Auto theft spikes linked to precious metal shortage

Catalytic converters have reached an all-time high in theft connected to mining shutdown in South Africa.

By Asher Miles, Staff Writer

A catalytic converted attached underneath the cab of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. (Joseph Acuña | Valley Star)

Mario Chutin, service manager of Keyes Toyota on Van Nuys Blvd, was expecting a typical day at his auto service provider until his team delivered a Toyota Tundra to one of their clients.

Video recordings from the secure Keyes lot reveal an overnight coordinated theft of four catalytic converts from Toyota trucks. The Tundras had their catalytic converters cut out in a span of five minutes. Auto technicians did not realize they were stolen until they had delivered the trucks to the client.

“When we went to deliver them you could hear that loud, booming sound, and we knew they had been stolen,” said Chutin.

Cars with easily accessible catalytic converters are becoming frequent targets, with a 12-fold spike in the auto theft of catalytic converters due to high demand for rhodium, a precious metal commonly found in the exhaust emission control device. The 90-second, almost surgical removal of converters has been a consistent headache for Prius and truck owners alike since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Right now we are working on around 10-15 cars, but we are running low on parts to fix the catalytic converter theft,” said the manager. “Now they are sitting there and accumulating because we don’t have parts.

According to charts available on Kitco, an online retailer of precious metals, the market value of rhodium has increased from around $5,000 per ounce to $13,800. The cause of the price spike is linked to the increased restrictions and shut down of South African rhodium mines. With the rare element becoming less and less available, thieves have capitalized its skyrocketing market value.

Once a thief has stolen a “cat,” a common shorthand for catalytic converter, they sell the auto part to a recycler who will pay around $150-$300 and a new converter can be made from the parts of the old one. To address the rising thefts, AB 1740 and SB 1087 were signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom mid-September. AB 1740 will require recyclers to record the year, make, and model of the vehicle that the converter was removed from, along with the vehicle title. SB 1087 will make it illegal for people to buy a converter from anyone other than certified sellers.

Solutions to protect the “cats” from auto thieves include $40 car alarms that go off when tampered with and “cat shields” ranging from $200-$500 that can be welded on to protect the converters. While “cat shields” and “cat clamps” have the best results to guard the catalytic converter, a determined thief can still find a way to obtain the precious metals to sell to recyclers. Some say that manufacturers should be required to engrave V.I.N. numbers onto the parts so they can be easily traceable.

“You now have middlemen who receive the converters, and then that guy turns them into the recyclers for a profit,” said detective Pereira from Van Nuys Police Department. “Until there is some entity that is able to push the manufacturers to do something, they won’t. It’s not cost-effective for them. There is no blanket answer on what will take care of the problem.”