Hi Member's, I heard of this in the past, but it's appears it's happening again.. There's some desperate people out there that are doing everything illegal to get $'s to live or for drugs etc.....Be careful where you park your Monte

The Latest Thing Thieves Are Stealing From Your Car

Catalytic converter thefts are on the rise across the country

Posted: May 14, 2012
Photo of the underside of a vehicle after its catalytic converter was stolen (sidewalk flying, Flickr).

Three minutes. Two cuts. One saw.

That's all it takes to steal the catalytic converter out from underneath a car. "You get under there, zip-zip, and take it off," Jeff Prior, the manager of a transmission store in Warren, Mich., tells The Detroit News.

Thefts of catalytic converters -- tube-like pipes that reduce pollution from exhaust systems -- are on the rise. More than 100 catalytic converter thefts have been reported in the three-county Detroit metro area in recent months, according to the newspaper.

And Detroit's not alone. From California to New York, converter thefts are on the rise across the country. The converters are valuable because they contain precious metals, such as palladium, platinum and rhodium. A rise in the value of precious metals combined with ongoing economic struggles is to blame for the spike in converter thefts, experts tell USA Today.

Thieves can sell the stolen parts to scrap yards for anywhere from $100 to $200 per part. Repairs for the victimized car owners are significantly more expensive, running anywhere from $300 to $2,000 depending on the vehicle and the skill of the crook, who could slice through fuel lines and other parts as they remove the converter.

Cars that are higher off the ground, such as pickups, trucks and SUVs are frequent targets, because thieves can slide underneath without needing to jack the vehicle.

Insurance giant Nationwide says car owners who live in high-target areas can take these key steps to diminish your chances of being victimized:

-Engrave your license plate number on the converter. A highly visible identifier could deter thefts, and if not, at least help police trace the stolen part.

-An auto mechanic or local muffler shop can use hardened steel to weld the catalytic converter to the car frame, making it much more difficult and time-consuming for a thief to steal.

-Park in well-lit, public areas or secured areas at night.

-Purchase a vehicle security system.

 

I hope they don't steal the van's cat. My van is parked in an area that isn't the greatest (which is why I don't bring the Monte around).

I wouldn't mind losing the cat tho, then i'll straight pipe that bad boy!

 

Back in the 70's the prices of a lot of those metals went up and catalytic converters were frequently stolen. When the economy is bad, the price of metals goes up for some reason, and thus the theft rises. At one time as well, it was people going under old cars and taking the drain plug out of the gas tank and stealing all of your fuel. My Torino has one, it was designed to drain the fuel in the event you needed to pull the tank.

I don't foresee auto manufacturers doing anything to make the catalytic converters harder to take off. It may even be a conspiracy. Make them easy to take off so that the catalytic converter manufacturers can make more money while the consumer and the insurance company cuts the checks.

 

LoL `Duane, "It may even be a conspiracy" ? ~> LOL

Sadly, you could be right There seems to be more & more people doing crazy things to make $'s the dishonest ways
I find it very Sad 4-Sure...Thanks for your posts & comments.
p.s. Like your new `sig

 

Scrap metal prices go up and stuff starts getting ripped off. a few years ago someone took all the vases from the headstones at the cemetery and also a bunch of manhole covers. The scrap yard here won't take a lot of things without proof.

 

But there's all kinds of small scrap yards that will take metals, no questions asked. They quickly melt the stuff down and voila. It's no longer a bunch of stolen man hole covers. Just a big chunk of metal.

 

need to grab me a couple of them, need some extra cash. I'd say our montes for the most part are too low to be an easy target so im not particularly worried about it.

 

let them take them i hate catalytic converters and all the other emissions crap. i think there just a robbery of hp. thats y the monte has ZERO emissions control left on it

 

I'm surprised you're getting away with that "no emissions" stuff in the state of PA.


And I don't know if I would have ever thought of stealing man hole covers. Those things way about 9 tons a piece. Not a bad idea at all.

They generally won't take a car without a title around here, but that's about it.

 

i only put about 3000-4000 a year on turbo monte so its not a huge issue, that and the place i go cuts me alot of breaks because of what the car is and how much its used. but if it wasnt for these 2 reasons i probably would have major issues getting it inspected etc.