Feb. 6, 2020—Beware. Thieves are after catalytic converters.
The precious metals that are in catalytic converters (platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold) have made reports of stolen ones rise.
Tommy Ripley, owner of the two-location Ripley’s Total Car Care in Texas, reached out to Ratchet+Wrench after noticing a recent uptick in cases that he’s seen.
Ripley said that in the past month, he’s seen 6 cases of this at his shop, and in the past few months, he’s noticed that it’s happening more. The shop even published a blog on it’s site. He attributes the rise in the price of rhodium, specifically, as the cause for the uptick.
“It’s headed to $10,000 per ounce,” Ripley says.
Ripley explains that thieves will target vehicles, specifically larger trucks that are easy to get under without being noticed, cut the catalytic converters out and sell to the salvage yards. The Toyota Tundra, specifically, is a vehicle that has fallen prey to this. The price for these are in the $100-$150 range.
Ripley has never had a thief steal one from his shop, but he did say he spoke to an employee at a dealership that said a thief came in and stole all of the catalytic converters from its lot.
Ripley says that the use of aftermarket catalytic converters deters thieves, as these are not worth as much, roughly $20. The parts are just as good as the OEMs, he says, so it’s a win-win.
For symptoms of a catalytic converter problem, click here.
