KSL Investigators Goes Undercover To Check Compliance As Catalytic Converter Thefts Skyrocket
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- Опубликовано: 17 май 2021
- ksltv.com/462454/ksl-investig...
If you own a vehicle, you are at risk of one of the fastest-growing crimes in Utah. Catalytic converters are being swiped from the underbelly of cars and trucks at an alarming rate.
The blue book value on my catalytic converter is worth more than my vehicle.
Bruh.... I just figured out how to get rid of my car and make a profit still. Thanks.
And now your house is worth more in lumber than real estate.
@@darwinawardcommittee lol 😆 yeah, covid is crazy
$2400 for a catalytic converter replacement isn’t correct. These journalists know nothing about cars.
@@thronewalker1153 "But That's the average for a 2010 car with 3 catayltic converters"
Shoot, I’m going to cut my own Catalytic Converter off and sell it if its worth that much lol
Lol
What make and model vehicle do you have?
@@warrenmcelroy4718 🤣
It's worth more than my car.
same 😂
The recyclers are acting like fences for stolen goods. Hold their feet to the fire, and make them completely document each purchase of a CC. And monitor them!
Yup with no place to sell them theives won't steal them
@@jrockaz548 you're kidding right? How stupid are you and OP? Markets are markets buddy, there will always be demand considering the state mandates catalytic converters. It's not the businesses responsibility to know where the part came from and its sickening how you want government to hold a gun to these businesses heads because of this. You people are the death of our society. Mind numbing ignorance.
@@KA-vs7nl yeah. I agree. Governments need to legalize all drugs. Markets are markets. Why hold a gun to dealers heads for.
why not make the EPA fix the problem ?
@@lancekreis3645 they can make rules but if the yards aren't following them they're useless
Jokes on you none of my cars have them. Joys of having older cars 🤣😂
not just that once a car is 20 years old you can strip off the cats since your smog exempt
i mean it means i no longer have to swap them back in before a smog test
Definitely
@@markrayes2973 😁
@@markrayes2973 After 20 years - exempt??
This must be state or county dependent, as I until I sold it last year, I still had to pass annual smog checks on my '69 Chevy pickup
No smog checks on my state. Cars rust out so bad from salt on the winter.
Recyclers should be required to verify receipt from the shop that removes it - and take photos of the person turning it in along with copies of all their IDs as a bear minimum!! The recycler intake cans and bottles and some occasional copper to has my driver’s license on file and I’m required to sign every time I turn something in. (For cans and bottles!)
But then without the thieves, these recyclers won't make money though. You either want to make moneys or you want to be honest.
@@hybridstiger there are more than plenty of honest metal scrappers and honest scrap yards out there. These businesses can profit just fine without the scumbags
Don't need it to vote
@@unclerobby Very good point
What if you have a bunch of junk cars and you want to recycle then yourself. paying a shop to remove is gonna decimate your profits
It'd be kind of weird if somebody's coming in every other day for four five or six of those things that should bring bring up red flags
They don't care its business
And also you can’t just accuse them of anything that’s a lawsuit on the company
When you steal it and the value is more than $1k, I thought that was a felony off the bat.
Who told u that ur lawyer
@@rcx8971 Experience
@@rcx8971 a review of state law that usually uses $500 as the cutoff in property crimes between misdemeanors and felonies?🙄 Or perhaps the fact I AM a lawyer, now a judge. Either of those work for you?
You can’t go to prison on a low felony. Politicians basically made all low felonies like drugs and grand theft not a crime so now those types of crimes have skyrocketed
I guess it depends on the state your in. Many States it is burglary of a vehicle which is a felony.
Sometimes, when cutting off a Converter, you attract lead. And that's a good thing.
Good one 🤣
Prosecute the complicit buyers of the converters!!!!
Why?
@@warrenmcelroy4718 ugh, non compliance with state law so they are receiving stolen property?
@@alfavulcan4518 I believe more in going after the criminals that I do going after folks that are just trying to run their business.
