Posted on 05/08/2022 9:29:37 AM PDT by real saxophonist
Catalytic converter thefts target of state bill
by: Carly Moore
Posted: May 7, 2022
DENVER (KDVR) — Countless catalytic converters are stolen in Colorado, behind many victims’ frustration and a call for change. The FOX31 Problem Solvers have been hearing these complaints for months.
Auto thefts have risen by 5,100% in Colorado, according to the Colorado Independent Auto Dealers Association. And in the first three months of this year, the Denver Police Department said five catalytic converters are reported stolen on average each day.
A new bill in the state legislature could soon become a law aimed at stopping this.
Current law requires the owner of a salvage yard, a junk collector or any other business that purchases commodity metals to keep a record of all transactions involving commodity metals. The bill applies these same requirements to transactions involving catalytic converters.
Any person who acquires five or more vehicles in a year in order to reclaim parts or metals, including catalytic converters, must consult the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to ensure that the vehicles are not stolen.
Auto dealers want help for catalytic converter theft victims
David Cardella is the CEO of the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association. He said supply and costs are also an issue. The CIADA has sent a letter to Gov. Jared Polis calling for amendments and has started a petition.
Cardella said the state needs to help those who have already been victimized by allowing after-market catalytic converters to be used in Colorado.
“Unfortunately, the people who have been victimized by the crime of catalytic converters are now being victimized again because they can’t get their cars on the road,” Cardella said. “They can’t get to work. They can’t get to school. They can’t pick up the kids. They can’t go to the grocery store. And it’s created quite a dilemma.”
CIADA said Coloradans are left for months with inoperable vehicles while they await catalytic converter repairs. The availability of CARB-certified after-market catalytic converters is almost non-existent because of supply chain issues, with no remedy in sight.
Cardella said the state also has strict requirements when it comes to aftermarket catalytic converters, meaning getting replacements are even harder.
“That’s the difference between, you know, paying your bill, not paying your bills, paying your rent and not paying your rent. And that really is an unacceptable answer,” Cardella said.
Cardella said he hopes the new bill prevents thefts but believes some thieves take the converters out of the state or even out of the country.
So far, this bill has passed through several readings in both the House and the Senate with little opposition. FOX31 has reached out to the sponsors of the bill and will keep you posted when we hear from them.
The thief cuts several inches ahead of the converter, cuts the O2 sensor and the hanger, the takes the whole tailpipe including muffler.
Smog check doesn’t jack up the car or look for welds. They use a mirror and flashlight to look for the OEM markings on the casing of the converter itself.
I watched them smog check my Prius, which by the way had the new OEM catalytic converter spliced in from exactly where the sawzall had cut out the original. The mechanic dressed the end using a pipe cutter, then used a sleeve.
30 seconds and all trace of sawzall use is gone. Thanks for playing!
Estimate may be high, but these things are getting stolen.
https://www.autozone.com/diy/exhaust/catalytic-converter-theft
Why would the thief take all that extra crap that just takes more space and for which they won’t get any extra money?
And one some vehicles you ain’t getting whole muffler and cat out with just one cut ahead of the cat, because it’s blocked in by suspension components or an axle.
So they gotta make two cuts.
You’re right, some vehicles it’s more practical to make two cuts. My mechanic says he’s seen it all with Priuses. Some of them get taken off at the manifold flange, some just the converter, some like mine with one cut.
Almost like someone puts in an order for what the customer needs.
The fact they are taking extra crap means that it’s not just dipsh!ts looking for precious metal.
It could just mean that it’s dipsh!ts who have no idea where the cat is actually located.
We’re probably not dealing with very smart people here.
Ummm, yeahhhh. A massive and growing sector of not very smart people. Definitely not organized crime. Just a bunch of random idiots sawzalling random objects at random that coincidentally are worth a fortune to random theft victims and those who have had their random object fail.
Sure Jan.
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that the “big lump in the exhaust pipe is worth a lot at the scrap yard”.
You do have to have SOME smarts to know whether the big lump is a resonator, a muffler, or a catalytic converter.
And if you don’t have some smarts, you take it all.
Scrap yards in Colorado and California call the cops at the first whiff of a catalytic converter not on a vehicle.
Penalties are harsh, and a sting is too easy.
Not in Indiana, from FOX 59 news:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOLgy6dWFFY&t=5s&ab_channel=FOX59News
“Police sting in Johnson County targets businesses and individuals who purchase stolen catalytic converters.”
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