> Did that help with tracking down the thief too?
Of course not.
> I suspect the outcome is still the same of your catalytic converter being gone for good, even if it helped you narrow down details for a police report.
Correct.
> As such, the utility is still zero, since the desired outcome is "get my property back", unless you needed this many details for insurance purposes (they usually only ask for a police report, and police are happy to take any data since they are unlikely to find the perpetrator anyway).
That was not the desired outcome. My desired outcome was to make reporting to the police go as smoothly for me as possible which I'd preferably entirely skip if not for the fact that insurer required me to report it.
Talking to the police (or anyone really) is a stressful event for me so any help with establishing what to say was very much appreciated.
On semi-related note my car is at repair shop for 3 months already and I have no idea how much longer will it be because apparently no supplier of catalytic converters is willing to estimate when they'll have a single item for Toyota Auris.
