Protect the catalytic converter?

[liz00]

I get my 2013 Rav4 on Saturday. When I was in signing the contract last weekend, I talked to the service advisor about protecting the catalytic converter from being stolen. She said that since the 2 theft rings in our area were arrested, it hasn't been a problem anymore. I told her I was still concerned that a new group of thieves could form, and she said they don't get stolen off rav4's because they are part of (something?) that makes them very hard to just cut off with a saw. However when I google this, I find people who have had them cut off their rav4's. She said they could put my VIN on it for $62.50, something they used to do for free. Are any of you having this done? It doesn't seem like it should cost that much to have it done, but I'm guessing perhaps that's their minimum labor charge.

[NewRav2013]

IMHO, save your money; When Cat's are stolen it's for the precious metals inside, and it's more than likely the thieves would damage it by cutting it out so that it could never be properly fit into another vehicle anyway.

Vehicles high off the ground that allow theft w/o jacking it up are the most vulnerable and the new rav is closer to the ground than the 4.3.

Your insurance would cover any theft, and even if it was etched with a vin and recovered, the damage in cutting it out would necessitate an insurance claim.

If it really bothers you, see if your local police will etch the vin. It really is to help them prosecute thieves. Watch where you park and enjoy your ride!.

[Loren]

Where I live the PD and a couple of shops will engrave your license number and mark them with high temperature paint - for free. It is more the idea that the DA can prosecute if they can identity the victim (and your property) than getting your cat back. We need to put these people in jail - at the cost of a cat these are a felony convictions - 1 per cat.
And... IMHO a good dealer would not take advantage of your losses (and your insurance companies losses) and be part of the solution.

[Blogson]

People will actually go to the bother and risk of stealing cats? There can't be much scrap value in them since I found a company which sells new ones for 2011 RAV4s for $117.65. It appears that some people will steal almost anything which they can somehow remove and transport from Place A to Place B!

[woof99]

But couldn't an engraving on the cat simply be ground off by the thieves? It can then be re-installed on someone else's car. Since it's not out in the open on a car like other body parts so the fact that there's some "scratches" on it isn't going to be noticed by anyone.

[liz00]

Originally Posted by Blogson

People will actually go to the bother and risk of stealing cats? There can't be much scrap value in them since I found a company which sells new ones for 2011 RAV4s for $117.65. It appears that some people will steal almost anything which they can somehow remove and transport from Place A to Place B!

What I read (somewhere?) last year is that Toyota uses more valuable metals in their original cats, worth a lot more than the aftermarket cats. No idea how true this is.

[woof99]

Platinum is the primary metal used in catalytic converters. I don't know how much they use but at $1700/oz it's valued at about the same as gold at the moment so they probably don't use very much. Palladium at about $770/oz and other rare metals can also be used instead of platinum. I believe that some cheap metals would also work but they're generally banned because of toxic byproducts they produce in the exhaust. Aftermarket manufacturers can cut a lot of corners if they want but their products might have problems with emissions tests.

[Blogson]

Originally Posted by woof99

Platinum is the primary metal used in catalytic converters. I don't know how much they use but at $1700/oz it's valued at about the same as gold at the moment so they probably don't use very much. Palladium at about $770/oz and other rare metals can also be used instead of platinum. I believe that some cheap metals would also work but they're generally banned because of toxic byproducts they produce in the exhaust. Aftermarket manufacturers can cut a lot of corners if they want but their products might have problems with emissions tests.

Don't know about Canada, but in the U.S. cats including replacements are required to be guaranteed for performance: http://www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/warr95fs.txt

It seems that as mentioned there isn't much platinum or other valuable metal used in cats, and it's either embedded in the internal metal parts or contained in small pellets. Theroretically it would appear that thieves could steal a number of cats and eventually acquire enought of a stash which could be redeemable for money . In Oregon buyers are required to obtain and record official IDs of people trying to sell that sort of material or scrap metal, but its effectiveness isn't 100%.