Catalytic Converter - Platinum Is A Thief's Best Friend

I do the , and almost every day there is at least one entry about a stolen catalytic converter, often several. Before I did the police log, I didn’t even know what a catalytic converter was.

Here is what I found out. These things are used on your car, truck and SUV to convert noxious gases emitted by the engine into more benign, less polluting gasses.

These converters often use platinum, or other precious metals, as part of the process. The price of these metals has risen substantially over the past few years, to the point where it is apparently worth snatching these devices off of certain vehicles.

On trucks and SUVs, which tend to sit higher off the ground, it is relatively simple to detach these devices and run. That’s why the police log usually shows the victims of catalytic converter thefts as truck or SUV owners.

I suppose if you’re a thief, you know where to take these stolen devices and cash them in.  It happens often enough that there must be a pretty efficient assembly line somewhere that dismantles these things, removes the precious metals and sells them off.

If you’re a victim, your car could suffer some pretty serious damage driving around without the converter, and it can cost up to $1,000 to replace.

So what can be done if you own a truck or an SUV and you want to protect yourself from being robbed?

I have had a few conversations with the police about this, but there is not much they can tell me in terms of prevention. Keep your vehicle in a locked garage if possible. Try and make it as difficult as you can for a catalytic converter thief to get access to the bottom of your vehicle.

Hopefully, with the high number of these crimes going on, and the expensive consequences that result, there will be a response from somewhere – perhaps the car manufactures will devise a more secure way to attach these things, or find other, less valuable substances to do the job.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes and ears open, and don’t buy black market platinum. You’ll only make matters worse.

WEATHER:

Mostly cloudy in the morning then becoming sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs in the upper 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph...becoming west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

EVENTS:

TODAY IN HISTORY (from Wikipedia):

1900 - The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company is founded.

1907 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis fines Standard Oil of Indiana a record $29.4 million for illegal rebating to freight carriers; the conviction and fine are later reversed on appeal.

1913 - A major labour dispute, known as the Wheatland Hop Riot, starts in Wheatland, California.

1921 - Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the ban of the eight Chicago Black Sox, the day after they were acquitted by a Chicago court.

1934 - Adolf Hitler becomes the supreme leader of Germany by joining the offices of President and Chancellor into Führer.

1936 - Jesse Owens wins the 100 meter dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the Berlin Olympics.

1949 - The National Basketball Association is founded in the United States.