Thieves steaing catalytic convertors as well as fuel

With the rising costs associated with keeping your car on the road, it’s not a great time to be a motorist in the UK. But more bad news was revealed in the weekend papers, with reports of criminals not only helping themselves to fuel from cars by draining their tanks, but now also stealing catalytic converters.

With some vehicles able to hold a hundred pounds worth of fuel at a time, it is a lucrative business for the thief. Catalytic converters can make crooks £60 each when sent overseas to specialist processing plants where the precious metals are extracted. Not only does the poor motorist have to fork out for more fuel or pay for a new catalytic converter (which can cost between £600 and £1500 taking into account the costs of labour), but thieves are not bothered about the damage done in carrying out their crime and this can add hundreds to the bill. If you claim on your insurance policy, you then run the risk of losing your no-claims bonus and will in all likelihood have an excess to pay.

The AA offers the following advice to motorists:

• If possible, park in a garage overnight.
• Be choosy about where you leave your car at other times – pay that bit extra for a car park with security staff or good lighting.
• Have your catalytic converter marked – this will help police trace it if it is stolen.
• Consider fitting your car with an alarm which goes off if motion is detected.
• If your catalytic converter has been stolen, do not attempt to drive your car as this could cause further damage.

Comments

Leave your comments

Name:
Email:
Comments:
Please enter the validation code shown

Your email address is required so we can verify that the comment is genuine. It will not be posted anywhere on the site, will be stored confidentially by us and never given out to any third party.