@@warrenmcelroy4718 if there is a buyer, there always be a seller. No buyers then problem solved
@@alfavulcan4518 that’s a very ridiculous outlook, there are many many honest people that make a living in the Junk Cars business and your “solution” would hurt more folks than it would help.
We stopped purchasing them at my yard. Not worth the headaches.
Thank you for that
Your profile pic is a headache
This is what you call a triple dose of robbery. One from the state, and the other from the street theives. Finally let's not forget the mechanics to replace the part to get back in compliance with the first group of theives. What a vicious cycle of getting screwed! No matter how much lube you use, this is getting it royally.
You are also missing insurance companies... once you report something accidents/thefts/burglary. Insurance will triple your rate despite the fact that you have not done anything wrong.
You can buy a test pipe briefly. Before law requirements these were common because cheaper. How ilkegal is that anymore abnd of ciurse over timecyou are hurting air quality?
Yep! I’m learning this right now my cat was stolen 2 days ago. What a set up to be living here in cali.
@@ladyfame6470nothing but trash out there
And in NJ, you cannot pass inspection without it. Mechanics know this and will charge you $100 or more just to tell you why your check engine light is on. A friend of mine had the OBD scanner, but those aren’t always accurate.
If you walk up on someone under your car with a jack, just grab the long handle bar on the jack and twist it to the left. Your car should drop back to the ground immediately.
Momma's got a good recipe for roadkill.
Yeah, but you probably go to prison
@@hint0122 yeah, but you probably can’t prove who did it.
Recently in San Diego or LA a guy was under a prius when the jack gave out the prius won. And his partner tried to pull him out only got his shoes.
@@charkswitlazers Except for the fingerprints you left on the handle.
@@goingindieEN who’s leaving fingerprints? Plus, numerous hands have likely touched a car lift. Would never hold up in court.
Why dont they make them as hard to remove as a headlight bulb. Something is wrong if a thief can steal my cat off my car in a fraction of the time it takes to replace a burned out headlight bulb.
Relating stealing cats to headlight bulbs when the cat is just being sawed off would be more smashing the housing and taking the light out. If someone is willing to use power tools nothing is locked.
@@deadskimountaineer get over yourself shithead. It was a joke.
@@MrSubmariner13 well... that was a more aggressive reply than was really warranted. Ha ha?
@@MrSubmariner13 you’re awfully upset over it...
@@bae_ofpigz not really , just dont care for shitheadz.
Just make it illegal to buy them at recycling places and everyone caught closed for 6 months
That isn’t logical. As thieves could just cut open the cat and take the metal from the inside leaving no evidence of a stolen cat.
Are you insane?! The entire reason they cost so much is because of the rare earth metals inside... key word: “RARE.” Like the lithium in Lithium-Ion batteries, every scrap needs to be recycled or else you are making the problem worse. If you stop legitimate sales of used catalytic converters then they go to the landfill and the prices go up and the illegitimate market BOOMS. Every totaled vehicle needs their cat scrapped and recycled. Every legitimate owner who does a cat-delete and doesn’t keep it to reinstall later needs to sell/recycle it. Period.
@@emmettturner9452 Make everyone trying to sell a converter go to a police or government station to "stamp" a converter and require that such agency keep a database of every stamp that the scraper needs to check to validate with an ID matching the person who stamped it. That way most thieves would be scared to show their face to get it stamped and legal owners should have no issue if they are doing it legally. Then police can raid scrapers and fine the place $10k for each converter found without a matching stamp. Use the fine money to fund the staff salaries and the technology. A bit of a hassle for legal owners but it would fix a major problem.
@@Pilostudio that’d be great except that we can’t prove an unstamped unit wasn’t theirs prior to the new rule. There would have to be a deadline for getting existing units stamped and then any uncovered later would be a hot-potato.
@@emmettturner9452 no need to, everyone is assumed inoccent to begin with. But if you take 2 or 3 a week police may chose to put a tail on you to see if you are really chopping salvage cars or stealing them. At least everything would be registered and it would be clear who is the casual seller and the professional thief. Yeah some people will find ways around the system but i think something like that would help.
