That’s more than the 61 stolen converters that were reported stolen over six months in 2019.

In Hamilton, 66 thefts were reported in just two months: December 2019 and January 2020.

That’s up from 200 through the entirety of 2019 and 48 in 2018.

In Calgary, there have been 280 reported incidents of catalytic converter thefts so far in 2020.

In Canada, several cities have been hit by a string of thefts over the past year, as the price of precious metals has soared.

2Īlthough catalytic converter theft isn’t new, by many accounts, it’s on the rise. What’s more, thieves often damage other parts of the vehicle in the process of removing the catalytic converter, resulting in additional costly repairs. Thieves can typically get $150 to $200 for the scrap metal, but the part can cost up to $2,000 for owners to replace. What’s the going rate for this precious part? Trucks and SUVs are preferred targets because they’re higher off the ground and easier to crawl under.

They’re relatively easy to steal, as they can be unbolted or cut out from a vehicle’s underside in a matter of minutes.Most catalytic converters are unmarked, so they can’t be easily traced to an individual vehicle.Catalytic converters are made with trace amounts of precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, which makes them valuable to sell to scrap metal dealers.The part is tempting to thieves for three key reasons 1: A car part designed to reduce a vehicle’s trail of pollutants is a hot target for those who don’t want to leave behind any trail at all: thieves.Ĭatalytic converters, which form part of a vehicle’s exhaust system, convert harmful fumes into less harmful gases before releasing them into the atmosphere.

Catalytic converter theft