Catalytic Converter Theft from Modified 2002 Prius

Sadly, my 2002 Prius, which was modified for my hearing loss in 2002, was robbed of its catalytic converter for the first time on Thursday. (I live in a residential situation with a large parking area controlled by a company to which I pay berthage that has not elected to provide security cameras.)

I have comprehensive coverage with a $100 deductible from State Farm but I’m concerned that my car might be considered of insufficient value by State Farm to be worth the repair.

I was initially referred by State Farm to its preferred auto body shop nearby, but when I called that shop, the woman who answered estimated it would cost about $3500 to replace the cat. (No reviews of that shop say anything about them working on catalytic converters.) I found another auto shop (specializing in mufflers and with experience replacing cats) that can replace the catalytic converter (CC) after getting a replacement cat from Toyota, weld steel rods and and install a shield; their estimate for the cost of replacing just the catalytic converter, if the oxygen sensor and other things haven’t been damaged, was about $2800. (The manager said that insurance companies can refuse to pay for replacement if the repair would be more than 70% of the value of the car.) The auto shop isn’t on State Farm’s list of approved auto shops, however, which would cause a delay since their agent wouldn’t be assured of coming out to the shop to inspect my car until next Friday. Still, I’m thinking that I might be better off working with a shop that has more expertise in working with CCs, and to pay for anti-theft measures to protect the new CC right away. I’m also thinking I might be better off keeping the costs down as low as possible, and to work with an independent shop that is working for me rather than for the insurance company (but I’m wondering what people’s experience have been about that).

My Prius has less than 140,000 miles on it and is still using the original hybrid battery. It has most of the upgrades like the CD player, airbags, and navigation system (though the DVD for the navigation system is obsolete now). In 2002, I had driven from Maryland to Florida to get special adaptations made for the car, such as a third party device that let me get video and audio from different video sources (including a camera), an audio output jack to feed an audio loop system or other assistive listening device, amplified turn signal, and power for the audio loop system. (At the time Toyota was providing reimbursements for such adaptions; they don’t now.) A friend of mine called the car the “HATmobile” (a tongue-in-cheek twist on “Batmobile”) with HAT standing for Hearing Assistive Technology. It’s the first and only car I know of that was modified this way. Maybe I could argue the car is worth a lot more than the blue book value because of that.

What are people’s experience with getting State Farm nowadays to pay for catalytic converters for 20 year old cars? Would I be better off utilizing the “preferred” auto shop, or would they have a conflict of interest? Does it matter that I haven’t had the catalytic converter stolen before, or that I’ll plan to incorporate anti-theft measures? Does State Farm factor in whether the hybrid battery is the original one or not? I’ve also never used the comprehensive coverage before. Are there any other tips? (I’m in California and would have 11 months more before I’d need to pass the smog check here.)

For what it’s worth, I took slow-moving videos with my cell phone and have screen shots showing that a pipe was clearly cut. I don’t see the other end very well, though.

 

Screenshot_20220731-163917 by Cleoprius posted Jul 31, 2022 at 5:13 PM

Screenshot_20220731-164258~2 by Cleoprius posted Jul 31, 2022 at 5:13 PM

I obtained these photos on my phone using slow moving video, then took screenshots. I wanted to get a sense of what damage might have been inflicted.

Any comments? I'll probably go out and try to shoot other video. One shop manager had said that sometimes the crook will inflict other damage.