So crazy how someone would Value my catalytic more than their own life. Still caused by willing criminals, cheap Judges and expensive lawyers
can i add the value of the metals catalytic converter to my cars value and then sell it?
People rob banks and houses for less. This is pretty easy and safe if you know how to jack up a car.
The shops buying these "Stolen Parts" from these low life criminals, know exactly where they are all coming from and simply don't care! .. That makes the buyer/business owner, just as guilty as the perpetrator!.... 🙄
They're following the law. Don't like it, change the law.
@Fart Zilla how would they know it's stolen ?
@Fart Zilla That's why the ID is required. I work at a recycling center but every state is different. We require ID and license plate info. Maybe the VIN should be stamped on converters.
@Fart Zilla No, they are NOT following the law and only exacerbating the issue further!.... We have to remember that these "Recycling Shops" are making a killing off of the precious metals coming out of these CAT's!... Thieves have been killed attempting to steal them from cars, they have threatened the lives of those catching them in the act and are costing Hundreds of THOUSANDS of dollars in damages nation wide and good old Dave Pawson up above, wants us all to believe that they are "Following the Law" is such BS!.... If the same Meth Head Criminal keeps showing up daily to their shops with a ton of CAT's that are mainly coming off of newer Electric Vehicles, that can't possibly be found in a junk yard, because those junk yard owners have already removed those parts, then where else could ALL those CAT'S be coming from?.... THEY ARE STOLEN PARTS, THAT'S WHERE!.... PERIOD!.... 🙄
@@jralvarado2391 Please refer to the comments posted further below!.... That's how they "Know"....
so what was the undercover investigation was about? just letting everyone know how valueable these cats are
Exactly! And what scrap yard to take them to and definitely target subaru!😂😂😂
Just happened to my co worker. She was leaving for work and freaked out cause her car was super loud. Husband knew right away what it was. Crazy times man.
It happened to me at work too. I asked our yard manager if anyone saw anything because my cat was gone when I was getting ready to go home but it was there when I got to work. I was told there was no way someone stole it while it was in the yard, but after looking at security camera footage for about five minutes they called me and said you won't believe this but not five minutes after I parked someone pulled up next to my truck and stole it. I was more than a couple hundred feet from my truck but I didn't have a line of sight on it. These people are brazen af.
@@TheHavrelandtExperiment that's wild af. There was just a news report where there's been 60+ cat thefts in my town the past couple months. Funny how they mention Subaru's because I drive an older Legacy. I know everyone always jokes they are "tweakers", but meth is very bad in my town so it's just a sad situation all together.
@@TheHavrelandtExperiment dude u couldn't hear them grinding the sob off?
@@TheHavrelandtExperimenthey Kev u need to grow a pair and stopped da brotha's from jackin it
I’ve had mine stolen after I left my car on the side of the highway for a couple hours a few months back. Not even a week later someone stole catalytic converters off our company vehicles at work, and it’s just ridiculous. They seriously just need to make where you need to be licensed in order to buy or sale these…
If I replace the cats on my car with pipes then I don’t want to have to get a license to sell my old cats. That’d be ridiculous. I already have a drivers license that is plenty.
What city abouts?
Or, here's a thought, vehicle owners build the reputation, where if you're caught stealing these or anything, from people who didn't wrong you, then you will be disfigured or killed.
You need to have booby traps if you live in a high crime area.. super simple. Hmm looks around all bars on window n razor wire .yep I'll live here peacefully..pay attention people if you're area looks shady take precautions.cause plain n simple they won't do anything when we get robbed regardless of video unless you get in touch with media your a no body...
Leme get this straight... It's' a federal offense to tamper with emission controls if you are Ford, GM, or VW. At minimum the state might shut you down for repeated tampering if you are a repair shop. Steal a cat and it's not much more than a parking ticket?
The sort answer is yes.
I used to do apartment security and as I just left the apartment in the patrol car I thought that I saw someone hiding in the bushes but could not tell for sure becouse of how dark it was. So I left to the next block parked the marked patrol car and walked back into the apartment complex. I found a man that didn't speak english cutting cat of the pickup. By the time I was gone, he managed to cut off 3 cats of cars. So I detained him and the local pd was very happy to see that guy in cuffs.
