Last week 3 cars that I know of had the catalytic converters cut out in the middle of the night ,
One was next door to me and I did not hear anything 30 feet away ,
What do these Rats get for them from the corrupt scrap yard ?
And here you cannot buy a used Cat to replace it , and it needs to be a CARB compliant for any car from 2001 till now so no cheap aftermarket converters.
Is this happening across the country ?
It was big a few years ago here... but it's been back with the downturn in the economy. I've sold probably close to a dozen E-Series cut away converters in the last few months. They're apparently very easy to get to. They're not in the y-pipes like the vans, and you have lots of ground clearance.
My neighbor had the cat cut from her 2000 Accord twice at a BART parking lot. This was a few years ago though. People must be desparate for money.
And yeah, no cheap replacements. I was at a muffler shop and a guy came in with some used cats (in the box even) to be installed on his X5 and the manager of the muffler shop said, "Sorry, I can't touch that."
Does insurance cover it?
I had a friend that had hers taken while she was inside a restaurant. Apparently they use a sawzall and can get them off in just a matter of seconds. The cop said they can get $25.00 for each one which doesn't sound like all that much until you realize if they are getting 10-20 a night (day) it really adds up. We had our outdoor brass spigot cut off at our office at work last year. I came in to a fountain of water coming out of the side of the building . Same thing, with a swazall. Officer said they only get $5.00 for each one of them but they hit many locations. The same night the church just down the street had their brass fittings and gutters stolen as well as multiple other offices like ours losing their spigots. Hard times will inevitably cause an increase in theft like this.
My niece had hers taken twice off her CR-V. At least they were nice enough to just unbolt it, no damage to the vehicle. First time was in a gated apartment complex.
Most scrap metal buyers won't touch them, they require that a shop brings them with proof of replacement and several other hoops to jump through.
It isn’t a problem until commodity prices rise. I just heard an economic report yesterday and they said all commodities are pricing up now. It was a big problem in 2k9 and then for a long time you never heard of cat theft again. Now it’s back. By the way, it’s a canary in the coal mine for the economy as a whole.
Sorry. You wanted to talk about cars. Economics is my other hobby.
Idk, I got $170 for two old BMW 5-series cats (off cars I parted) from some random CL buyer. Older cars have the more valuable cats frommwhat I hear since they were much bigger. Aftermarket cats are virtually worthless.
Also way easier these days with all the SUVs and crossovers that sit high . No jack required
In reply to CyberEric :
Yes insurance will cover it. It's theft.
From last week. Apparently it adds up
Some CATS bring crazy money, some Acura/Hondas and some Audi cats can bring north of $200 each. And certen scrap yards don't follow the rules.
Another trick is to bust the element out with a pipe and take it to the scrapyard in a baggy. Pays less (by the ounce) but if you are getting 10 CATS a night it adds up and then you can scrap the shells for steel rate.
A few years ago they were hitting dealer lots for cats then switched to stealing wheels.
In the past I use to part wrecked/rotted e30's and a guy out west use to pay $100-200 plus shipping for a intact cats. So the moneys there.
My G35 cats sold for $100 within 2 hours on FB marketplace, and that was 2 years ago.
When scrap went way up in the early 20teens it was a problem here, along with empty houses being robbed for copper wiring and plumbing. Scrap prices dropping kind of killed it off. I know all of our local yards got a lot stricter about requiring ID on file and keeping track of who dropped off large amounts of non ferrous metals
Seems like a win-win; they get a cat to sell and you get a cat-less exhaust! Next thing you know there will be a rash of truck DPF thefts....
Dave M (Forum Supporter) said:Seems like a win-win; they get a cat to sell and you get a cat-less exhaust! Next thing you know there will be a rash of truck DPF thefts....
Problem here in California is the every 2 year smog check !
and I doubt many muffler shops would make a "test pipe" to replace the missing cat , plus they seem to cut them out not unbolt them....
I saw that story GTwannaB posted, here they just hit up new car dealers. No rust in your eyes!
I get $150-$200 for crap that I'm just throwing away as scrap, imagine if you really put your best efforts into it?
Here in SC a few years ago I sold the one from the Honda for like $70 to a scrap dealer, and I had to get a free license to bring it there. It was just a background check I think. Memory is hazy.
Some skel cut off my sprinkler control stuff at my office to get cash for the copper. $1200 later I had it replaced and covered up with a locked cage.
You can figure copper prices are going to go up with the nation wide ammunition shortage increasing its demand.
10 a night is at least a grand. Probably less risky and more profitable than selling drugs or robbing people. In GA they'd hit fleet vehicles. Think A/C or plumbing repair trucks/vans. No need for a jack, just park your white van next to all the other white vans, and slide truck to truck/van to van.
This kinda stuff dosen't help
https://stcloud.craigslist.org/wan/d/hutchinson-buy-dpfs-converters/7143213726.html
just talked with my neighbor , the car is a Honda Element and the dealer wants about $4000 to replace the cat , O2 sensor and something else they damaged (she was not sure what that is)
yes she has insurance......but that will probably go up......
I have heard Ford V-10 powered motorhomes are a big target.
In reply to californiamilleghia :
unless it's a pretty new one with low miles.. that's close to being totaled.
You'll need to log in to post.
