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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe 3-minute heist (catalytic convertors) wreaking havoc on the Bay Area is only getting worse
An average of 1,600 times a month, thieves use handheld power saws to cut catalytic converters from the undersides of cars and trucks across California, including ones parked everywhere from private driveways to secured parking lots. The crime takes just a few minutes for practiced thieves, who are motivated by skyrocketing prices for the precious metals contained
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In interviews with nearly a dozen people who have been victims of catalytic converter theft, as well as local mechanics, dealerships, insurance companies and police, SFGATE discovered that people are dealing with the shortage in all kinds of ways: borrowing family cars, sinking their savings into ride-hailing apps, scouring the internet for third-party converters and just driving without one. Some have even opted for black-market solutions to muffle the unmistakable racket of a cat-free car which may help them get to work quietly, but leaves them with vehicles that would never pass a California smog test.
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The problem is only getting worse, according to Jiacomo Rodriguez of Precision Auto in San Francisco.
Ive had customers whove had them stolen four or five times, he told SFGATE. Ive heard many stories
scary ones where people went outside to chase the thieves down and guys were there with guns. Most times its when our heads are on the pillows and we dont hear it or see it.
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A worker at a Bay Area Toyota dealer, who asked to remain anonymous because they werent authorized to disclose order details, told SFGATE theres currently a national backlog of 10,000 orders for converters to fit certain models of Prius, including 2,000 parts backordered locally. (A Toyota spokesperson declined to comment on the numbers.)
San Carlos resident Joel Eisenberg knows about the long wait to get a new catalytic converter hes been waiting for a replacement for his 2012 Prius since early October.
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Some people are skipping the cost and illegally bypassing the catalytic converter
Due to the high cost to replace a stolen catalytic converter, some people are resorting to illegal setups so they can continue to drive their cars. Some smog shops will take under-the-table payments to look the other way on cars with catalytic converters that meet federal standards, for instance, but not California ones, as East Bay resident Lucy Armentrout found out when she accidentally bought the wrong catalytic converter to replace one stolen off her 2005 Honda Accord five months ago.
Although the AutoZone parts computer indicated the converter would meet California air quality standards, the first mechanic she took it to refused to install it, telling her it wasn't compliant and his shop could be shut down if he installed an illegal replacement. She took it to a second shop, which confirmed it wasnt compliant but said if she paid extra, they would install it and ensure her car passed a smog check. She opted to return the converter and pay the steep price for a legal one, instead.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/catalytic-converter-thefts-target-prius-17621912.php
Luciferous
(6,086 posts)Chainfire
(17,684 posts)My son had two stolen from his vehicles, (Rural Florida) in his driveway in a single incident. When we took one of the vehicles to the shop to have it replaced, they were happy to sell us a "used one." For all we know they sold him back his own cat.
Because the people stealing, selling, buying and reselling stolen property are going to stop when the state requires a license.
bamagal62
(3,274 posts)Over Chicago when we left in May.
DFW
(54,465 posts)The cops in Germany won't even get involved in unarmed theft, since thieves who are caught without physically harming their victims are set free the day they are arrested, and basically told, "bad boy!" Since most form of self-defense will end in the arrest of the person defending their property, the mood isn't very great here, and it is a race to see if the authorities crack down first, or if the population starts arming itself (cumbersome, but legal if you pass a psych test and follow all the rules) because the cops will take no action.
Organized theft is such a big business here that sometimes entire train routes are laid inactive for days because thieves have severed and stolen huge stretches of copper electrical cables that are needed to run the all-electric train networks here. While some of the Russian gangs have had difficulty getting visas to come here, the slack is quickly taken up by gangs from Balkan countries, Baltic countries, and both Poland and the Czech Republic, although the Czechs tend to concentrate on car theft, since the Germans can't touch the chop shops on the Czech side of the border with relatively affluent Bavaria.
The far right here loves it, because official inaction fuels anti-foreigner sentiment, translating into more votes for them.
multigraincracker
(32,738 posts)Catalytic Converter Theft Bait Car. Then put a bounty on turning crooks in. Like $10K, no honor among crooks.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Marking catalytic converters so they cant be easily resold.
In Indiana its illegal to sell or buy a catalytic converter by itself, unless the sale is to a used parts dealer or repair company, or it comes with an affidavit that the seller owns the part legally.
(But this does nothing, really, to stop the shady underground buyers and sellers, who are the problem.)
Like with copper wiring, catalytic converters are seen as a way to make a quick buck.
Jose Garcia
(2,610 posts)harumph
(1,917 posts)too burdensome to steal?
Captain Zero
(6,845 posts)I have a neighbor who caged his catalytic converter on his jeep. Jeeps are a target because they sit so high off the ground it's easy for the crook to slide under and get it.
This neighbor did it after he interrupted a theft when they were just starting to cut it off.
Liberal In Texas
(13,601 posts)need to be found and shut down. That is probably the only way this is going to slow this epidemic down.
Laws have been beefed up requiring fingerprints etc. for selling them but the thieves just pack up their pelf and sell it in nearby states that don't have the requirements.
Also, it might be nice if the auto industry would do some research in producing a catalytic converter that didn't have to use ridiculously expensive rare metals and make them less desirable to steal.
BTW. EVs don't have cat converters.
MissB
(15,812 posts)It made buying and selling of the catalytic converters from unauthorized sellers illegal.
Still hasnt stemmed the tide.
Jiffy lube recently offered the tats like mentioned above.
An organized ring was broken up a few months back and that helped for a bit.
And yes, I dont worry at all about my EV.
mn9driver
(4,428 posts)Laws have been passed to outlaw resale of catalytic converters, but the thieves responded by consolidating their hauls and transporting them long distances to where it is legal, or just to a place that doesnt care.
These folks have been busted driving UHauls packed with hundreds or even more stolen cats. Scrap dealers in New Jersey and other places have been busted fencing millions of dollars worth of them.
Laws and more law enforcement attention isnt going to solve the problem. Exhaust systems will have to be redesigned or retrofitted to make it more time consuming to steal these things. Its the only thing that has been shown to work.
sarisataka
(18,857 posts)BlueWaveNeverEnd
(8,112 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,539 posts)Their bodies were dumped in a lake but later found. Doesnt seem like something worth risking your life over but its unlikely they face any real fear of violence in SF or major metro. In the sticks? Its apparently a real bad idea to go looking for the converters.
Luciferous
(6,086 posts)and got killed?
BannonsLiver
(16,539 posts)MichMan
(12,000 posts)People wonder why insurance is so expensive.
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(8,112 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,319 posts)I wondered about that because there's only around 5g of platinum in a cat converter. And, with platinum at $1,050 per ounce, there's only about $12 of platinum.
So, stealing the converter for the platinum made no sense.
But, now I see this is more "chop shop" sort of thing. With new ones being $1-2.5k, there's a whole market for $300 converters.
Not that I condone this is anyway, but at least it makes sense why this is a theft target.
MichMan
(12,000 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,319 posts)There's about 60 bucks of rhodium in there and about $15 of palladium. So about $86 of precious metals.
But, with the extraction cost, it's probably still more profitable to sell the converter for a hundred & fifty bucks.
jeffreyi
(1,945 posts)Say, for a Tacoma? At least to slow them down a little?
MichMan
(12,000 posts)Last edited Sat Dec 3, 2022, 06:38 PM - Edit history (1)
As long as thefts are rampant, it will be the everyone stuck paying the higher insurance premiums, because some people would rather steal than get a job.