He got 10 hours of community work. Good job you all.
Huh. I used to operate a machine that helped make converters. I had no idea I was basically at a gold mine. I used to see THOUSANDS of these made everyday just stacked up on pallets in a giant warehouse.
Should of got a pocket full of that palladium and rhodium
I'm surprised this news coverage didn't go there and show all the thieves where to find a pile of loose cats. They sure showed some rookies how to get just about anybody's
@@hostileaks4495 Should've*
I do see WHY it costs so much… but not from what the news is saying. Yes, I’m sure some of the materials were very valuable, but the multiple refining processes and the time it takes to put through all the machines and different people who have to inspect it. I’m not even sure how many steps there were but I was a part of the initial stages. I know converters are made from a type of clay that has a special purple “dye”. It went through a machine that gave it the holes. Then it went through a “microwave” and my job was to make sure the temperature was right and report any visual deficiencies in the raw product. Then a “dryer” which hardened the material and then the sawing machine. But there so many steps after that I don’t have a shot at knowing it all now.
If there aftermarket ones. They ain’t worth nothing. Only oem ones are
My dad had his Catalytic converter stolen, he makes minimum wage and struggles monthly to keep me and my family afloat. These people need to get their hands cut off.
He can't afford a 2ft length of exhaust pipe?
@@ICU-th7qj makes 12hr at McDonald's you tell me
@@teslacybertruck750 if they couldn't come up with about $10 they are in trouble
Yea it's bad they got there cat stolen but $10 is cheaper then couple hundred for a aftermarket cat
@@ICU-th7qj That is why I really believe, everyone has the right to defend their property, and shoot thieves that are caught in the act. The truth is, Now a days thieves in America are getting too confident, because they're aren't major consequences when they're caught. And it makes me sick.
With this kinda money involved and how much people have to pay to fix the problem,
I think it should be roped into the “stand your ground” laws… and you should act accordingly if you catch the roaches in the act.
Around me there’ve been a few thieves who are armed and threaten when confronted.
That’s not the way the law works.
@@thebiggs1469get your boyfriend to get them. (Beat them up)
@@prancer1803 maybe it should though
Remember 30 years ago when everyone had an alarm on their car? If you have to jack the car up the alarm would go off.
nah it’s really just for windows
Yeah but no one cared and so everyone stopped putting alarms
Three years ago my Catalytic converter was $500 today it's $849.
While attending a convention and staying at a Best Western I had 2 stolen off my Tundra. Best Western just shrugged their shoulders. Large insurance claim.
How much was the repair bill Bobby?
@@waynewilliams5802 over 2k
@@cowboybob993 ouch...here in Bama (roll tide) country would have took check, st8 piped it and been done bone
You over payed but then again that’s how mechanics make their 💰💰
Car companies have known about this for quite some time now. It's a wonder why they can't make them more theft resistant.
They don't care. As long as they get their money.
Bmw enters the chat...literally have to remove engine on some models to get them suckers out
Bmws are not easy.. yeah^ lol
Because it hasn't become a big issue until recently
Not sure how knowledgeable you are about cars so please don't take any of this the wrong way. Pretty much any modification to a catalytic converter makes no sense and could actually be rather stupid/bad. If you block them off to make access hard you'd be basically re directing the heat upwards into the vehicle. They, along with the rest of the exhaust system rely on air flow to cool down. Also since exhaust systems depending on where you live rust out so blocking them off would increase the price to have them serviced. And since O2 sensors are commonly found before and after the cat it would create even more problems. And finally, and this holds true for anything, if a thief is determined to steal something, they're going to get whatever it is no matter the obstacle. So for the amount that get stolen it doesn't make any sense what so ever to change the design. A drop in the bucket compared to ones that will never be stolen.
With $10 2x4’s I’m about to start thieving just to build my shed.
