14 Combating Catalytic Converter Theft By CNCDA Staff Catalytic converter thefts present a growing problem for dealers and their customers. In 2021, the National Crime Bureau estimated that more than 52,000 catalytic converters were reported stolen, compared with 1,300 in 2018. That’s 40 times as many converter thefts, and it doesn’t include the number of unreported thefts. If the repair cost is the amount of someone’s deductible, they may not report the theft to the police or the insurance company since they will have to pay the money either way. Filing a report creates the possibility of increased insurance premiums; not filing maintains the status quo. Thieves value catalytic converters because they contain precious metals such as palladium, platinum, and rhodium. The metals’ values have increased exponentially. Worse, catalytic converters are easy to steal and hard to trace. Another problem caused by catalytic converter theft is the damage when thieves cut the converters from the car. They are in a hurry and don’t care about being precise, so they often damage the oxygen sensor and may take other parts of the exhaust system, such as the muffler. That means repairs after the theft often involve more than just replacing the catalytic converter itself. A stolen catalytic converter usually costs $500-$600 to the thief, but replacing it costs the owner approximately $3,500. Dealers both assist customers who have had the unfortunate experience of having their catalytic converter stolen and are victims themselves. What can be done about the issue of catalytic converter theft? • Increase enforcement on thieves and black-market facilities • Make it harder for thieves to get catalytic converters • Make it easier to trace stolen catalytic converters Largely due to media coverage and complaints from constituents, ten bills were introduced during the 2022 legislative year in California to try and address catalytic converter theft. New car dealers are supportive of bills to increase enforcement against bad actors stealing and dealing stolen catalytic converters and supportive of proposals aiming to inform customers about the availability of VIN-marking services. However, some of these proposals aimed to bar dealers from selling new and used vehicles without permanently marking the vehicle’s VIN on the catalytic converter themselves before sale. These bills were very problematic, as dealers do not manufacture the cars and thus should not be responsible for this work – and certainly not as a free service on behalf of vehicle manufacturers. Dealers are already facing a severe vehicle technician shortage, and a requirement like this would greatly exacerbate this shortage. How do you make it harder to steal a catalytic converter? Vehicles stored outside are more vulnerable than vehicles inside a garage, so dealerships are attractive targets for thieves. One dealer installed a 7,000-volt security system around the dealership. He hasn’t had any problems since. However, one of his customers had seven trucks. Thieves took all seven converters. It took eight weeks for replacement parts to arrive; thieves took all seven converters again one short month later. Experiences like that have made the third strategy more attractive (making it easier to trace stolen catalytic converters). In January 2022, Indiana Rep. Jim Baird introduced H.R. 6394, the Preventing Auto Recycling Theft (PART) Act, which NADA strongly supports. The bill is intended to increase traceability and enforcement. A day later, Jan. 14, 2022, it was referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. It still must pass
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