1.8Gdi stolen cat - help on options please

[theboymike]

Some complete pieces of sh*t have cut out and robbed the cat from my 2001 V40; leaving me with the prospect of a lot of hassle and a bill that's probably approaching the value of the vehicle

It appears that they've taken the cat itself, as well as the post-cat O2 sensor and possibly the pre-cat sensor too.

I'm not too familiar with the exhaust system but have looked online and found a few possibly compatable aftermarket items. It looks like on this model the cat is integrated into the downpipe (that attaches to the manifold with a bolted flange) and runs to a couple of hundred quid. On top of that I'm probably looking at £60ea for the sensors plus labour as I don't have the facilities to fit it myself.

I've just called a local garage who've declined the work as they can't source the part and refuse to fit anything they've not sourced themselves.

I'd be happy to go used but appreciate that finding a serviceable cat might be difficult and I lack the ability to remove such an item from a scrap car, so I think my options are limited in this regard.

I'd love to fit a de-cat pipe (I've read stories of Gdi engines passing emissions tests even without the cat) however have also read that since 2012 it became an automatic MOT failure for a vehicle to have no cat if one was originally fitted - can anyone shed any light on whether this is retrospectively applied to older vehicles or whether it might only apply to cars made after 2012? Also, any thoughts on the practicalities of running the car with a de-cat pipe would be appreciated.

Tbh I'm wondering if I'd just be better to cut my losses and write the car off. It belonged to my late father and has only covered 80k miles so I'd rather not, however I could probably get a bit of money back by breaking it / selling it to a breaker (it has full leather, alloys with some decent tyres and I know the throttle bodies are worth a few quid) - can anyone suggest anything else that might be of value please, were I to take this route?.

Added to this I know it's going to need some money spending on it soon (rear brakes, what's left of the exhaust looks a bit ropey and evidently has a loose baffle in one of the boxes, will need a couple of tyres) while the headlining is tatty and irritating.. so with these costs taken into account it might be more prudent to just cut my losses and buy another car. Had a new, £120 battery literally last week too

Tbh it sickens me to think of the car getting scrapped thanks to the selfishness and greed of couple of utter scumbags, but there's no point in throwning even more money at keeping it going if it's not worth it.. I know they're hardly desirable or particularly well-thought-of cars.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as I'm feeling pretty bloody miserable about the whole thing and need to sort a resolution pretty quickly

Thanks!


EDIT: Just been out to have another look and it seems they've cut the pipe rearward of the join with the middle box, so that's a write-off too. It still has a sensor of some sort attached (EGT or O2..?) but from the look of this item (which appears to be correct) it looks like there should also be another sensor in the back of the cat which is obviously missing, and there are a couple of trailing (unplugged rather than cut..?) wires visible on the driver's side of the car..

[Welton]

Very sorry to hear this and especially the family connection with the car. The scum that did this do not even consider you, they are selfish and deserve a long stretch in prison.

A few things spring to mind; the cost of the CAT + exhaust system, the possibility of resetting the ECU codes or even the new O2 sensors not being as good as OE and spoiling the fuel economy etc.. plus the brakes and any other bits all begins to look expensive.

I don't know if the GDi CAT's are worth more to thieves? they might be quite large? in which case it could occur again - although from what I've heard these 'gangs' move around the country. I wonder if they know which cars have the 'best' CAT's?

[clarkey1984]

200 cell universal high flow cats are around 100 pounds, provided you know someone who can weld it into place on the cheap, offers a modest improvement over the standard item too, my t4 is currently decatted but the 200 cell is ready to go in.

[Dippydog]

If breaking it yourself do you have the time/capability/facilties to dismantle it?Selling to a breaker/the scrapman would be quicker/easier but would of course net you less cash.Personally if the car is basically a good one and given family connection I'd keep it and fix it.Yes they may return and nick the cat again but they could also do that on whatever you replace it with.

[theboymike]

Thanks guys

Originally Posted by Welton

Very sorry to hear this and especially the family connection with the car. The scum that did this do not even consider you, they are selfish and deserve a long stretch in prison.

A few things spring to mind; the cost of the CAT + exhaust system, the possibility of resetting the ECU codes or even the new O2 sensors not being as good as OE and spoiling the fuel economy etc.. plus the brakes and any other bits all begins to look expensive.

I don't know if the GDi CAT's are worth more to thieves? they might be quite large? in which case it could occur again - although from what I've heard these 'gangs' move around the country. I wonder if they know which cars have the 'best' CAT's?

Thanks for your support; totally agree although I'd favour a permanent stretch at the bottom of the local canal for those responsible tbh!

You make some good points about the ECU that I'd not considered, although (legitimately or otherwise) I'd expect any replacement sensors to be fit for purpose.

I'm not sure about the Gdi cats specificially - FWIW from the parts I've found online it appears that the cat assy seems to be the same for all engine variants and are more prone to variation in spec due to age than engine type.

I was surprised that the car was targetted as it seems the most susceptible are newer vehicles with multiple, far more expensive cats (plus those on 4x4s with higher ground clearance which obviously makes access easier).