How much was a 2x10x16 a few years ago? They’re $27 a pop here now, about to re-deck my car hauler.
There are 2x4’s on long pallets. 🍻
Thanks for making a video about how easy it is to do this and how easy it is to get away with it.
We all had that one friend growing up who couldnt read very well, and called them "Cadillac converters"...
Did they call him Peanut?
@@nightcat87 lol nope. June Bug...
@@boodro2122 😆
@@nightcat87 😂😂👍🏻
Guys like that also said michael wave ovens.
Get a skid plate to prevent theft. That's what the officer advised after two vehicles at work had their cats stolen in the middle of the day, with cameras watching, and people taking breaks outside.... takes less than two minutes to cut off and up to 6 weeks on backorder to get them replaced.
Order an aftermarket cat off ebay for less than $100. Pay for overnight shipping and itll be at your house tomorrow
@@getchasome6230 facts.
In the Bay Area longer than that !
@@getchasome6230 And the cheapo cat will last 3 months before it stops "converting"
@@brucespurier7535 If you say so pal.
I like how the news stations act like they haven’t been educating and contributing to a new wave of criminals when they feel the need to show a detailed tutorial of how to do it as a part of report.
If you needed a tutorial on how to cut a metal pipe, then your problems are way deeper then being broke.
Are you kidding. It's called awareness to the public. Should we never ever show anything bad on the news and pretend it's all sunshine and roses? Fool
@@bobspizza7444 99% of the time the thieves already know theft tactics. The only people getting educated are law abiding citizens. Car thieves know more ways to steal cars than an automotive engineer.
@@SI0AX then your making my point. It doesn't help thieves by showing this it just educates the non thieves
Bust those recyclers!
I don’t know why this is so hard. Anyone bringing in more than one of these has got to be suspect
Texas needs to step up undercover investigations especially in Houston, lawmakers need to act fast and penalize the buyers even with jail time
When the guy says it cost thousands of dollars in Repairs....😑 I want to smack those real those real thieves.
I live in California and it’s becoming a huge problem like any other place. I know someone with a Prius which had the catalytic converter stolen twice. Another had to scrap his car since the cost to replace was so high and he didn’t have comprehensive coverage on his policy since the vehicle was paid off.
He could have just had it welded back up with the piece of pipe and sold it to someone in a state that doesn't have inspections
The STING OPERATIONS on catalytic converters should be made known through different news outlets print and broadcast and the different social media platforms so that those prospective buyers will think twice.
That guy should get life without the possibility of parole. These scrap yards owners and addresses should be published in the local newspaper.
Get you a couple Junk yard Dobermans sir!
News Anchor:: criminals,gather around.. we're going to give you some good tips
FYI, don’t call the cops if you’re a nurse; you might get arrested.
I’m watching this 2 years after the post and this (North America wide) is still a huge issue. The manufacturers MUST start putting serial numbers on these. Scrap dealers NEED to stop buying them off the general public.
It’s weird, if you steal mine all you’ll get is Lead
Hahaha i get it
😂
Yeah cause you totally sit outside all night watching your car not even leaving it for 10 minutes.
Why do gun owners feel the need to make fake, stupid threats on youtube?
@@oldbatwit5102 He represents a rather vocal minority of gun owners, i own a rifle but never fantasize or brag about how i would shoot people, same with pretty much every other gun owner i personally know.
You don't see the other 98% of normal gun owners because they are not commenting stuff like this.
If people would just cut em off themselves.. weld on straight pipe. your fuel mileage goes up, power and torque goes up 🤷🏾♂️
Still need to buy a tuner to trick the computer .
@@soulerflare7 true if you did custom pipes. Some cars have aftermarket parts that will bolt up perfect and have defaulters that trick the ecu. Therefore no engine code.
Great report! Appreciate the due diligence.
The cat caught me off guard 😂
We should blame the EPA here for needing cats
I bought a high flow cat for $80 from my local auto part store. don’t know why you’d buy an OEM one
JFilms ... because the OEM cat will last 100,000 miles or more and the aftermarket ones might last a couple of years at best.
