OT- Someone stole my catalytic converter. :(

[carpediemracing]

Originally Posted by Hindmost

Oh $%#&! I was hoping my Element was not easy pickings. Recently my neighbor's Prius was.

Although at a new job now, right after I left my old job (auto service center), we had 2 cars get their cats taken within 30 minutes of arrival (between 8 and 8:30am). One was the service manager's car, another was a customer (that gave us the time frame, time customer dropped off to the time a tech went out to bring it in).

This is in a shopping center with the busiest supermarket around (based on the region for this supermarket), a Lowes, McDs, Burger King, IHOP, CVS, a few banks, as well as a slew of smaller stores.

My daily driver has 4 cats and is up high. I am paranoid about leaving it for any length of time in even moderately sketchy areas (my old work place was one such moderately sketchy area).

[warren128]

I think a higher ground clearance vehicle can definitely make it easier for thieves to get under there. However, I have a recent video taken with my street facing security camera of thieves coming at 4:00 in the morning, calmly and methodically jacking up my neighbor's older sedan, and taking their catalytic converter, all finished in under 2 minutes, and they were not rushed about it. They were wearing hoodies and masks, and it was a side view of their car, so no plates were visible. These guys were pros, it sucks.

Originally Posted by Peter P.

I'm thinking one reason so many catalytic converters are stolen is because many newer cars, think crossovers and SUVs, have a higher ground clearance making it easy to access the cat.

One solution would be to equip cars with a device which lowers the car when shut off, or deploys side panels. Either that or those catalytic converter shields will have to become standard items on cars with ground clearance higher than "X", or the dealers will offer them as a high priced add-on, preying on customers' fears.

[zmudshark]

Originally Posted by Hindmost

Oh $%#&! I was hoping my Element was not easy pickings. Recently my neighbor's Prius was.

Buy a cat protector now. You don’t even have to get under the the car to get it.

There is a reason why they make Element specific protectors. These guys work in teams. They can get a cat off an Element in under a minute.

When mine was stolen I went to the Element forum. Nearly every post on the front page was about ‘join the club’.

[Polyglot]

Are cats car-specific or are there a smaller number of versions that are modified to fit a variety of cars? My wife's car is lowered and has the cats located centrally and thus theoretically impossible to reach without jacking up the car. My car is one of one within 2000 miles so if car-specific I doubt that I have anything to worry about.

[zmudshark]

Originally Posted by Polyglot

Are cats car-specific or are there a smaller number of versions that are modified to fit a variety of cars? My wife's car is lowered and has the cats located centrally and thus theoretically impossible to reach without jacking up the car. My car is one of one within 2000 miles so if car-specific I doubt that I have anything to worry about.

Cats are car specific, for the most part. They don’t steal them to reuse, they steal them for the value of the elements inside them.

My buddy daughter’s junk car was jacked up to steal her cat. Meth is a hell of a drug, and cat theft is big business.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...ter-theft-ring

Over half a billion dollars in one bust, and not in snow pesos. That must be a trillion or more in the GWN

I have to park one vehicle outside and have a camera on it at all times. I live in a safe neighborhood.

[Polyglot]

Originally Posted by zmudshark

Cats are car specific, for the most part. They don’t steal them to reuse, they steal them for the value of the elements inside them.

My buddy daughter’s junk car was jacked up to steal her cat. Meth is a hell of a drug, and cat theft is big business.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...ter-theft-ring

Over half a billion dollars in one bust, and not in snow pesos. That must be a trillion or more in the GWN

I have to park one vehicle outside and have a camera on it at all times. I live in a safe neighborhood.

hanks for the education. Is the problem in Ann Arbor or Arizona?

[zmudshark]

Originally Posted by Polyglot

hanks for the education. Is the problem in Ann Arbor or Arizona?

Arizona, mostly, but Ann Arbor is not immune. Happens all the time, every where. My buddy’s daughter’s car was in Ann Arbor.

[Nomadmax]

Originally Posted by Polyglot

Are cats car-specific or are there a smaller number of versions that are modified to fit a variety of cars? My wife's car is lowered and has the cats located centrally and thus theoretically impossible to reach without jacking up the car. My car is one of one within 2000 miles so if car-specific I doubt that I have anything to worry about.

Hybrid vehicle cats bring the most money. They have to be larger than pure ICE vehicles. The ICE on a hybrid isn't running all the time so it needs more internal honeycomb inside to stay hot and burn anything that gets by the combustion process, prior to exiting the tail pipe.

Pick up trucks are easy in that you don't have to jack the vehicle up. Using a battery powered sawzall it can be done in seconds.

[lavi]

These thieves should be clubbed in the head. All of them.

[Nevets]

I have older 4 Runner, its well off the ground. To reduce risk I bought a bunch of galvanized fence post brackets appropriate size to fit round the pipes and found some steel cable (1/4" maybe). I threaded through and around all the brackets over exhaust pipe right up to the manifold and back around the cat. Its not foolproof but makes it very difficult to access the pipe to cut through it quickly. Its just a deterrent hopefully. Maybe cost $20 and an hour of time. Special cat protector plates (made only for newer model cars can cost $4-500). Ive read they can sawzall a cat off a car in < 60 seconds including lifting it.

[hellvetica]

Originally Posted by Nevets

I have older 4 Runner, its well off the ground. To reduce risk I bought a bunch of galvanized fence post brackets appropriate size to fit round the pipes and found some steel cable (1/4" maybe). I threaded through and around all the brackets over exhaust pipe right up to the manifold and back around the cat. Its not foolproof but makes it very difficult to access the pipe to cut through it quickly. Its just a deterrent hopefully. Maybe cost $20 and an hour of time. Special cat protector plates (made only for newer model cars can cost $4-500). Ive read they can sawzall a cat off a car in < 60 seconds including lifting it.

I made a similar system for my Tacoma which are pretty easy to hit. Hopefully enough of a pain for them to just move on. Fck thieves!

[Louis]

So how does the palladium from the cats reenter the economy? Presumably it has to be extracted, refined in some way, then sold wholesale. Is that all done in the US? Are they shipped overseas? Either way, you'd think that if the problem is as big as it seems to be there would be a push to make the trafficking of it more difficult.

Put Popeye Doyle on the case!

[Anthonys]

Almost worst than bike thieves!

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Anthonys

Almost worst than bike thieves!

They'll steal your entire bike just to get the Campy SR wireless front derailleur battery.

[zmudshark]

Originally Posted by Louis

So how does the palladium from the cats reenter the economy? Presumably it has to be extracted, refined in some way, then sold wholesale. Is that all done in the US? Are they shipped overseas? Either way, you'd think that if the problem is as big as it seems to be there would be a push to make the trafficking of it more difficult.

As I posted above:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...ter-theft-ring