Our small town in Western Washington got hit with a 1/2 dozen catalytic converter thefts the week before last and Nextdoor.com is blowing up with concerned Gen2 Prius owners. A year ago when these thefts started happening more often the leading shield cost over $300. But now everyone is selling them and price is dropping every week. Can you help us find out the best price for best quality? Currently this is the first offering under $100, but not sure about quality or thoroughness of coverage, as well as fasteners: Machter Cat Protector Catalytic Converter Shield For Toyota Prius 2004-2009 | eBay Please help with this research... There's many Gen2 owners who will sleep a little easier during such a difficult year if we can get the price down as low as is reasonable for overall quality.
I can only speak for the one I got. It was from Catalytic Converter Protection - GetCatSecurity and it cost $300 installed
Once things come full circle it won't matter if you bought the cheap or the expensive version of such : I'm confused about catalytic converter theft | PriusChat The least expensive could be extra thick expanded metal sheet : Stopping Catalytic Converter Theft | PriusChat Maybe the @Data Daedalus approach is the winning ticket : Stopping Catalytic Converter Theft | Page 2 | PriusChat
Should be just fine. They are all knock-offs of the original by Cap City Muffler. It's called competition. Since the Prius chassis doesn't change, the shape of the shield would be the same from one brand to the next. They are all laser cut sheets of aluminum, nothing more. Other manufacturer are in California with high overhead and labor. Kentucky has less. When and if China gets into the act, the price will be even less.
Currently working on a bad flange gasket where header pipe attaches to cat and after spending time under there today it seems as long as the sawzall can't get on top of the pipe to slice through it, they won't waste their time. But maybe they'd try cutting from underneath? In looking at the other DIY link you shared it looks more time consuming and costly now that lowest price cat shield sell for $96?