@@rupe53 if you replace the cats with pipes you’ll never have to replace them or worry about the thieves.
@@thronewalker1153 .... yup, but you will have to worry about annual inspections, which we have in our area... on all vehicles less than 25 years old. In the case of older cars / trucks you can get antique / historical registration and be exempt from all of that stuff. This opens up lots of possibilities for vehicles between 1975 and 1996 that no longer require inspection.... but originally came with all sorts of emissions devices.
California and NY require original equipment only.
@@robertheinkel6225 ... here in Ct they still allow aftermarket as long as it's an approved unit. I see many listings specifically say "not approved for use in California" or similar.... but ok for the other 49 states in a retrofit. I did fleet work for the last 30 years and my main concern was working well enough to get the dash light off for inspection... and lasting long enough till we replaced the vehicle. I'll be dipped if I was gonna spend $1500 on an OEM front pipe with 2 cats if the van was being replaced in 2 years. Sometimes it's a judgement call.
And this is why I cut all the catalytic converters out of my cars and sold them and now I don't have any to steal
Thanks for posting the market rates of these metals, I’m sure this will help things out
Lol when my cat clogged after my car got stolen I knocked all the material out into the trash 🤷♂️
That’s where it belongs.
Yep my neighbor recently had theirs stolen.
This is why automotive tuners should be allowed to tune their cars and have high-flow cats, They aren't worth much because of less materials inside so there would be less thefts.
I had my cats stolen 3 times on my Toyota Tundra.
Recyclers should be held accountable as well. The victim of the theft should not have to pay, insurance should have to cover it.
Wouldn't the intelligent move be to do some research and footwork to find a list of shops and buyers for these stolen catalytic converters? I can't decide if it's it the low IQ requirement for police officers that explains the less than 20% clearance rate for property crimes or if they are just lazy? Or maybe both
It boils down to mandating a catalytic converter is only bought when attached to a junked car.... These yards cant sell you a used cat, yet they can buy em? BS! Everyone associated with this is a scumbag and plays dumb as to how these cutoff cats are obtained... Too many folks are hurt by this and multiple times.
Escalate these crimes to felonies - they're well over $1,000 - and incarcerate these people. When they spend time in prison and have a felony record it may help slow them down.
Hmm I was wondering why this has been on the news a lot. But thanks for showing and also showing a lot of the thieves everything.
The real criminals are the ones who say there worth more than a 1000$
Worth that for the scrappers, not the guys cutting them out.
Im surprised they are not stealing gas yet, remember last time a gallon cost this much?
Until your paying $1.80 a LITREc for 98 Octane . . . .
(yours is 4.5 Litres per $)
You cant steal gas from cars they all have non siphoning systems
@@thatguy6214 really ? That proxy mesh screen?
@@DVSUte nah i forget how it works but upon a quick google they have kits that requires a pump to get it out so I guess you can still steal gas. Instead of just a hose on old asf cars. Gas covers are locked anyways tho so youd have to deal with that.
@@thatguy6214 all it takes is a nail, a hammer, and a bucket. The gas tank on most models is plastic, they crawl under the car. It's less work than stealing a catalytic converter and can be done twice as fast and will cost you just as much to repair.
Business quick fix. Get motions detector so u get alerts on ur phone when something is moving on ur property.
The citations for non-compliance are a drop in the bucket from the extra profits they made buying stolen cats.. doesn't really solve the problem. Exact same deal when you find a corporation for gross negligence and they've already made a s*** ton more money than that because of the gross negligence so they don't care. Not a real consequence. Places caught need to be shut down and owners charged.
Imagine doing a drug bust just to find a house full of catalytic converters lol
A buddy of mine that runs a big landscape company, they run a load of those little mini box trucks, a few weeks back their lot got raided overnight and the thieves took cats off of 42 trucks. Obviously he’s filing it under insurance but dude you’re talking upwards of 100 grand plus for those repairs, the thief’s probly made over 15 grand, roughly 200 bucks per cat, 2 cats per truck so they had 84 of them to sell, shits crazy lol
@@2491kridge tell your buddy I will replace them for $70,000. Those mechanics are making their money on that one.
