Parts Stolen From Under Car!

[GotBonneBWitMe]

So I had my car parked last night on the street. . Like always. But recently I have been parking it up on the edge of the curb since a lot of people have been side swiped and mirrors knocked off. And since my mirrors don't fold in, I use the little extra curb space to give it a little more 'safety/protection'. So I'm woken from my sleep early to news that the middle of my exhaust is hanging. I go out, look under the car . . And start it up. Guess what I see? A missing catalytic converter. I'm so angry it's not even funny. Usually the police are around writing tickets But not around when parts are stolen. I can't believe this. Now I have to spend money that I shouldn't even need to spend! Grr

[BonnieBoy08]

Dang that sucks! Sorry to hear. Didn't know people were still stealing those. They were a hot item a couple years ago but I haven't heard if many thefts lately

[Jfridge92]

Ouch, sorry to hear that :(

There was a period in my old neighborhood when people were stealing the cat's off peoples cars because they have such a high resale value for scrap, but luckily no one ever targeted my car before we moved.

Hopefully the police will be able to help you out some on that or at least track down who stole and busted your mirror, but something like that I'm sure is harder to catch unless they find the person in the act.

[ga93sle]

That sucks! We had a problem with that around here for a while on the car lots.

[haro1225]

I don't understand how these people don't get spotted doing this in a neighborhood with houses nearby. I'd imagine they would need a sawzall which is really loud and somebody would hear it.

[Saturn Simon]

There have been cat thefts over here too. Just like over there, stolen for scrap due to the precious metal content.

It was mainly large vans and SUVs that were targeted though - probably just because they are easier to get underneath!

[RJolly87]

i dont know how people pull this off in neighborhoods, is seems like any tools that would make short work of this would be horrendously loud.

On a side note, this would usually fall under comprehensive coverage on your insurance if your policy is so equipped.

Sounds like a good excuse to upgrade

[GotBonneBWitMe]

It was very early in the morning. Like 4 30 / 5 00 am. A neighbor woke up and heard them when they were finally finishing up sawzalling it off. She described the car to me so I will be on the lookout. I'm a heavy sleeper so that noise wouldn't wake me and in addition to that . . My bedroom is upstairs and to the backside of the house. So the sound would be faint anyway. I just wish we had the house equipped with cameras. So I'd positively know who to look out for. Because all I need to do is put another on . . And they come take it off again. All garage space is occupied so that option is gone for safety.

Unfortunately . . I only have liability insurance so it won't be covered . . But I still did make a police report on it.

[1oldman]

Catalytic converters are big money to thieves. It is fairly common for them to be stolen off pickup trucks as they sit high enough to allow a thief to crawl under and swipe one. Those guys need to get a job! - BC

[Corrosive_23]

That sucks man...
That happened to some of my friends a while back...
I remember that one of my friends had a Jeep Wrangler and they stole his cat and his spare tire w/rim...

[MattStrike]

Straight pipe it?

[CMNTMXR57]

Catalytic converters are big money to thieves. It is fairly common for them to be stolen off pickup trucks as they sit high enough to allow a thief to crawl under and swipe one. Those guys need to get a job! - BC

This. And it has been a big issue in Chicago. But it's usually relegated to trucks/SUV's due to their height.

[crash93ssei]

Stock 2000+ Bonneville catalytic converters are $100 each for scrap here.

[GotBonneBWitMe]

Straight pipe it?

Yeah. That's what ima do. Thing is . . A few shops that I asked to do it in the past (for replacement of a bad cat). . They said that they couldn't do it. But I'll definitely be on the hunt tomorrow. I don't want to pay 100+ for this inconvenience right now.

And yeah . . About the primary target being the trucks. It just so happened that I parked on the curb which gave the car enough of a lift for someone just small/slim enough to slide under with a tool and cut it off. Who would think? It shouldn't have happened. But lesson definitely learned.

[RJolly87]

Cat converters are a federal requirement in the US, and any exhaust shop that straight pipes can be fined. Same way you could get fined if caught without it. Best bet may be to grab clamps and a section of pipe, and to take matters in to your own hands, at least until you can get it fixed right.

[MurderMitten]

I still don't see how people think it's a good idea to use a sawzall at night, with the amount of noise they produce I'm surprised they would even take the chance. Sorry to hear about what happened.

[CMNTMXR57]

Cat converters are a federal requirement in the US, and any exhaust shop that straight pipes can be fined. Same way you could get fined if caught without it. Best bet may be to grab clamps and a section of pipe, and to take matters in to your own hands, at least until you can get it fixed right.

Agree, but around here, no one would pursue it unless you had some flagrant violation. There are enough "cash-only" businesses in Chicago that do bigger things illegally than welding in a straight pipe in place of an emissions control device. OP could, if questioned, say "Oh, I never knew... previous owner must've done that..." and no one in the government around here is going to go tracing back something like that over small potatoes.

[GotBonneBWitMe]

I understand its law . . But I also realize that how many police officers will pull you over JUST to look under your car and see if you have a catalytic converter? Probably, none. Many, especially female cops, do not even know what a cat is. Like stated before, it'd have to be something other than that to draw attention to the underside of the car. And even then, I could use that excuse.

I know there has to be at least one shop that would do it. It has been done before. It's too cold to get near the ground and fix it myself. Usually I would.

[00Beast]

Usually, what happens is they won't cut out a cat and replace it with a pipe, but if your cat is gone, they'll weld in a pipe...

[nos4blood70]

Just weld a straight pipe in and run an emulator. No sense in paying out big bucks for a new cat. I promise no one will check in Chicago. So many people run catless.