Catalytic Converters thefts

[GordonH]

Why bother cutting catalytic converters out just rips it them out from under the vehicle.
https://globalnews.ca/video/8789521/cat ... r-methods/

[alanjh595]

Any idea if those Cat thefts are covered by insurance? Comprehensive coverage should cover this. I know it is of small comfort, but perhaps a little insurance can save $2000.

[Hurtlander]

The real problem is the unscrupulous metal scrapyards that buy the stolen catalytic converters.

[Bsuds]

The real problem is the unscrupulous metal scrapyards that buy the stolen catalytic converters.

Make the fines huge for illegal possession of a catalytic converter.

[my5cents]

Any idea if those Cat thefts are covered by insurance? Comprehensive coverage should cover this. I know it is of small comfort, but perhaps a little insurance can save $2000.

Yes, it's a comprehensive claim. You pay your deductible and insurance pays the rest.

The real problem is the unscrupulous metal scrapyards that buy the stolen catalytic converters.

Yes, take away the market for stolen catalytic converters and no more thefts. All it would take is some work by police and bylaw departments of various cities. Junk yard buying converters, large fine first offense, no business license second offense. Someone would have to come up with a format for proof of ownership of converters, as there are junked vehicles that have legit used converters for scrap.

Make the fines huge for illegal possession of a catalytic converter.

Yes, but the problem is they aren't going to re-write the Criminal Code for just this, so it has to be an across the board effort by all municipalities to crack down using bylaws. As long as there are one or two scrap buyers not policing the purchase, that's where the crooks are going to go.

[alanjh595]

It's not the converter as a whole that is worth $$, it's what is inside them.

Catalytic converters contain trace amounts of precious metals, including platinum, palladium and rhodium, which in early March hit nearly $30,000 per ounce.

The thieves could extract the valuable materials and sell them via a different broker and probably get more $$$$, because they have reduced the labour required by the scrap metal dealer.

The raw precious metals are untraceable and are easier to dispose of than an whole cat. conv.

The same thing happened to scrap copper scam, wire and domestic pipes in particular. If the person making the sale (the thief) didn't have the weakest of reason for having that copper, it was supposed to be reported, BUT if they stripped the insulation off (making it more $/lb) and melted it enough to make it unidentifiable, it went unreported.

The same situation is also in full growth mode with stolen bicycles today.

[gertlush]

Whats the big deal, we can always just import more palladium from R... oh wait, never mind

[MCB]

[common_sense_guy]

Government could make a difference by requiring every catalytic converter purchased from a person to be tagged and a driver's license produced
. And then in coordination the police set up a sting and agreed to meet with the two guys that drive around through the valley on different days purchasing them from people from their Facebook ad (like they bought from me) and check every single one they have picked up so far and get all the information on who sold it to them and if they don't have all the information for all of then every single catalytic converter get seized and they get charged with the astronomical fine. We've all seen the ads if you use Facebook Marketplace for the guys who buy catalytic converters off you. It would not be very hard since there are drug stings all the time. But you have to keep in mind the government really doesn't care about the people or the challenges we face.
All it would take was tweaking the law a little bit making it harder to purchase and sell your catalytic converter and then implementing astronomical fines for having a catalytic converter in your possession with no proof of where it came from. That's what I would do anyway

[GordonH]

The real problem is the unscrupulous metal scrapyards that buy the stolen catalytic converters.

It took years to do but pawn shops now have to document transactions, do the same scrap metal places.

[Babba_not_Gump]

Not going to fly in today's courts.

Tying a particular catalytic converter to a particular vehicle is pretty well impossible. All the guy has to say is that he found it.
And possession of stolen property? It won't fly either.

Laws will have to change first. So don't hold your breath.

[my5cents]

Not going to fly in today's courts.

Tying a particular catalytic converter to a particular vehicle is pretty well impossible. All the guy has to say is that he found it.
And possession of stolen property? It won't fly either.

Laws will have to change first. So don't hold your breath.

But you can legislate "found" catalytic converters can't be purchased.

You can't have a derelict vehicle towed to a crusher without proper documentation, same type of situation.

The industry needs to have a paper trail.

[captkirkcanada]

easiest way to stop this is make a bylaw that prevents metal dealers from buying them at any price. then set up a govt run collection for ones that do burn out by use.