- Here's a question for you. What do an Ford f250 gasoline truck and a Toyota Prius plug-in
hybrid have in common? Is it that they both like
to weave through traffic and then do 55 in the fast
lane once the road is clear? Well yes, but they also have
something else in common. They are both prime targets
for catalytic converter theft. During the lockdown of 2020 catalytic converter theft
more than quadrupled. But why is it this one
part of your exhaust system that many enthusiasts wish
they didn't have, so valuable? Who's stealing these things? And more importantly, who's
buying these stolen cats? Today, we're going to look
at this criminal epidemic hitting car owners and
show you what a trash fire of a human being you'd have to be to steal a catalytic converter. Seriously, don't do it. For those of you who don't know a catalytic converter or cat is an essential part
of your exhaust system that was added to all
cars in the US in 1975. In 1970, the EPA was formed
and gave car manufacturers five years to reduce emissions
from automobiles by 90%. That sounds like an impossible feat. But the OEMs managed to pull it off. Thanks to catalytic converters. Cats use metals such as rhodium, platinum and palladium as catalysts. When heated up while driving
these catalysts react with harmful chemicals in your
exhaust, neutralizing them and turning them into inert, safe gases. Well this is a pretty impressive feat. It uses some very expensive metals and those rare metals are
what the thieves are after. Platinum, as you might
expect is very expensive at about a thousand dollars an ounce. But palladium is three
times more expensive. These are some crazy precious metals. But what really makes catalytic converters so valuable to thieves, is rhodium. (up-tempo plucky music) at the beginning of 2020 rhodium went for a
staggering $5,000 an ounce but the madness doesn't end there. Rhodium has always been in short supply. And when the global
pandemic shut down the mines the cost of rhodium went through the roof. This year it hit its peak
of over $25,000 an ounce. That's a lot of money sitting under nearly every car on the road. Catalytic converters
have very small amounts of these metals. And as the cat gets older these metals get used up as they react to the
harmful exhaust gases. But right now, even scrap
ones have enough rhodium and palladium in them to sell for 100 200 or even 300 bucks. And if someone steals yours,
you've got to get a new one which could cost a thousand to $1,500. But besides material theft how are you affected by a stolen cat? Well, basically means your exhaust is exiting right under
the center of your car. Not only is it excessively loud but it also means the hot exhaust gases are getting let out where
they're not supposed to. And depending on your
car, that could melt wires hoses and do other damage to your car. Even a short drive to the
mechanic could do some damage. But if you find that
your cat has been stolen you're probably in good enough shape to drive to the nearest shop.
You'll probably be okay. But what makes a car a target
for catalytic converter theft? Will a thief just go to any old car? Well, some cars get
targeted more than others and because not all cats are the same as some cats are worth more than others. Generally, a catalytic
converter lasts about 10 years. So thieves tend to target newer cars. The humble Toyota Prius
has long been a target of catalytic converter theft
because it's a hybrid. But that is not because hybrids
have more expensive cats while it's true that hybrids tend to have a little more palladium
in them than most cars the main reason that
plug-in hybrids get targeted is simply because they
use the engine less. Most Prius owners can do their commute all in the electric power of the car and barely even use the
internal combustion engine. This means less gas is
going out of the exhaust and therefore more rare metal is still in the catalytic converter. But that's not the only
reason a car gets targeted. On the total other end of the
spectrum is the Ford F250. The F250 is a big target for
catalytic converter theft because the OEM cat can
cost $2,500. It's a big boy. And I guess the F250's exhaust
needs a lot of catalyzing to make it road legal. Which means more valuable
metals being used as catalysts. But also with this truck and many others it's easy to get to the
catalytic converter. Most of these can just slide
right under that truck. You don't need to lift it
at all, no extra equipment. Which actually brings me to my next point. How are people stealing something
that's welded to your car? Well, it's actually a lot
easier than you think. All you need, is one of these. Turns out the metal use for exhaust piping is really, really thin. Once a thief is under your car it can take as little as
30 seconds to make two cuts and be gone without anyone noticing. Even dealerships get hit. This Mitsubishi dealership in Texas lost 20 catalytic converters
in just 20 minutes. I now realize, I basically gave a tutorial on how to steal these things. So I want to reiterate, do not do this. Do not be a scumbag. I'm willing to bet if someone catches you they won't be so kind. Once a catalytic converter has been stolen your car is going to
sound a little different. Since the thieves have
cut the exhaust piping they essentially did a
muffler delete on your car. You'd basically end up
with a straight pipe car. I got to tell you, it's
not the sound you'd expect to come out of a Prius. (Prius humming) So, the question that's
been bothering me is once a thief has your cat how do they turn that
into cold, hard cash? Thieves take the stolen
catalytic converters to local junkyards to sell them. Which is where I found the
whole thing would fall apart. As the thief would get
caught selling a cat that had been reported stolen. Unfortunately, this often isn't the case. Since catalytic converters
really only last 10 years they don't have any sort
of identification on them that would tie them to your car. There's no VIN number
or anything on the cat. It would be almost
impossible for a junk yard to tell a stolen cat from one that was pulled
