With Catalytic Converter Thefts are on the Rise… Do You Need a Catlock?
Catalytic converter: RIP, originally uploaded by sidewalk flying
Wait, did I read that right, you say. Yes, I am afraid that you did. In yesterdays economy, you had to nail down everything except the kitchen sink and your catalytic converter, but today, those things need to be nailed down too.
CarSeek recently posted an article about the recent catalytic converter thefts on the rise. Now if you are driving around in a clunker from pre-1975, you can just ignore this, but if you have a newer SUV and live amongst areas of relatively high crime, you might want to perk your ears for a second.
If you haven’t noticed, the used auto parts industry has been rolling in high style the past few months. Reason being, folks aren’t wanting to spend top dollar on new parts in this economy when they can get them at a significant discount.
While all this maybe fine in dandy, when you have a market for parts which is exceeding the donor availability, there is little to do to get more parts except to, well, take them without asking. A smooth thief can walk through a perking lot with a saw blade and leave within a half hour with over $15,000 worth of slightly used catalytic converters, of which approximately $3,000 of that they will pocket.
Chrome and alloy rims were all the rage a few years ago, but due to the necessity of more tools, about 5-10 minutes of time (compared to 2 minutes for each catalytic), more storage space, and all those pesky anti-theft locking bolts everybody has today, steeling rims is no longer a very profitable venture. Well, what’s a thief supposed to do, except adapt, conquer, and continue to make a living!
If you haven’t had a catalytic converter go out on you in awhile, let me tell you that one for a big SUV can easily cost you up to $1,000 to $2,000 at a muffler shop. That is no small change. Well, thanks to one fed up victim of this crime, there is an anti-theft device available for just such occasions, it is called the Catlock.
The Catlock secures your existing catalytic converter to your chassis, providing both a visual deterrent (once you climb underneath the chassis), and also a physical deterrent. The cost of one of these is around $100, which is reasonable if you happen to own a high dollar (and easy to steal) catalytic set up. But if your converter is only worth $200 to $300, then you might want to just pay some bills with that chunk of change instead.
The economy is a strange thing. It brings about new opportunity to those who are always looking for new ways to bend the law, but it also provides the same monetary value for those who are innovative enough to find the ways to stop them!
Source: CarSeek
