wouldn't have spent much before covid TBH as I barely worked that much, even when things were hopping.6 hours a day was my max before covid.But now we're being forced to buy back in to keep the plates and NCB active from next year.There could be a few who bought just because they felt they had no other choice.At 40/50/60 years of age they're not gonna want to get a real 9 to 5 job after driving a taxi.Even if they pretend they want to.
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Maybe I'll give it a wash to remind myself that it's worth keeping for another year.I saw something yesterday that they've found some new Indian variant of covid.Hard to spend with so much uncertainty.
There’s lads out here in 211 brand new taxis, honestly it’s admirable they they are investing in the taxi trade and are optimistic about the future of it.
But I wouldn’t be investing in a new car until we know what the post pandemic economy looks like.
If I'm not wrong you can do it for about 18K with the 20 large scrappage?
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You could also probably pick up a second hand nearly new leaf with the smaller battery for 22/25 then get 16/18 of a grant.All depending on your needs you could have a newish motor for 9k.Second hand Prius is 11/12k starting off.
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From the NTA....I'm sure yis know already but the real value is in buying a two year old leccy car and availing of the 16k grant.I can't imagine many of us keeping a car for the full ten years.
"The amount of the eSPSV Grant made available by the Department in respect of a successful
Application for BEV/FCEV as described below that have replaced scrapped vehicles (as described
in Section 4.2), is the amount set out below opposite such description of vehicle:
New BEV/FCEV (<3,000kms and <3 months old) - € 20,000
BEV/FCEV less than one year of age - € 18,000
BEV/FCEV less than two years of age - € 16,000
BEV/FCEV less than three years of age - € 14,000
BEV/FCEV less than four years of age - € 12,000"
Just an example.
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-leaf-n-connecta-40kwh-auto/27817683 (https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-leaf-n-connecta-40kwh-auto/27817683)
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From the NTA....I'm sure yis know already but the real value is in buying a two year old leccy car and availing of the 16k grant.I can't imagine many of us keeping a car for the full ten years.
"The amount of the eSPSV Grant made available by the Department in respect of a successful
Application for BEV/FCEV as described below that have replaced scrapped vehicles (as described
in Section 4.2), is the amount set out below opposite such description of vehicle:
New BEV/FCEV (<3,000kms and <3 months old) - € 20,000
BEV/FCEV less than one year of age - € 18,000
BEV/FCEV less than two years of age - € 16,000
BEV/FCEV less than three years of age - € 14,000
BEV/FCEV less than four years of age - € 12,000"
Just an example.
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-leaf-n-connecta-40kwh-auto/27817683 (https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-leaf-n-connecta-40kwh-auto/27817683)
You could get that car for 8K so.
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Yes MMW and probably cheaper if you bought it privately.Dealers mark up is easily 2/3k.The smaller battery won't appeal to all.
Only problem is you need the money upfront before you can get the grant.Still cheap motoring though.
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Yes MMW and probably cheaper if you bought it privately.Dealers mark up is easily 2/3k.The smaller battery won't appeal to all.
Only problem is you need the money upfront before you can get the grant.Still cheap motoring though.
I think that's a problem MFH.....it's all fine and dandy being given the grant on paper but the reality is car dealers are reluctant to release a car to be registered as a taxi, stickered up and meters and printers fitted before they receive what they're owed even if they are the nominated recipient of the grant,they'll have to wait up to 21 days for that.
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I thought I saw an advert in Donedeal from MD motors in Harolds cross trying to sell Kia e niros as taxis.I don't know anything about them but they have a history of providing finance for taxi drivers AFAIK.
If you went into your local bank or credit union I'm sure they'd accommodate you.Worst case you could stick some of it on the credit card for a few weeks of you were in a jam.*
*Not a financial advisor.
Found it
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2021-kia-e-niro-64kw-fully-electric-range-475-km/27474711 (https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2021-kia-e-niro-64kw-fully-electric-range-475-km/27474711)
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From my post on March 13th. Mt Drummond Motors did everything as far as I know, not certain if he had to pay the €20k or if they waited for it.
"Know a driver who just got his Kia eNiro plated up, and has his €20k grant approval, plus his €600 from state for his home charger, and €600 from FN for same. Borrowed €25k at €502pm for 60 mths. Hadn't checked, but will, his paperwork to see if there is grant clawback should he decide to retire in a couple of years."
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From my post on March 13th. Mt Drummond Motors did everything as far as I know, not certain if he had to pay the €20k or if they waited for it.
"Know a driver who just got his Kia eNiro plated up, and has his €20k grant approval, plus his €600 from state for his home charger, and €600 from FN for same. Borrowed €25k at €502pm for 60 mths. Hadn't checked, but will, his paperwork to see if there is grant clawback should he decide to retire in a couple of years."
I spoke to Noel about that and MD are fronting the grant amount,the only thing is the cost of credit is a bit expensive imo,although MD do look after replacing the rear passenger privacy glass to pass suitability.
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From my post on March 13th. Mt Drummond Motors did everything as far as I know, not certain if he had to pay the €20k or if they waited for it.
"Know a driver who just got his Kia eNiro plated up, and has his €20k grant approval, plus his €600 from state for his home charger, and €600 from FN for same. Borrowed €25k at €502pm for 60 mths. Hadn't checked, but will, his paperwork to see if there is grant clawback should he decide to retire in a couple of years."
You have to insure it as a taxi for 3 years afaik before there's no clawback.
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That correct Marky.
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... but you can just reduce the cover to private. I think Octy said he done that for a year and nobody gave a fuck. I know others who have done it without telling NTA, at one of whom was assured that neither his broker nor his insurer would grass.