Inspection of the catalytic converter in the auto repair shop. / Photo: iStock
Do you own an SUV or hybrid? Check why your car has become a prime target for thieves
They love to steal catalytic converters. Both locals and international gangs at work. Slovenian police handle new cases every month, and experts warn against the pitfalls of buying used parts.
The driver gets into the car, starts the engine and it makes a nasty roar, and a red light on the dashboard. Something is seriously wrong with the exhaust pipe, is probably the first thought. But it’s usually even worse, the driver doesn’t even think about it until he himself is a victim: thieves have stolen the catalytic converter.
In the past, thieves have broken into cars and taken car radios, airbags have disappeared from cars for a while, the car may be left without decorative wheels or all four tires or a license plate, and a very common target for thieves is also under the car. A catalytic converter is attached to the chassis, a device that purifies harmful exhaust gases into less harmful ones.
It turns out that most of the time, thieves do not go after catalytic converters to sell them on the black market, but primarily target precious metals and alloys such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, which are contained in catalysts and which organized gangs can sell at a high price on the black market. According to the latest stock market data, a gram of palladium is worth almost 40 euros, a gram of platinum 60 euros, and a gram of rhodium 270 euros. Of course, they don’t fetch such a price on the black market, but enough to make this kind of theft pay off.
An ordinary catalyst is said to contain about two grams of palladium, between three and five grams of platinum and a few milligrams of rhodium. It is therefore not surprising that catalytic converters have become the most frequently stolen car parts. In addition, unlike the vehicle and the engine, which have their own number, the catalytic converter does not have any marking or identification number that would allow tracking in case of theft.
A few short cuts, but the damage is great
Most often, the target is not only newer vehicles, but older models are even more useful to thieves, where catalytic converters are easier to access and contain even more precious metals. Catalytic converters are also disappearing from the chassis of hybrids, because they contain more precious metals, and from SUVs, also because they are higher and thieves do not need a lift for their feat. The perpetrators usually take advantage of the night hours for their venture. Such thefts are very quick and take only a few moments, requiring only two or three short cuts with a battery cutter, so thieves dare to do it even in crowded public parking lots.
They cause high costs to the owners of such places. Replacing a catalytic converter costs hundreds or even thousands of euros, and in older vehicles, this can be more than the value of the car. Older vehicles are also not so consistently insured against theft. The insurance companies explain that in order to claim the damage, you must have adequate cover for the case of theft with comprehensive insurance.
Locals and international gangs at work
The Slovenian police handle between 5 and 10 cases of catalytic converter theft every month. They don’t keep special statistics about it, maybe the owners don’t even report all the cases. The majority of such thefts occur in larger parking lots in Ljubljana, where there are also the largest number of cars, but they are also recorded elsewhere in Slovenia. This is what happened recently in the parking lot in front of an apartment block in Nova Gorica, where a thief sawed off the catalytic converter on a Citroen Picasso, a similar thing happened in Koper in the public parking lot opposite the elementary school, and in Ajdovščina, entire exhaust systems with catalytic converters recently disappeared from parked Renault Master commercial vehicles, which caused a 10,000 euro damage to a company from Ajdovščina.
Both local and international gangs are at work, traveling from city to city and targeting a large number of vehicles at once, the police note. During the investigation of the apartments of the Bulgarian desecrators of the graves, which are in the cemeteries in Škofija and in Sv. At the end of last year, Anton was stealing grave goods made of copper, they also found several car catalytic converters. In addition, the police record the theft of catalytic converters in burglaries of auto parts stores and auto repair shops.
Used catalysts can be a trap
General advice on how to prevent catalytic converter theft is not to park your vehicle in poorly lit or less populated areas, and alarm systems with sensors that detect this type of movement are also recommended. If you start the car and realize that you are a victim of catalytic converter theft, turn off the engine and call a tow truck, do not try to drive to a car repair shop, as parts of the exhaust system may be broken off and the damage will be even greater. It’s a good idea to check if your car insurance policy also covers catalytic converter theft. Experts advise against buying cheap used catalytic converters, especially if the connecting pipes are suspiciously badly cut, which indicates that it is a stolen catalytic converter. A cheap catalytic converter can turn out to be a bad purchase during the technical inspection of the vehicle, as it fails the exhaust measurements.
