Catalytic Converter Theft

@cnc97 You say it’s bolted, riv-nuts used?

 

Yes. Riv-nuts used.

 

I had to have my catalytic converter replaced, not sure what was wrong with it, but the car lost power and would not accelerate. Do you think that my old one could be cleaned and repaired to sell?

 

If you sell it for scrap to be melted down for its precious metals, then there is no need to clean it first.

 

^scrapping it is easier as @fuzzy1 mentioned.
Several interweb sites exist for this.

You may also consider several clean-out methods, since there are people in third-world countries that are forced by tyrannical governments to use only OEM mufflers on their cars, and you may be able to donate your cat to one of their oppressed citizens.
Be sure and disclose all of this to the buyer, otherwise you are not much better than the at thieves....

HOWEVER (comma!!!)
You have a G3.
Those cats are (for now) less prone to theft, and so their street value may not be quite as high as those for a G2.

Also...cats, like their owners’ cardiovascular systems, USUALLY don’t get clogged up unless there are underlying conditions that contribute to it.
Spend a little time looking into THAT or you may become a member of the G3 head gasket club.

GOOD Luck!

 

I understand the inconvenience and frustration of losing a catalytic converter. At the same time, I wonder if it is worth the trouble since insurance will cover the lost of a catalytic converter. Sure there will be probably a deductible, but the protector and installation is not free either. Then you need to take the probability of losing a catalytic converter into account.

 

there are posts explaining additional damage to the car’s underbody that had to be repaired and the months wait time for a catalytic converter replacement to arrive. Insurance won’t cover won’t help neither so having a shield will be worth it.

 

Neither is the insurance itself. Absent this theft risk, most drivers would have dropped this non-required comprehensive insurance coverage from cars of Gen2 age, and numerous would have dropped it on their Gen3s by now.

 

If someone wants to steal your converter bad enough, they're going to do it.
Having that sheet of aluminum in the way makes it harder and it takes longer.
Hopefully, that will ward of most of the scum bag thieves.
The harder you can make it for them, the better for you.

 

Insurance is different in different states.
Regulations are different, as are personal financial situations.....so it's hard to give blanket advice....
HOWEVER (comma!)
Too many comprehensive insurance claims (glass, hail, buggy rash, etc...)WILL lead to your insurance company not bothering to send you a renewal notice, and you're almost always going to be money ahead carrying a $1000 deductible and paying for life's little tragedies out of pocket.
It's always wise to drive a good, dependable, efficient 12 year old car.....until you have to write a check for 1/3 of the car's street value to replace a catalytic converter.
Perhaps only once every few years....
Perhaps not.

Just remember....
TV and radio commercials are EXPENSIVE, and insurance companies didn't get to be rich enough to afford paying for them by punching out a $1500 check every time somebody's G2 gets decatanated.
They'll do it for a little while....but eventually they're going to forget where they left their check books.
Since G2's are all pre-teens now we're rapidly approaching the point where the insurance companies are going to just start totaling out these cars following a cat theft - so it's going to be a self solving problem, eventually.

 

I heard a saying that goes "locks keep honest people honest." Most thieves are looking for easy targets. I've gotten my storage unit broken into. They cut the lock. They were going to get in there regardless of the protection I had on it. So I agree that if someone wants it bad enough, they are going to at least try to steal it. Putting the cover over the cat at least tells the scumbag it won't be easy. My gen 3 would leak fluid on them too but they still might try or steal it if they really want to. It's definitely cheaper and less of a headache to just get the cat plate cover installed over doing the whole insurance thing.

 

Incredible as it may seem here in Brazil, this theft is zero. Thieves prefer to steal the whole car

 

what’s the resale value of “used” catallic converter in your county?

 

very expensive! around a Brazilian minimum monthly wage.
but, It is easier for thieves to steal the car than just the catalitic.

Our houses have walls and fences. it is rare for newer cars to stay all night on the street

Cars are stolen to sell parts on the black market. there is no black market for just catalitics.

As insurance is not mandatory here. These parts are widely used in car accident repair

 

Seriously? When two guys on a motorcycle block your path while you're in a car, especially when
they point a gun at you, RUN THEM OVER!

It's sad people live like that. It that all over, or just certain parts?

 

our society would give them mercy and the driver would have his her life threaten on social and be fired from his/her job. Oh the humanity.

 

Guy in vid-2 had a kid in the back seat and was unarmed....and he was driving an itty-bitty little car.
Also these vids were not taken in any of Brazil's favelas BUT....they have been adjacent, and local gang (narcotraficante) influences may have the locals taking more of a 1970's NYC style approach to local crime.
All of that that sorta changes the math for me...but yeah.

In hindsight, he stomped on the wrong pedal.

The last time I was on travel to a dysfunctionally governed crapper that was suffering from armed roving gangs stealing cars in broad daylight (San Diego) NCIS advised us to keep our weapons holstered, and give up the car because the cockroaches that you SAW in the open had back-up with long guns that you didn't necessarily see.
Of course that was in a long ago time, and I'm sure that things have gotten a LOT better since then.
YMMV

 

In most major cities and state capitals. In the interior and medium cities this type of theft is less common. There is a lot of demand for used car parts. there is an illegal parallel market. many cars are stolen to commit other crimes.

Regarding the catalitic, we usually only buy a new one when the old one is defective, many times people put a tube in place or some other cheaper caror an OEM, this really really cheap
We don't have a car inspection in most states

 

This is the best definition of our reality here ...