Cat converter stolen off my Excursion last night.

ShelbyGT5HUN

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* buy a vicious dog, a long chain, and a dog house
But, but, but......these thieves (many of them) are under-privileged, adversely affected by "systemic racism", just trying to eke out a meager living to put food on their family's table. Our racist society has driven them to this. o_O:rolleyes:

I have to wonder how many police departments are even interested in investigating these property loss crimes. They're stretched thin as it is. As police departments are being de-funded, they are not going to have the needed manpower, and the lowlife thieves know this. I know in my own town, most of the cops have to be assigned to traffic control at worksites where utilities are replacing street lights, installing traffic light cameras (?), fixing/installing sidewalks, and making a lot of repairs. The 3rd shift is under-manned.

Back in the day, companies used security guards to protect their vehicles and property. Maybe we'll see a re-birth of that. Homeowners will have to do whatever they can, like.....
* Ensure vehicles are locked
* Keep vehicles in garages whenever possible
* Install bright floodlights with motion sensors
* Install bright floodlights and keep them on all night
* Install security cameras all around the home's exterior
* Develop local homeowners groups that collectively watch over properties

Sucks that we even have to think along these lines. Morality and decency are but a skeleton today. Replaced by entitlement thinking/behavior. A wrong is a right if it benefits the offender. o_O
 

ShelbyGT5HUN

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Technically, the EPA does not authorize reselling of cats. Must be replaced by a new one.

Hard part with that is that there are actually honest people who go around to the shops and purchase the cats we have replaced for cheap and then they sell or recycle them. I usually had 2 or 3 people call me every 2 weeks to check what we had.
 

svtfocus2cobra

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Technically, the EPA does not authorize reselling of cats. Must be replaced by a new one.

True, except this falls under scrap pickup. None of these cats are reusable in their current state so there wouldn't be any violations because they can't physically be reinstalled on any cars. They don't want the cats to use on cars, they pay shops for them so they can recycle them and make money off of it. So those trucks you mentioned pulling up with a truck-load of cats in the back could just be scrappers who got them legally from shops who replace them.
 

RedVenom48

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Looked at the pricing of 7.3 Excursions.... holy butt****... They are nearly going for their new MSRP with like 200K on them!

What a time to be alive if you own a Diesel 4x4 Excursion... jesus christ
 

Lambeau

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Had to look it up, I didn't know about Palladium & Rhodium.

Four month old info, but you get the idea from this C&D article dated 12/24/20 listed below:

"Cats contain these rare earth metals:
- Palladium $2,300/oz
- Rhodium $16,000/oz
- Platinum $1,000/oz

Compare those to Gold/$1,900


Since it's a critical emissions component, the EPA forbids the sale and installation of any used catalytic converter that hasn't been refurbished and certified by an approved manufacturer.

Used cats must also match the specific car's original equipment and can only be installed if the vehicle is past a certain age, if a state inspection requires replacement, or if a car is brought into a repair shop without a converter. That means it's illegal to swap a used converter straight out of another identical car, buy one from a junkyard, or fit a converter meant for a different car model. Even a refurbished cat for a 20-year-old Volvo can run $500.

New factory cats are usually $1000 minimum. Add at least an hour of labor, and you're looking at a big bill—or risk your car being undrivable and awfully smelly."


Why Thieves Are Coveting Your Catalytic Converter, Particularly Now
 

Weather Man

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MN was thinking about passing some really strict limits on who can buy and sell used cats. The stolen ones would just get shipped out of state I suppose. Might stop the local crack head if he can't sell it at the local junkyard.
 

kevinatfms

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Does anyone know how much they are getting for these? It seems pretty risky.

OP that sucks I hope those **** pay for this and get boned in county jail by bubbba.

Around me its $60-$120 depending on size. And NO, i am not a piece of shit crook. Just happen to drop one off that was totally busted and they had a sign showing dimensions and weight as being factors with the largest payout being $120 for truck converters.

So i guess they steal a bunch of them and get a pretty big payout for a few nights of work? Steal 5-6 a night at $80 average is a good amount in a week or two.
 

VegasMichael

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Had to look it up, I didn't know about Palladium & Rhodium.

Four month old info, but you get the idea from this C&D article dated 12/24/20 listed below:

"Cats contain these rare earth metals:
- Palladium $2,300/oz
- Rhodium $16,000/oz
- Platinum $1,000/oz

Compare those to Gold/$1,900


Since it's a critical emissions component, the EPA forbids the sale and installation of any used catalytic converter that hasn't been refurbished and certified by an approved manufacturer.

Used cats must also match the specific car's original equipment and can only be installed if the vehicle is past a certain age, if a state inspection requires replacement, or if a car is brought into a repair shop without a converter. That means it's illegal to swap a used converter straight out of another identical car, buy one from a junkyard, or fit a converter meant for a different car model. Even a refurbished cat for a 20-year-old Volvo can run $500.