from a wreck or an old car. Plenty of people are
selling catalytic converters for legitimate reasons. And there's no system to
distinguish them from thieves. Some of you might say that it's the junkyard's responsibility to find out where the cat
they're buying came from but without any kind of
regulation or enforcement the themes would just go
to a different junk yard. And the ones that were following the rules would lose business. If OEM started putting VINs
on catalytic converters however, that might be a start. But it would be years
before that system would be common enough for junkyards
to require proof of ownership to sell the catalytic
converters. And by then it's pretty likely all the new
cars will be electric anyway. and the thieves will be stealing
batteries or (indistinct) or whatever, whatever the new grift is. I'll say it again. Do not
steal catalytic converters. Not just because it's illegal but I've heard plenty of
stories of thieves that were crushed by cars because
they were in a rush. Some might call that comeuppance. So what can you do as a car owner to protect yourself from
the absolute douche bags that would want to steal your cat? Well, there's a few things that work and a few things that don't. Insurance companies recommend things like parking in well lit areas or in a garage. Wow. Thanks for the wisdom, guys. Another suggestion is getting
your VIN engraved on the cat. Since the rise in these thefts many local shops are doing this for free. You can also check with your
local police department. A few of them have programs
for VIN engravings. If you want to make your cat trackable. A lot of times, cops will sponsor an event where you can get this done for free. Honestly, I think VINs on
cats is a pretty good idea. But it needs to come
from the manufacturer. It needs to be something to
junk yards can expect to see. Otherwise, a thief can just file it off. Also, it won't stop someone from stealing a catalytic
converter in the first place. For that, you're going
to need a cat shield. A cat shield, or cat plate is
just a thick piece of metal welded on the bottom of your car covering your catalytic converter. There are companies that make pre-cut ones for almost any car, or you
can just cut any sheet metal and do it yourself. Even a
cage of rebar would work. It really doesn't take
much to keep your cat safe and you can use this as a good opportunity to work on your car or practice welding or have a local shop do it for you. Again, that's just adding another step. If a thief was really determined,
they can still cut through just about anything you weld to your car. But since speed is such a big part of catalytic converter theft.
It's more likely that they'll move on to an easier target. I like the idea of cat shields because not only do they protect your cat but they smooth out the bottom of your car giving you more aerodynamic surface like the floor of a race
car, some extra shielding. Like a freaking skid plate, hell yeah. (Eagle screeches) In fact, car enthusiasts
have plenty of ways to deter criminals from cat theft. Are you on airbag suspension? Drop your car to the absolute ground. No one will be able to steal your cat if the car is too low to
get a Jack under there. I'll say for non-California maybe consider straight piping your car. No one can steal your
cat if it's not there. Seriously though, I think the only way for these kinds of thefts is for OEMs to have some
kind of serial number or a way to track catalytic converters and for scrapyards and
recyclers to have some sort of accountability for buying stolen parts. If you have an idea
that could #SaveTheCats leave a comment down below. Thank you very much for
watching Wheelhouse. If you've ever had your
catalytic converter stolen let me know down in the
comments, sorry that happened. I'd like to hear about your experience. Luckily, my car is pretty low and the cats are in an
extremely inconvenient place. Just watch this episode of Money Pit to find out how we put some
exhaust cutouts on my car. And as you'll see, the exhaust
system in a 2006 Mustang is kind of annoying. Go ahead and follow Donut on
all social media @donutmedia we've been posting a
lot of fire memes lately on the old Instagram there,
it's been a lot of fun. Follow me @nolanjsykes Be kind, I'll see you next week. Can I borrow someone's jack?
They never actually answer the question so I’ll do it here: degenerate junkies
I think accountability is the real answer here. If you own a pawn shop that regularly buys stolen goods, eventually you get shut down for being a fence (if it's a pattern of behavior). There is literally a police unit that just goes to pawn shops to look for stolen goods. They need to start filing criminal charges for these places that buy a truckload of cats from the same sleeze bag every week... Where is he really getting them from?
I got a Prius, if you lower it, they won’t be able to get a jack under !!
Most of the video is good, however I would strongly suggest against a cat delete to prevent catalytic convertor theft, as that is very much illegal even if you don't reside in California.
Is there literally any story about people buying these stolen scrap converters getting into trouble? Thats a lot of stolen goods being bought, but I've literally never seen anyone getting in trouble for buying them.
I think legislation should be made to force Insurance companies to replace the cat no matter the cost instead of "totalling" the vehicle and also should probably look into OEMS for price gouging on these catalytic converters I would be the manufacturer's cost is 1/4 of the retail price at most.
Junkies and lowlifes that raided every abandoned building and ripped all the copper wiring out of the walls are now going after catalytic converters for the platinum that's inside.
They're doing this because they know in 10-15 years there's going to be mostly electric cars on the road. Better steal all the converters while they can while cars are still being made with them.
To think that some people pay to have these removed, you can just park your car in a sketchy nieghbourhood and get it done for free