Stolen Catalyst mx5 mk3

Area Discussion Yorkshire Ridings
1

Hi guys,Im in need of help as someone jacked my mk3 2007 1.8 mx5 and cut off the second Catalyst is there a way of fixing this? And do I have to replace the second Cat or will it pass mot without it
Cheers Xavia

2

There is much debate about whether it will pass the MOT or not. Nobody to my knowledge has failed an MOT for removing one of the cats but it’s usually the manifold one that gets removed rather then the more obvious rear one.

In your position I would be inclined to replace the rear cat with a straight pipe and see what happens come MOT time. The straight pipe should be fairly inexpensive and it’s not going to be stolen. Worst case you’ll be out the cost of a straight bit of tube and an MOT test

1 Like
3

Thanks for the quick reply,I’ll look into getting a straight pipe
Cheers Xavia

4

sorry to but it here but can i just get some clarification, please!

you are saying that someone jacked up your car while it was parked somewhere and stole part of the exhaust?

don’t get me wrong here this is not a case of “I don’t believe you”, it’s a case of “■■■ seriously! they stole your exhaust! what the hell is wrong with these people”

5

Yeah I know!! I couldn’t believe it,I’ve only just bought it as a project car really,just means having to sort the mess they’ve made now!

6

wow.
I’m from the, shall we say, lower end of the working class and so I am quite familiar with certain ways of life and certain types of people!!!
but even so.
I’ve never heard of anyone doing anything like that!
I and a friend used to sneak stuff out of the scrapyard in the false bottom of his toolbox but again to steal someone’s exhaust!!!
it’s just crazy!
I’m going to take a guess here and say that you need to be looking at the local boy-racer community.
a serious crook would have taken the car!
so yeah id bet money it’s someone from your local boy racer community and that they either did it themselves or paid someone to do it for them.

7

Not being funny but I am surprised you are surprised. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, the theft of Cats off cars is very common and has been in the news a lot. They steal them for the precious metal content.

However, they do normally go for cars with higher ground clearance so to try and get under an MX5 is pretty desperate.

8

ahh, there’s the problem you see.
I don’t watch the news.
in fact, I don’t even have a TV!
and coincidentally the 3 and a half years without a TV have been the best, most productive, and most successful years of my entire life!
seriously dump your TV, because life without it is much better!

1 Like
9

Obviously the pondlife who stole your cat isn’t the sharpest pencil in the box. The only ones off an mx5 that are worth anything are from a MK2/2.5 & even then prices are well down on earlier in the year.

10

Better than what I thought when he said someone had jacked his car.

If you watch the Lights Up, Lights Down (The MX5-Restorer) videos on YouTube, not so long ago one of the videos they posted was having to fit a replacement to a Mk1 after it got cut out.

11

Yes, I saw that. He said the same thing. MK1 ones are only worth about £40 scrap value so the scrote wouldn’t have got a great return for his/her effort. Shame it didn’t have rusty sills so the jack collapsed on him/her.

1 Like
12

I’ve been offered £350 for my NC1 underfloor from the guy who recycle’s ours at work(nudge nudge wink wink).

Also told me well protected by chassis braces so should be hard to get to.

He did follow that up with asking where I live🤣

13

It is surprising how well the price paid for scrap cats has held up, considering that Rhodium, the main driver is now at around a third of its former glory price earlier in the year. It has actually returned to the levels seen when cats were not worth a huge amount, pre Covid. The reasoning for the rise being a drop in precious metal production through mining for obvious reasons resulting in a higher demand for recycled material. Production levels restored and a glut of scrap cats has reversed this trend.
I digress, Rhodium is down around 65% and cat prices less than 50%.
The myth that it is only MK2/MK2.5 cats that are worth money is simply that, a myth. They are all being stolen MK1 - MK4. Apparently a standard early Eunos cat is currently worth around ÂŁ150.
Not sure what happened to Edvard Edva from Platinum recycling or whatever his company was called but seems to have disappeared. The latest information I have comes from a company called cats and dust. See if you can work it out :slightly_smiling_face: .