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That Cop Should Have Given me a Ticket
Sometimes, I think that cop should’ve given me a ticket
Like, on Christmas Eve one year: I’m driving down the street and coming up on a traffic light. I see the light is turning yellow. And then it turns red, and I just keep driving–right under the light.
I looked over to my right, and there was a cop sitting right there. I looked at him, and he looked at me. I kept on driving. The cop pulled me over. He asked for my license and registration, and said, “You looked right at me.”
I said, “I did.” Then he went away, and came back and handed me my license and registration.
He said, “Merry Christmas,” and left.
Why is There so Much Catalytic Converter Theft?
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.
Watch Out Ordering Tools from Amazon
So, you’re pricing tools to work in your garage. You find a tool that costs the same everywhere you look, but then you look on Amazon, and find a bargain. But beware! You could be looking at a fake. Amazon has become so popular in the last few years that it attracts lots of 3rd party sellers. Some are honest people. But some sell counterfeit products, including tools. It’s easy for counterfeiters to copy legitimate vendors. One way they do this by finding a once popular discontinued product, and use its listing. The fake store will keep the old page’s reviews to make them look legit.
Use common sense to spot a counterfeit tool.
- If the price looks too good to be true, it probably is.
- If a product listing has funky or weird grammar, it’s probably fake.
- Look at the delivery timeframe. A long timeframe could mean it’s coming from China, which has a large number of fake products and companies.
Amazon won’t warn you about fakes–so arm yourself
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