I could probably do the brakes myself for the cost of a piston tool, although it'd be a ballache as the car's kept away from the house and I have nowhere to work on it

Originally Posted by clarkey1984

200 cell universal high flow cats are around 100 pounds, provided you know someone who can weld it into place on the cheap, offers a modest improvement over the standard item too, my t4 is currently decatted but the 200 cell is ready to go in.

Thanks for the thought, however the car's just a utility hack so I'm looking to strike a balance between cost / hassle / turnaround, so unfortunately I think fabricating anything is out

Originally Posted by Dippydog

If breaking it yourself do you have the time/capability/facilties to dismantle it?Selling to a breaker/the scrapman would be quicker/easier but would of course net you less cash.Personally if the car is basically a good one and given family connection I'd keep it and fix it.Yes they may return and nick the cat again but they could also do that on whatever you replace it with.

I certainly have the time, facilities not so much. I did a 940 many years ago but that was when I had a workshop at my disposal, now it'd just be a set of basic hand tools so certainly big mechanical stuff would be out of the question. Just thinking out loud really regarding getting some value back out of it before it went for scrap.

Not sure what current scrap values are now but I doubt the scrap man would notice / complain if a few smaller / lighter / less noticeable / higher value parts were missing.


Having thought about it for a while I'm erring more on the side of getting the work done. The car has limited sentimental value; really I feel more of a sense of obligation toward the car itself as it's not had a particularly easy life but has generally proven faithful, reliable and largely cheap to run.

It's also a fairly known quantity and is pretty low mileage.

On top of that, scrapping it would raise a whole new set of questions - what to replace it with as well as all the hassle of researching and sourcing an appropriate vehicle.

If I were to spend just the cost of repair on a replacement vehicle it'd probably be a high-mileage shed with all manner of other potential issues (and of course an unknown quantity) while going for something better would obviously cost a lot more, and tbh this latest experience has only reinforced the anxiety I'd feel towards owning something nicer, considering how willing some selfish pricks are to defile anything in the pursuit of a few easy quid.

I'm still in the process of getting some quotes for repair; in my mind a line's been drawn in the sand of maybe £800 - any more than that for all the work it needs doing and I think I'll seriously consider scrapping it. If it's within that I'll just have to bite the bullet and get it done.

End of the day, this latest example of utter scumbaggery aside it's inevitable that the running costs of old cars are sometimes going to exceed their value, but if it keeps them going for a fair amount of time it's justifiable. It's done 80k now and I'm currently doing very little mileage so if maintained it could well go on for another 5-10yrs IMO.

Will keep the thread updated anyway.. thanks again for all the support

[Nick45]

CAT theft is becoming a common occurrence judging by threads on other forums I frequent - not just for scrap either. The rarer items are being stolen and re-sold. See here for more info about preventative bolt on guards etc.. (and a fair bit of righteous anger too!):
https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/212982/stole-cat

Hope you get a decent outcome Mike.

[theboymike]

Originally Posted by Nick45

CAT theft is becoming a common occurrence judging by threads on other forums I frequent - not just for scrap either. The rarer items are being stolen and re-sold. See here for more info about preventative bolt on guards etc.. (and a fair bit of righteous anger too!):
https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/212982/stole-cat

Hope you get a decent outcome Mike.

Thanks Nick - unfortunately it's not looking good as nowhere local can source an aftermarket item and have suggested Volvo - going to give them a call but it's doubtless going to cost far more than the car is worth so I'm fully expecting to have to write the car off

Ta for the link - as it happens the ****bags who did my car also had the cat of a neighbour's MX5 too. Tbh I struggle to find the words to describe the utter contempt I feel towards those responsible..

So, assuming it's a write-off, I'm guessing there's not much point going through the insurance as whatever they might pay out will be recoved many times over in my lost NCB.

Assuming I strip the car of what can easily be accessed without a lift before it's scrapped, can anyone advise me of what's worth keeping and it's value please? I know the GDI throttle bodies go for decent money and the car has full leather in decent nick so that's got to be worth a little bit. It also has alloys with at least a couple of decent tyres..

Thanks people - I appreciate the support as this whole disgusting situation has made me immensely angry, frustrated and depressed


EDIT: Well that was depressing if unsurprising: In a nutshell, ballpark figures for all the exhaust parts (not including sensors) that the pikey scum have taken:

- Front pipe, £200
- Cat, £800
- Centre box, £200

The fact that they're wrecked the sections either side of the cat suggest that maybe they'll try and move it on whole; which is hardly surprising given their cost. I can find replacements on ebay but nothing that's "type approved" - I'm guessing that MOT testers are savvy to non-type-approved cats and have some way of identifying them..?

[clarkey1984]

An aftermarket cat for a GDI is about 60 pounds on eBay, as long as it drops the emissions so it can pass an MOT it doesn't really matter what make it is, I'm unsure who's quoted you those kind of figures but thats just horrendous.

[SwissXC90]

Make sure you report it to the police, and also to your insurance company

Depending on insurance, you may be insured for theft of parts from the vehicle

[Nick45]

Clarkey is talking about things like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RSJ90708-...kAAOSwmZFZoeMQ

There are also things like this:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-V40...514b1258fd2c2f

Have a word with your local neighbourhood backstreet garage and see if they think they can make it work. Good luck