Same thing happened to my Denver son, and he lives in a decent neighborhood.(that's relative IMO - no city is "decent" to live in)). Itt takes just a couple minutes to take those things off - one would think they would be manufactured to be more secure without an additional chastity belt.
They were gone for the weekend.... insurance priced theirs (Honda or Kia?) at 2500 minus their $250 deductible.
It used to be platinum in them, but I'm not sure about that now. I read someplace (Dogs of War?), there is or may be a replacement for platinum since initially made.
And "scrap" isn't what these things are being sold as, after being stolen, I bet. Why pay $2500 for a new one, when you can get a stolen one for less than half that on eBay or Craigslist? Or sell it to an unethical repair shop, who then installs it as a new one. Who is to know?
I was wrong apparently. Surprise!
From Wikipedia:
The catalyst itself is most often a mix of precious metals, mostly from the platinum group. Platinum is the most active catalyst and is widely used, but is not suitable for all applications because of unwanted additional reactions and high cost. Palladium and rhodium are two other precious metals used. Rhodium is used as a reduction catalyst, palladium is used as an oxidation catalyst, and platinum is used both for reduction and oxidation. Cerium, iron, manganese, and nickel are also used, although each has limitations. Nickel is not legal for use in the European Union because of its reaction with carbon monoxide into toxic nickel tetracarbonyl.[citation needed] Copper can be used everywhere except Japan.[clarification needed]
Upon failure, a catalytic converter can be recycled into scrap. The precious metals inside the converter, including platinum, palladium, and rhodium, are extracted.
Last edited by las; 09/26/21.