New factory cats are usually $1000 minimum. Add at least an hour of labor, and you're looking at a big bill—or risk your car being undrivable and awfully smelly."


Why Thieves Are Coveting Your Catalytic Converter, Particularly Now

When I lived in SE PA I worked for a restaurant/caterer and we used to deliver to the Johnson Matthey facility. The security was pretty heavy. When I asked why they told me about the precious metals there that were used for cats.
 

Lambeau

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When I lived in SE PA I worked for a restaurant/caterer and we used to deliver to the Johnson Matthey facility. The security was pretty heavy. When I asked why they told me about the precious metals there that were used for cats.

Those must also be the rare earth metals from countries chyna is manipulating and gaining rights to.

Info on USA mines is confusing, but this must be kinda close worldwide:
Palladium - 75% from Russia & South Africa.
Rhodium - 80% from South Africa.
 

KingBlack

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like honestly, someone should have local PD or Sheriff sit outside all the known "recyclers" and see if theft drops or not.

when you ask for smaller gov't and less taxes, this what you get. I'm fine with it. All of my homes have garages. All of my vehicles are inside.
 

Rb0891

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when you ask for smaller gov't and less taxes, this what you get. I'm fine with it. All of my homes have garages. All of my vehicles are inside.
LMAO. Who are you talking to? Care to provide an example of someone in here calling for less PD/Sheriff? I didn't realize they were the whole of the government. Nice try though.
 

SecondhandSnake

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Yeah I had one of them try to steal it off of my truck. They hit not just mine but half the lot at work, and that was in broad daylight, in a lot with security cameras and security patrolling, less than half a mile from the police HQ. They're incredibly brazen.

The cost to replace it is astronomical.

The local PD had no interest in looking into it, despite the sheer numbers.

Found out a month or two later there was a group of them hitting up large lots at a time. They would take entire truck loads of stolen cats down south to scrap yards that weren't so scrupulous and didn't have the same ID requirements they do up here. They busted a couple beat up tweaker-mobiles on the interstate full of them.
 

RedVenom48

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when you ask for smaller gov't and less taxes, this what you get. I'm fine with it. All of my homes have garages. All of my vehicles are inside.
I mean, if you think the average home has a garage tall enough and long enough to fit a 4x4 Excursion on 35s then lemme know where that subdivision is. I'll even let you buy me the house. Might even give you a reach around if you bleach for me.
 

KingBlack

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I mean, if you think the average home has a garage tall enough and long enough to fit a 4x4 Excursion on 35s then lemme know where that subdivision is. I'll even let you buy me the house. Might even give you a reach around if you bleach for me.
Mine does, and a few others near me. Look in the Carolina Forest, SC area. You will need to look in the custom home places, not the DR Horton or Toll Brother places
 

Steve@TF

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its happening like crazy around here. Cameras are pretty useless as all they do is let you watch your cat being stolen later and you can post the video on the Ring forum and other sites. they usually do it really early in the morning when most people are asleep. one reason why i insisted that any house i buy be fully enclosed/gated property with dogs on 24-7 security detail. around here, you can cant even really do anything if you catch them in the act and there's not much punishment around here these days, especially with our new commie DA.

ive seen plenty of people on the Nextdoor app having their wheels stolen too. lots of new Hondas. owner comes out in the morning to find them on bricks.
 

RedVenom48

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its happening like crazy around here. Cameras are pretty useless as all they do is let you watch your cat being stolen later and you can post the video on the Ring forum and other sites. they usually do it really early in the morning when most people are asleep. one reason why i insisted that any house i buy be fully enclosed/gated property with dogs on 24-7 security detail. around here, you can cant even really do anything if you catch them in the act and there's not much punishment around here these days, especially with our new commie DA.

ive seen plenty of people on the Nextdoor app having their wheels stolen too. lots of new Hondas. owner comes out in the morning to find them on bricks.
its happening like crazy around here. Cameras are pretty useless as all they do is let you watch your cat being stolen later and you can post the video on the Ring forum and other sites. they usually do it really early in the morning when most people are asleep. one reason why i insisted that any house i buy be fully enclosed/gated property with dogs on 24-7 security detail. around here, you can cant even really do anything if you catch them in the act and there's not much punishment around here these days, especially with our new commie DA.

ive seen plenty of people on the Nextdoor app having their wheels stolen too. lots of new Hondas. owner comes out in the morning to find them on bricks.
Damn, at least they are nice enough to put them on cinderblocks...

Honestly, gated property is about the only thing I think that may deter a smash and grab thief. Best I can do is floodlights.. I laughed at our neighbor who put them up. He looks like genius now lol.
 

SVTdreamin04

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A dealer down the road from where I work had all of their diesels hit a few years back. The sales manager said he went to pull a truck up that was sold the day before and when he put his foot on the brake, it went to the floor. He called a mechanic to look at it and he found the DPF/ SCR had been cut off and they cut into a brake line when they did it.

They found all of their diesel trucks had them removed and it costed them almost 40 grand to replace them all on the trucks.


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