Your Catalytic Convertor Could be Worth Almost as Much as Your Car
As if things weren’t bad enough, now thieves are stealing parts off cars from your driveway.
Thefts of catalytic converters have gone up 20x in the last 2 years. Why is that? Catalytic Converters are made of rare precious metals: palladium, platinum, and rhodium. Rhodium was $5000 an ounce before Covid, and now it is $25,000 an ounce. There is at least $1700 worth of rhodium in a catalytic convertor today.
A thief can steal a catalytic convertor quickly, and take it to a fence. A fence is the middle man for stolen goods. The thief can get $300 from the fence, without having to extract the metals themselves. The most targeted cars for this crime are newer cars, like the Toyota Prius, and the Ford F-250. The Prius is a popular target because it’s a hybrid. So while it has an engine, just like any other car, and a catalytic convertor, that part isn’t used as much on a Prius. So a catalytic convertor on a Prius is going to have less wear and tear on it, so you can get more precious metals. Ford F-250s have $2,500 catalytic converters. They’re easy to get at, with the truck high enough off the ground so the thief can slip under the car without a jack.
So if you’ve got one of these cars, forget locking your door—lock your whole car away to protect your catalytic convertor.
