Catalytic Converter thefts are rising...

[lxskllr]

A Dodge! One of the best vehicles I had. It was an ex SHA van. Ran great, and didn't give me any problems. Died at 220k. The oil gauge stopped reading, and I rolled the dice and assumed it was the gauge. It wasn't... :^(

 

[BoomerD]

Something like 15 years ago, our neighbor in CA had his catalytic converter stolen off his car while it was parked at Costco waiting for tires.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

"The Justice Department has arrested 21 people suspected of belonging to a theft ring that made millions of dollars from stolen catalytic converters, the car parts that have increasingly become targets across the country.

A team of law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels seized hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, such as homes, bank accounts and cash, cars and jewelry from the defendants. They are being charged with conspiracy to transport stolen catalytic converters, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and more.

The federal government is seeking $545 million total in forfeitures. "

-------

"Fifteen of the defendants are accused of buying catalytic converters from local thieves and shipping them to DG Auto in New Jersey.

Six people of DG Auto are accused of buying the stolen parts and "de-canning" them to extract the powdered metals and sell them to a metal refinery. "

A theft ring that allegedly made millions from catalytic converters has been busted

Thefts of catalytic converters has skyrocketed over the last few years, as they contain rare metals. The federal government is seeking $545 million in forfeitures from the defendants.

www.npr.org

Lock 'em up.

 

[Red Squirrel]

There's been a huge theft ring in my city for years now, not just cats, but literally everything that's not tied down, and even things that are. Wish they would do something about it but they don't care. Businesses are starting to leave down town because it cost too much to keep fixing doors, windows, etc.

 

[TXHokie]

Used to have a Honda many years ago that had bad cat that keep throwing the check engine lights and wouldn't pass inspection. Twice I replaced it with third party cat and it lasted over a year before the CEL comes back again failing inspection. After the second time, I was told I had to get OEM cat converter or problem won't go away. The OEM cat cost $900 vs the 3rd party costing $250-$300 (way back then, I'm sure it cost a lot more now). The car was worth around $2k then so I traded the car.

 

[snoopy7548]

There's been a huge theft ring in my city for years now, not just cats, but literally everything that's not tied down, and even things that are. Wish they would do something about it but they don't care. Businesses are starting to leave down town because it cost too much to keep fixing doors, windows, etc.

You gotta be a real dick to steal someone's kitty.

 

[Captante]

My neighbor had his catalytic converter stolen from his Jeep while parked on the busy street in front of his house in broad daylight.

The thieves were in with a "Sawzall" and out in about 2 minutes flat.

 

[Charmonium]

I saw this meme recently. It's just text and goes something like this

hey! I start my new job removing catalytic converters tonight at midnight.

 

[Paperdoc]

A couple decades ago ....
a neighbour got into his car in the morning (a rear-wheel drive Pontiac) parked off the back lane), started up, and tried to back out. No go! Engine revved and all, but no movement. Eventually he looked under the car to find no drive shaft or universal joints, but loose U-bolts on the ground.

 

[Muse]

"The Justice Department has arrested 21 people suspected of belonging to a theft ring that made millions of dollars from stolen catalytic converters, the car parts that have increasingly become targets across the country.

A team of law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels seized hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, such as homes, bank accounts and cash, cars and jewelry from the defendants. They are being charged with conspiracy to transport stolen catalytic converters, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and more.

The federal government is seeking $545 million total in forfeitures. "

-------

"Fifteen of the defendants are accused of buying catalytic converters from local thieves and shipping them to DG Auto in New Jersey.

Six people of DG Auto are accused of buying the stolen parts and "de-canning" them to extract the powdered metals and sell them to a metal refinery. "

A theft ring that allegedly made millions from catalytic converters has been busted

Thefts of catalytic converters has skyrocketed over the last few years, as they contain rare metals. The federal government is seeking $545 million in forfeitures from the defendants.

www.npr.org

Lock 'em up.

Yeah, saw that story on TV news on Nov. 2, two days ago. Brings hope it will actually reduce the CC thefts going on. That's a huge ring they just brought down that ranged all over the country.

They said one CC can net $1000 to the thieves, or was it to whoever fences the booty from them?

They busted a business that was a front for the processing of the CCs stolen by the ring.

Myself, I needed some work done on my exhaust system around 6 months ago and while there I priced having a shield installed on my CC. I went for it, it was around $350. Designing, making and installing CC shields is one of their specialties. I went in because of the noises I'd been hearing, that turned out to be my exhaust pipe had detached from my muffler, fixing that cost around $140. There has been a lot of CC theft in my area for some years now... I park in my driveway. Really glad I had that shield installed, they used screws AND rivets, IIRC.

My neighbor had his catalytic converter stolen from his Jeep while parked on the busy street in front of his house in broad daylight.

The thieves were in with a "Sawzall" and out in about 2 minutes flat.

I think they said on the news the other day they can be as fast as a minute.

 

[deadlyapp]

Yeah, saw that story on TV news on Nov. 2, two days ago. Brings hope it will actually reduce the CC thefts going on. That's a huge ring they just brought down that ranged all over the country.

