Thieves Nationwide Are Swiping Catalytic Converters

FYI, the most at risk cars are the second-gen 03-09 Toyota Prius (pictured multiple times in TFA). They have the most rare metals with the easiest access. In my small neighborhood, there's been like 12 thefts reported in the last 6 months, including mine, 90% of them being this model Prius. If you have it, you should install a cage underneath that protects it, around ~250$ parts and labor, vs. the bill for a new cat. converter being ~2,500$.

This is a wordwide problem. Europe has also seen increase in Catalytic Converter theft. This is most likely related to the economic impact of the pandemic.

Had mine (both of them) stolen off my Ford E250 van last March in Canada (BC).

Interestingly I didn’t have to replace them as the eco related regulations that once required them on older vehicles had been dropped a few years prior. The regulations were dropped due to new cars being well above the standard, and they deemed it unnecessary to maintain emission testing for older vehicles as the number on the road declines each year naturally.

So rather than spend $2k on catalytic converters (about what the van was probably worth) we straight piped it for $50 and continued on.

Not great for the environment, but the van wasn’t long for this world anyway.

Seems like it should be titled "Scrap metal merchants nationwide are funding Catalytic Converter theft" - ok, i'm no headline writer