“Oh no cat thefts are on the rise”
Also them: shows a 5 min video about how much they’re worth and where to cut it off
The judge has sentenced the thief one year for each catalytic converter. It's grand theft.
This country is a crime cesspool. The criminals paying for the converters are so casual about it that they even give suggestions on which types of cars to go after. Sad.
I suggest you guys run a straight pipe for the time being. Once this stops you can put it back on or just put it on when you do your smog.
Just get your stock cats haloed out and put back on. When the thieve goes to sell it they will notice the metal is gone and drop it.
All my old cars I cut off the cats and sell them to pay for the duel pipes lol
The government refuses to hold scrap dealers accountable. The citation is nothing. Just a cost of doing business. Here in British Columbia, the government cracked down on scrap dealers several years ago. Now, there is jail time and very large fines for dealers that fail to comply with the law.
Eliminate the mandate requiring them on vehicles🤷🏽♂️
If your vin is on the converter (not the S/N) the police can run the vin to find the owner - if your car has plates that are up to date.
They will just scrape the vin off
@Mike Studmuffin - no, that’s for when the cops bust someone and find the stash of them. With a vin on them they can show that, that converter was stolen. They find the owner who can let a judge or jury know it was stolen from them and not donated or he bought them from an auto mechanic.
Once it is established that 1 has been stolen, the likelihood that the other 10 are stolen is pretty high.
Then the combined cost of them is used to determine the felony and sentencing.
And I'm just over here trying to find a shop to do a CAT delete on my R56.
Make sure you keep it when they’re done, don’t let them keep it unless you work out a deal with them to lower the price if you let em keep it.
Just call a local tweaker. They'll come do you and do free service.
as a mechanic i can vouch it’s never a 2 minute job
Go after the salvage for buying them
The scrap yard doesn't melt them down. The crate them up by type and sell them on
i swear to god i would sneak up and lower the jack on these guys.
They don't need or use jacks. Just slide under and sawzall it off.
@@HailRider Depends on the car. Prius cats go for a lot but they're pretty low so anyone sawing them off would need to jack it up. There's a news story recently about a guy who got crushed doing that when the jack slipped.
@@koriko88 Sure, I know that. For the MOST part they are going for the easy targets. No jacks, just slide and cut. Takes 2 mins max.
Someone got killed trying to steal a catalytic converter from a Prius in Southern California because the jack failed. His partner puréed off his shoes trying to pull him out and left him there.
Send a couple of your investigators out to police stations at night and have them ask about the complaint process.
Anyone stealing a cat conv deserve to get their teeth kicked in. And I hope they get caught in the middle of it and it happens😂😂
I put an aftermarket exhaust on my buddies truck. We took his cats along with some spare metal to the scrap yard. They gave us $18 for three of them....
if they were aftermarket cats yea i can see that but if they were factory you got screwed
@@mrkouki180sx yep. Royally screwed
No one's paying $2,000 for some cats, performance cats for my Z06 are $700
Those will flow well but they probably wont keep your check engine light off long. Bet your OE cats costs waaaayyyy more then that, and have a much heavier loading.
Just get some longtubes
We sold one off of a Mercedes a few weeks ago for $900 so I’m inclined to agree with you. Now the Cats and DPF’s that come on newer Diesel Powered Vehicles are a different story, you can easily get up to $2500 scrap value for some of them, but that includes the Cat and DPF system all together in one piece.
Back in the 80's they would give you $100 tops... my my how things have gone UP!
@@Tiger-From-Clemson yeah when we had exhaust work done on our trucks we would ask the guys if they would cut the converters off and pray to God they wouldn’t ask us to take them with us.
Excellent reporting, thanks!
You see, I don't have a catalytic converter because I have a custom exhaust. just steal your own cat.
So y'all watch what you air? You never help. The media as a whole never help. You guys make everything worse. "let's just show them how it's done" smh
Wow, so what if a shop employee snuck in and removed cats and the shop had to claim them on insurance.
