Every couple of months, Craig Heiser watches a car putter into his garage without a catalytic converter. “We see that they’ve been cut out,” says Heiser, owner of highly rated in Sacramento, California.
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“After we install a new one, we’ll usually send them to an auto body shop to have steel plates put on them for anti-theft purposes.” Catalytic converters don’t just fall off cars and go missing. Thieves are swiping them and selling them at scrap metal yards for $100 to $200.
It’s a crime that’s growing in popularity, according to police. Just this month, for example, Fresno, California, police say they recovered dozens of stolen catalytic converters from a chop shop on the city’s southwest side. Scrap metal theft has been popular for the past several years, as metal prices in the United States have soared. Catalytic converters are a crucial component of your car’s exhaust system. They’re located under the car and attached to the exhaust pipe, typically with bolts.
Their job is converting toxic fuel emissions into less toxic pollutants before they exit the car through the muffler. Catalytic converters are valuable to scrap metal dealers, in part, because they contain precious metals, including rhodium, platinum and palladium.
It typically only takes a thief a couple of minutes to remove a converter with a saw or wrench. All cars made after 1974 have catalytic converters, but some are more prone to theft. According to the, thieves often target pickup trucks and SUVs because they are easier to crawl under. Heiser says catalytic converters on Toyota trucks and SUVs in the 1990s to late 2000s are especially vulnerable to theft because those converters have a higher recycle value because of the metal from which they’re made. Thieves don’t seek out aftermarket converters as often because they don’t contain as many of the valuable metals they’re after. Also, some newer vehicles that meet stricter emissions standards feature multiple catalytic converters and can be more at risk for theft.
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent criminals from having easy access to these devices. Police recommend parking in your garage and in well-lit areas at night to avoid being an easy target for a criminal. Another way to avoid a potential catalytic converter theft, experts say, is to have a mechanic weld it to the exhaust system, but that might not totally protect it from a saw.
Drivers can also have a qualified service tech install a wire cage around the converter, and bolt and weld it to the frame. This, which Heiser recommends, typically costs $100. Having the vehicle identification number or license plate number etched onto the catalytic converter may prevent thieves from stealing it and taking it to a scrap yard. Depending where you live, many scrap yards are required by either local or state law to ask for identification before buying a used converter. Most catalytic converters do not come with identifying markers. Some states and municipalities are making it tougher for thieves to get money for stolen items like catalytic converters. Michigan Gov.
Rick Snyder into law in April 2014 requiring businesses in Michigan that buy certain scrap metal items for $25 or more to mail a check for the purchase amount to the address listed on a valid form of the seller’s identification, rather than pay out cash immediately. It won’t be difficult to tell if your catalytic converter is missing, Heiser says. When you start the car, you’ll hear a loud sound. Driving the vehicle without the converter could lead to engine damage. You’ll want to take your car to a highly rated muffler or auto repair shop as soon as possible to avoid a more costly repair and to prevent harmful emissions from releasing into the atmosphere.
“As long as you don’t drive it on a regular basis, you can still drive it into the shop even if it’s stolen,” Heiser says. The cost to replace a catalytic converter ranges on average from $1,000 to $2,000, according to highly rated mechanics Most insurance policies will cover the cost of a stolen catalytic converter, minus the deductible. “Replacement cost depends how the converter was cut out,” says Gregory Orson, owner of highly rated in Overland Park, Kansas. “They don’t always cut off right at the converter. Sometimes they cut the oxygen sensor or a pipe, and that’s more expensive to replace.”.