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Kittigate

Have you heard of anyone having the catalytic converter stolen from their vehicle?

Reading a recent news item about a new crime wave in some areas that thieves are removing catalytic converters from vehicles and getting as much as $500 for the item from scrap metal dealers. Then it might cost up to $3000 for the vehicle owner to replace.
A catalitic converter cleans the pollutants from vehicle emissions using costly metals such palladium, platinum, rhodium and gold in the process.

Posted - March 14, 2021
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Responses


  • 44649
    We had a wave of those thefts a few years ago. Once word got out, scrap dealers wouldn't buy them.
      March 15, 2021 7:45 AM MDT
    2

  • 13395
    When I lived in Manitoba I had a pick-up and on weekends would drive around to rural municipal dumps picking up scrap metals and found occasionally discarded catalytic converters. I only got 5 bucks at the time and their value new was around  $250.
      March 15, 2021 8:10 AM MDT
    2

  • 11087
    It was several years ago, but thieves were actually going into our employee parking lot during the day and stealing them from high-profile vehicles. I sat near the windows and the security guards asked me to report any suspicious activity but I never saw any.
      March 15, 2021 8:13 AM MDT
    3

  • 53524

     

      Yes, I’ve heard of a rash of such thefts before, but was probably at least a decade or two ago. It was quite a prominent problem back then.
    ~

    This post was edited by Randy D at March 15, 2021 10:32 AM MDT
      March 15, 2021 8:19 AM MDT
    2

  • 1952
    There are precious metals in catalytic converters,Platinum being the main attraction for thieves, I've personally never met anyone that's had one stolen from their vehicle. 
      March 15, 2021 9:44 AM MDT
    2