They said one CC can net $1000 to the thieves, or was it to whoever fences the booty from them?

They busted a business that was a front for the processing of the CCs stolen by the ring.

Myself, I needed some work done on my exhaust system around 6 months ago and while there I priced having a shield installed on my CC. I went for it, it was around $350. Designing, making and installing CC shields is one of their specialties. I went in because of the noises I'd been hearing, that turned out to be my exhaust pipe had detached from my muffler, fixing that cost around $140. There has been a lot of CC theft in my area for some years now... I park in my driveway. Really glad I had that shield installed, they used screws AND rivets, IIRC.
I think they said on the news the other day they can be as fast as a minute.

Most cats are not re-sold but are instead turned to scrap. Most likely - one cat is only worth a couple of hundred dollars in scrap materials. But for a thief it's easy and fast - with a battery powered recip or cut off, they can have it cut in less than a minute.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Was in a rough part of town yesterday, saw a car with back window smashed in, and at another corner a bunch of glass on the ground that looked like perhaps another car that got smashed in at another time. Also saw a house that was full of garbage, then another that had poop thrown at it. Just every house I walked by had something going on lol.

Next time I order from that particular restaurant I'm getting it delivered.

 

[MrSquished]

Was in a rough part of town yesterday, saw a car with back window smashed in, and at another corner a bunch of glass on the ground that looked like perhaps another car that got smashed in at another time. Also saw a house that was full of garbage, then another that had poop thrown at it. Just every house I walked by had something going on lol.

Next time I order from that particular restaurant I'm getting it delivered.

I see less of that in the much larger city areas I frequent

 

[Meghan54]

I saw this meme recently. It's just text and goes something like this

hey! I start my new job removing catalytic converters tonight at midnight.

Then they’re doing it wrong. Saw all takes too long and damned loud. Electric tree limb loppers work faster and much more quietly.

 

[Captante]

Was in a rough part of town yesterday, saw a car with back window smashed in, and at another corner a bunch of glass on the ground that looked like perhaps another car that got smashed in at another time. Also saw a house that was full of garbage, then another that had poop thrown at it. Just every house I walked by had something going on lol.

Next time I order from that particular restaurant I'm getting it delivered.

Plenty of areas in New Haven where you would NEVER EVER catch me walking day or night by choice and the same can be said for ANY medium/large US city.

Not many decent restaurants in the "hood" anyway though.



It's always seemed strange to me that "meth-activity" is so much more common out in the sticks then in large metro-areas in the Northeast and I suspect that's to blame for a lot of the "blight" you're seeing in Timmins.

My ex-gf lives in Montana now in a tiny little town an hour south of Missoula. She tells me there's meth-labs busted locally all the time and strung out homeless users wandering around like zombies are a common sight.

 

[Brainonska511]

It probably would help if some manufacturers didn't put catalytic converters in extremely easy to access spaces.

 

[Captante]

It probably would help if some manufacturers didn't put catalytic converters in extremely easy to access spaces.

That was the situation with my friends Jeep.... you could put your hand directly on it while kneeling next to the vehicle.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Plenty of areas in New Haven where you would NEVER EVER catch me walking day or night by choice and the same can be said for ANY medium/large US city.

Not many decent restaurants in the "hood" anyway though.



It's always seemed strange to me that "meth-activity" is so much more common out in the sticks then in large metro-areas in the Northeast and I suspect that's to blame for a lot of the "blight" you're seeing in Timmins.

My ex-gf lives in Montana now in a tiny little town an hour south of Missoula. She tells me there's meth-labs busted locally all the time and strung out homeless users wandering around like zombies are a common sight.

Yeah it's so odd, and it was not like this before. The problem just started maybe 5-10 years ago and just escalated from there. It kind of started gradually so it's really hard to tell what actually triggered it. The theft especially is so bad though, and it sucks because you constantly have to worry about having your stuff stolen.

 

[Captante]

Yeah it's so odd, and it was not like this before. The problem just started maybe 5-10 years ago and just escalated from there. It kind of started gradually so it's really hard to tell what actually triggered it. The theft especially is so bad though, and it sucks because you constantly have to worry about having your stuff stolen.

I just watched a Vice documentary the other day about problems real estate agents are running into with "meth/meth-lab" contaminated apartments and houses. Some of them are literally rendered uninhabitable!

Most people that make that stuff are anything but Walter White and the chemical-cocktails they whip up can be extremely toxic.

 

[Brainonska511]

That was the situation with my friends Jeep.... you could put your hand directly on it while kneeling next to the vehicle.

That's the problem with the Prius too (one of the prime targets for this): the CC is easily accessible if you slip under the car - apparently, you can cut one out in under 2 minutes if the owner hasn't installed a shield.

 

[Paperdoc]

Easy access to a Cat Converter is hard to avoid in vehicle design. The exhaust pipe itself is VERY hot and requires both air flow to cool it and space away from other heat-sensitive parts. The Cat Converter itself generates lots more heat in its normal function, so it is REALLY hot - that's why they usually have a shield around them to prevent things (like grass or flexible cables) from touching them. I remember the early days of these. Some car owners had grass fires start up under the parked cars with disastrous results!