Unless you are in CA, a catcon is just not that expensive. I had one replaced on my 4 cylinder 1993 Jeep Wrangler about 5 years ago by a local shop for just over $300. It was not the oem part, it was aftermarket. Only CA requires they be replaced with the oem part, which is often not even available anymore for older cars.
I’m in California with a Jeep so I looked into this just in case. To replace mine the cost just for the unit was $520, the price changes constantly and it has to be a CARB converter. Muffler shops are sometimes getting in on the act telling people they need to replace their $1600 catalytic converter when there’s nothing wrong with them.
@@steveblankenship5474 I've heard of converters costing over $3K in CA. In AZ they do not have to be CARB approved, and are not usually very expensive. Many new cars are now coming with THREE converters, and that can get expensive, especially when there is no way to test one. In my case, my Jeep failed the emissions test, the shop could not get it to pass by doing everything else. They were able to just bang on the converter, and got a hollow sound, and could hear stuff rattling around in there. The converter core breaks down over time. Yes there are a lot of crooked shops out there. If your vehicle passes the emissions test, the converter is fine.
I brought an original catalytic converter from a Ford Ranger to a recycler and got $75. (Midas charged me $800 for the replacement, but gave me the old one.) A few years later, I had to get another catalytic converter - another $800 - and Midas gave me the old one which was the one made by Midas. The recycler only gave me $5 for it, saying the replacement ones have very little precious metal in them.
They steal them at uhaul centers.
Cause UHaul trucks sit high enough off the ground to make stealing them easy. I’ve seen UHaul trucks that had little steel cages custom built around the converters before😂
Sounds like we need more stimulus money for these thieves to supplement their other welfare benefits.
Recycling businesses are generally running numerous scams, but this one is really costing people. The people buying these stolen cats need to be HAMMERED.
Make it a felony to sell without state ID and title/registration to the vehicle or registered repair shop credentials (with copy of the customer’s ID and registration to the vehicle).
No exceptions. Mandatory jail time.
Agreed should be license and title
Nah you can just solve it by having DMV go out to each recycling business and if they fail the sting operation revoke their license.
No one would risk their business for a few stolen cats
I love how it "costs thousands" when you can literally just go to auto zone and get a pipe to fix it for $10
For real like someone can just buy a universal cat for 100 bucks and have it welded on and it’ll be fine, these news media’s have no idea what they’re talking about
@@yourfather5324 I didnt know that was an option. When I went to autozone back in 2014 they charged me $500 for a new catalytic converter for my nissan altima.
@@margaritoamargo6347 they are more readily available now and mass produced so they became cheaper
Title: "Investigators Goes Undercover"
* Investigators *Go* Undercover, or *Investigator* Goes Undercover, but not *Investigators Goes* Undercover. One would expect that journalists would have a basic understanding of the rules of grammar for the language in which they are reporting.
One is the actor.
The other operates the camera.
Hence: "Investigators."
@@RoscoesRiffs You totally missed the point. If one writes "investigators" (plural) then it's "go undercover," not "goes undercover."
@@seikibrian8641 Totally. And you're right about these journalists not having a regard for grammar. The amount of typos and mistakes I see in big profile outfits makes me feel shame in our society. I blame A) The 24-hour news cycle coupled with the death of editors and B) cellphones and more specifically the rise and prominence of texting. It's not only acceptable to be grammatically incorrect but now it's almost standard. Very sad indeed.
Funny how dude doesn't tell him a model type, he tells him the specific brand of car that has the best one.
require anyone that turns in a catalytic to show the title for the car or a business license and a repair order with the vin along with i.d. and a quick pic of the person.
Good job showing how to and what's worth the most right now , media doing what's best ....🤭
Good luck finding mine😂
Catless exhaust 😎
😆
3” Stainless steel straight through!
4 inch straight baby
I don't believe it. Just replaced mine on my Ford F-350 1996 and it cost us $350. The engine is a 460 block 7.5 liter. It's as big as it gets before its diesel.
Thanks for telling us which part we need to cut and that Subaru cat are worth more.