Police Investigate Car Part Thefts Along SEPTA Regional Rail Lines

CBS Philly.com ^ | 06/20/11

[AngelesCrestHighway]

If you “park and ride” along SEPTA Regional Rail lines, it could be a much more expensive trip than you expected.

An exclusive CBS 3 I-Team investigation reveals that since March 12th, riders have had catalytic converters, a pollution control device, stolen from beneath their vehicles.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Two months ago, a co-worker started his car in the parking lot to go home and it sounded like a tank. In broad daylight around noon (from the video cameras), a car had parked next to him and while one person sat in the drivers seat the other one got out with a battery powered saw. It took all of one minute to remove the converter.

[pnh102]

And people bristle at the notion that transit brings crime.

[beebuster2000]

years ago i had the entire engine block taken out of my car while it was parked at O’Hare airport. turned out the lot attendants were running a parts business on the side.

[Darksheare]

I know of at least one former poster who would be foaming at the mouth at such a suggestion.

[nascarnation]

It’s a low risk, high return “business”.

As long as salvage yards are willing to take them, the payoff is quite good.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

You know those small boxes imbedded in the street pavement, with a cast iron lid with an “M” on it? Those are surveyor’s Monument Markers. In my small town, almost all of those lids are missing! You’d think any scrap collection place would call the cops when some jerk showed up to sell what is obviously a city’s/township’s property. But nooooooooo!

[jacknhoo]

People will steal anything that gets them some cash.

I had a taillight stolen out of my pickup when left in a parking lot at the T north of Boston. I figured it was ridiculous for the thief to risk jail for what I thought was a $15 or $20 dollar part. Turns out, the part cost a little over $200.

$200 bucks is about what they can get for a catalytic converter. Here in GA they steal them during broad daylight in company parking lots during business hours.

Stolen in 60 seconds: the treasure in your car
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23117250/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/stolen-seconds-treasure-your-car/

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Jeez!....I’d be asking the lot attendants some questions for sure....Reminds me of an old Candid Camera show where a woman coasts a car into a gas station and tells the attendant somethings wrong with the car. You guessed it, no engine. The attendant pops the hood and just stands there while the woman asks what’s wrong.

[Cowman]

I had a taillight stolen out of my pickup when left in a parking lot at the T north of Boston. I figured it was ridiculous for the thief to risk jail for what I thought was a $15 or $20 dollar part. Turns out, the part cost a little over $200.

I had 4 lug nuts taken from my Neon in a Walmart parking lot. Replacement cost about 12 bucks.

[Lazlo in PA]

Converters have been and are expensive replace items. I can see the profit motive here. Plus most of the people using the rail lines into Philthy from the burbs have upscale cars.

[BudgieRamone]

Truck tailgates . They are easy to remove and sell for about 50 bucks to a scrap or salvage yard. Some can be very costly to replace.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

My converter is on the front of the engine. The exhaust manifold runs straight into the converter. Not easy to get to.....

[Lazlo in PA]

My converter is on the front of the engine.

What type of car has the converter in front of the engine? Is it rear engined?

[Lazlo in PA]

I forgot about good ol’ train whistle Willie. He sure did have a love of the rails and let everyone know it.

[nascarnation]

Many vehicles have the converter direct coupled to the exhaust manifold for fast “light off” of the catalyst upon starting which helps emissions.

I had a Honda V6 where the cats were like that.

Since it was transverse engine, fwd, one of the cats was on the “front” manifold of the engine.

The easiest vehicles to steal cats are pickups and large SUVs, lots of ground clearance, and more room in the chassis around the cats to use the saw.

[de.rm]

Increase the sensitivity of the car alarm to recognize the vibration of a saws-all & trigger the deflation of all 4 tires trapping the critter & dispatching at the same time.

[nascarnation]

yeah then the alarm goes off every time the wind blows hard
and after a while some idiot gets tired of the noise and smashes your windshield

[de.rm]

I would disable the audible part of the alarm specific to response of a saws-all so all that would be heard was the hissing of air leaving the auto valves on the tires as it lowered itself on the unsuspecting criminal leaving this earth.

[de.rm]

..on second thought I would have a minute delay on a recording of Peg Bundy saying;

"Does that hurt, 'cause it looks like it hurts?

[Darksheare]

He loved to foam wildly if anyone knocked light rail.
I recall seeing him act sane once and had been tempted to ping it out, but it didn’t last.

I also recall the jokes about “Monorail!” every time he began his rants.