obviously everyone is unique but i think they certainly buy them assuming some are stolen but that isn’t exactly illegal. They have to collect certain info and keep certain records and that’s their responsibility. And I doubt many would lie to the police or provide false information in the records. So if the police call looking for a hot pink converter. The owner can say yup, I bought that this morning and I have the required info about who I purchased it from. I don’t see many scenarios where the owner of a recycling company would put it all on the line for a possible thief he has no relationship with.

 

I have had many converters stolen over the years. And it’s a crime that increases when the real economy is struggling. Also it becomes more frequent when the spot prices of precious metals are up. It really has nothing to do with the details of your vehicle. They are after the easiest to acquire targets. Newer vehicles have the CC as close to the engine as possible so they reach operating temp quicker and this makes them much harder to steal. Also they need to have access to them or they can’t remove them. So they definitely have a preference for 4x4 pickup trucks. Also, while the battery powered sawzal sounds like the ideal tool for removing a CC quickly, it’s a noisy tool that can be as valuable as several converters. The preferred tool for this type work would be a tailpipe cutter, it’s like a series of pipe cutters on a chain. It makes a nice clean cut, almost silently and the investment is minimal. The best part for the thieves is the speed, they will be able to clip off 20 converters In the time it takes to remove 1 with a sawzal.,

 

That's the smart way to do it. But lot of these CC thieves are savages who aren't afraid of anyone hearing or seeing them. They are quite bold:


Major penalties on Scrap Yards for accepting stolen Cats would help lower CC theft, in my opinion.

 

Never happened lol
My sawzall can cut thin wall pipe almost as fast as my bandsaw, just not as straight.
Yeah maybe a pipe cutter is quieter and takes a heck of a lot more elbow grease but I just watched some videos on youtube and they are using floor jacks and power saws too from what I seen so I guess all cars are targets now.

 

If the exhaust was off the car then absolutely a sawzal would blow right thru the exhaust pipe, but it can be a little tough when your under a strange vehicle in the middle of the night and the blade starts jamming into the bottom of the vehicle, or the weight of the exhaust starts to pinch the blade so it doesn’t want to cut. Or you are halfway thru a cut and realize it can’t be completed for whatever reason and you need to start over from a different spot. Plus the metal isn’t all that thin around the converter, they use a much heavier gauge tubing to support the extra weight, and while your trying to cut it with a sawzal, it would vibrate the whole vehicle drastically increasing the amount of crap falling in your face. While your under there making all that noise you have to constantly fear the owner has heard you and is about to stomp on your nuts. I don’t doubt that a sawzal has been used in plenty of converter thefts, just has so many drawbacks. To pull this caper off you want to be as low key as possible. If someone spots you goin around a neighborhood at night, a sawzal and floor jack sticking outta your backpack will be a tip off to your bad intentions and slow you down if you have to bolt. A tailpipe cutter and all the trucks around this country means that’s the easy route. Plus the big converters used on big domestic 4x4 will bring top dollar.

 

Good points.
If I was a thief(and I'm not) I'd be in and out like a ninja.

Something like this might work. Haha

 

Prius is the #1 main target.........

 

reviving this thread because I saw a photo of a home-made catalytic converter cage. It looks to be made out of re-bar. If you can weld, it would be pretty cheap.

 

I just got the cat on my RX 400h stolen. Nice neighborhood, sorta busy street, daylight, stolen right from my very visible driveway. They're targeting these, and the thieves are totally brazen, they just don't GAF. I've got security cam video of them. Battery sawzall, in and out in about 30 seconds.

Anyone know of a cat shield for the 400h? I can't find any.

Here's the main players, but no RX solutions yet.
Cat Securty getcatsecurity.com
Cat Shield catshield.com

And there's the universal and hokey looking Cat Strap, which I'm not sure will deter anyone. catstrap.net

 

The Catstrap video is a hoot.
But it gave me an idea: High Voltage Electrocution as a deterrent.