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Catalytic Converter Theft Warning For Car Owners

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What's the one thing you'd expect car thieves to take besides your vehicle itself?

A stereo system, your cell phone, maybe something out of your glove compartment.

But your catalytic converter?

Chances are most drivers don't even know where the device, which helps control emissions, is on their automobiles.

But crooks do.

It turns out the piece of equipment that sits out of sight on your car contains ingredients that are becoming increasingly valuable on the black market. And it's incredibly easy to steal.

"All it takes is a sawzall with a metal blade, a couple of quick cuts and it's out," explains Cam Young, a mechanic at Cam's Auto Service. "Less than two minutes."

And it's a growing crime. One Brampton auto shop recently lost $1 million worth of catalytic converters.

What's the big attraction? It's what inside that counts.

Catalytic converters contain expensive precious metals like platinum - which is worth up to $1,200 an ounce; palladium, which can fetch $320 an ounce and rhodium, the biggest prize of all. It goes for up to $6,000 an ounce on the market.

The fact so many are disappearing doesn't shock Young. "With the price of the scrap, the value of the part, how easy it is to steal, I'm not surprised at all."

Ironically, replacing a converter will only run you about $300. But to a thief, all those separate parts are as good as gold.

"It's not just warehouse thefts we're hearing about," relates P.C. Sean Piper of Peel Regional Police. "We're actually having small cases of public parking lots, vehicles that are being left in GO stations."

You can't lock them down and you can't really stop a determined thief from making off with it. So what can you do to protect yourself?

Try to park in a safe and secure place, where a stranger with a saw would be instantly suspect. And when possible, keep your car in your garage instead of on your driveway.

That blows . I just had to put 2 cats on my ride to make it emmisions exempt. Course some of the stuff fell out of them ....But i,d still hate to have to do it again ..77.

i think crimnals have sunk to a new low

no worry here... i dont have em...

straight pipe ftw :thumbsup: :thumbsdow

lmao... this is too funny.

so if u get pulled over for no cat say somebody stole it.

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Originally Posted by nolimtzel

so if u get pulled over for no cat say somebody stole it.

unless your going to take a jig saw and cut your cat out, then the cops will believe you.........straight pipe will just screw u over

i heard the cops check if u have a cat or not by putting a metal "snake" threw ur muffler and if it stops then you have cat. But how about hi-flow cats, they are straight through.

I guess my question is that does a Hi flow cat means No cat in cop terms. Do you still get the $350 ticket???

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Originally Posted by Supra_RZ

unless your going to take a jig saw and cut your cat out, then the cops will believe you.........straight pipe will just screw u over

or ya could cut it out yerself, sell it to whatever retard buys stolen cats, go to crappy tire and buy a 2foot length of pipe and 2 clamps and bolt er in. Then tell the cops "it was stolen, i cant afford the $300 bux so i put this pipe in instead" OR play stupid about emission controll devices cuz yer not a mechanic and say "i started my car, there was a loud noise, something looked missing so i put this pipe in to shut er up"

ya i knoe those r dumb - i almost regret posting this - almost

addition:- snake in the pipe, not likely cuz some mufflers have too many tight bends to feed a snake through, plus ya shouldnt go poking the honeycomb in the cats cuz ya could mildly wreck it. Tapping on the outter casing with a hammer/screwdriver/etc.. will give a hint to wheather or not its hollow

you could allways hollow out a cat and have it on the car so it "looks" like the thing is there

Funny stuff...

Wait till they steal mine and find the Treasure chest empty :smilie_da

VW Rabbits don't have them.:smilie_da

i think that article is a little overrated. Why would we be paying 300 dollars when they can sell them for 1200 an ounce +? I know cats are worth the extra penny in scrap, but not that much.

those big ass scrap cats fetch about $25-40 each from recyclers, not sure how much they sell bulk amounts for tho.

I think they are work fukk all honestly, regardless of whats in em

also some true performance cats dont cause HP loss, some even claim to create 2 HP

How can you say they don't work? Of course they work, what a stupid thing to say.

As for performance cats, what people get here as a "performance cat" like a Magnaflow/Car Sound high flow cat, isn't anything special... if you want more flow, go with a nice metal 100-200 cell race cat.

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Originally Posted by Kuztom Freak

whoops, typo, my bad

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those big ass scrap cats fetch about $25-40 each from recyclers, not sure how much they sell bulk amounts for tho.

I think they are work fukk all honestly, regardless of whats in em

I was talking in regard to burnt out, used up cat's, and I typo'd, it should read, I think those are WORTH fukk all honestly, regardless of whats in em (meaning worth fukk all to steal - unless yer a sidewalk licking crack head)

I know full well they work, I used to own a small shop once upon a time