Catalytic Converter Theft

I bought a car last year and a month after I bought it the cat was stolen along with four others on my street. My neighbor had just replaced his when the new replacement cat was stolen too. I bought a plate that covers the cat making it harder to steal. So far it's worked, but who knows if anyone has even tried to? IDK. They steal them for the precious metals used in the cats, not worth a lot as scrap but a couple hundred bucks per cat is good enough for thieves.

signs up 2 blocks over

https://www.koin.com/local/clark-county/catalytic-converter-thief-suspec...

Oh yea big business in San Diego

The answer is to stop engineering automobiles that allegedly require them.  They used to have them in wood stoves , now technology uses old fashioned physics to burn wood cleaner than when the cats were involved.  It would be fun to have a lowrider/hydrologic setup on a car that drops and nearly crushes while trapping the criminals.  
 

at work, he have a fleet of 10 vans/cars/ disabled vans

a few weeks ago , we came out to 3 cat conv missing

boss put up (real) cameras next few day , we are a far out location, so someone knew to head that direction

shop nearby had footage of pickup going in/out, but way to far away and grainy to do anything with, but timeframed it 

funny thing is we leave a pile/stack  of metal (good big pieces, not nuts&bolts)  marked "FREE, please take" 

they didnt touch that.... mustve been too much/ heavy to lift . rather crawl on the ground and steal ......

How do you know when it's happened?

Is the car trashed, does it not run or is it obvious that the thing is missing when running?

You'll know as soon as you start the car and it sounds like a jet engine. There may be some leftover metal scraps laying on the ground under the transmission area too. Fuckers. I hate thieves.

Call a social worker.

My Acura MDX had about 210,000 miles on it and was running good - but to get it smogged

I would have had to replace both catalytic converter's at over 2K. Gave it to my daughter who found someone 

who "passed" the car. Car lasted about another year and then she gave it to someone in Mexico.

Probably being used by the Cartel now.

<< who is buying them

You got it, the local scrapyards, for cash, 2 or 3 hundred apiece, that buys a lotta crack.  Been an epidemic in ct for years, you'd think the cops would have a better system to nail em at the scrapyard. The local acts 4 ministries has 2 trucks, (to pick up and deliver furniture to the poor), got hit a few months ago,, both trucks. I offered to fill the void with my brothers pickup truck, they had me and about a dozen other volunteers doing trips for a couple weeks.

I loathe thieves.

The blue line flag guys will git um...

...nah, those jackhandles are too busy busting fiesty  chicks from CA! (See also SoUT Law Enforcement thread)

I wish I could afford a decent electric car.

No cat.

Several years back my CC was removed from my Tacoma while I was at work. Our building had what they called a secure parking deck. The video caught nothing but blobs rolling under my truck and a car leaving the deck unable to see the license plates. It ended up with a final cost of about a grand because I replaced my whole exhaust line at the same time. 5 toyota vehicles were reported that day in 2 back to back "secure" parking decks. Apparently Toyota vehicles are easy to get the CC. I put an aftermarket CC on it as a replacement. I have found out that the aftermarket CC's are not worth much on the stolen market.  A battery operated reciprocating saw and 1-2 minutes is all that is needed to perform this stunt. 

you can always get a Catclamp on there. I would have to think those rattle though. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhvDit2fbG4

Stealin cats and gals

Ooohhh this would be an angry discovery in the morning.  

Cat thefts are epidemic in our area. The thieves will hit an entire neighborhood in one night - yeah lots of Priuses around here. I don't know that the cat cages etc prevent thefts, the gangs  show up with all sorts of equipment - blow torches and battery operated saws. And they're armed.
 

There was an incident last month in the East Bay where a father and his son confronted the thieves in action and the kid got shot.

We have an older Honda CRV with 230,000 miles on it, runs great. It's parked on the street and I fully expect that it will get hit by the cat thieves soon. We do have it insured, but there's no way the insurance will pay for a new cat - even if we could get one, as the cost is higher than the value to the vehicle. 
 

> I put an aftermarket CC on it as a replacement.
 

I thought that was illegal? Maybe just in CA?

FUCK Where You Live Nancy.

I fully expect that it will get hit by the cat thieves soon <<< Really ? Boy Are You Dumb protecting your Vehicle

Pieces Of SHIT Will Do Piece Of SHIT Things.

Yeah, maybe it's dumb not investing in a cat cage, but I don't trust it will prevent the theft, and I'm not putting any money into the 17 year old jalopy  that's worth nothing, it's just a back up car that I should probably sell, I figure I'll be selling it to the insurance  company soon enough. Yes, it runs fine but the body is trashed.

and fuck where I live? the thefts are everywhere, asshole.

Pretty harsh response, Rob.

I had a dream about having my catalytic converter stolen last night. I blame this thread.

Yes, these assholes typically seem to work in groups/teams and are most likely armed as well. Stories like this are playing out nationwide so be careful out there and try to park smartly or do whatever you can to avoid any associated mishaps.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/man-shot-killed-by-officer-during-a...

The older cats have more precious metals in them and are going for a higher resale value.

As with any item whose active ingredients consist of precious metals, the current market value of each precious metal is what fuels the increased scrap price.

https://www.websitewithnoname.com/2015/10/how-much-platinum-palladium-rh...

I'm a light sleeper and for a while, when I'd hear a noise outside I'd peek out the window to check on the Jalopy with the valuable cat metals.

After hearing about the armed thieves, I'm not even bothering to look anymore, don't want to be tempted to confront (now presumably)armed thieves  - apparently they work so fast that even calling the cops would be futile.
 

I do check the vehicle every morning and am prepared to accept the loss. 
 

you'd think the cops could conduct some sting operations and bust these cat thief rings if they wanted 

Decriminalize  everything, crime goes down.

Sounds like a bad fortune cookie ^

yes in California all catalytic converter's must have proper part number and Executive order number or they fail the visual inspection.

Thus a quick trip to Tijuana for after market product doesn't work.

living in the hood as i do, i watched two guys in masks pull up in a beat up Camry to a Honda Electric car, and proceed to cut the converter out with a large metal cutting saw.  The woman with the car was screaming at them to stop but they didn't even flinch for a couple minutes as she was screaming.  Pulled it out, got back in the car, told her to fuck off and peeled out.  A couple days later it was reported this happened but the dudes shot at the neighbors who were complaining.  

It was pretty surreal seeing the lady threaten them with 911 and scream but they acted like she wasn't even there. 

Impossible to steal a cat off an electric car? Did you mean hybrid?

Thanks for the clarification. Yes