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Why thieves love to steal catalytic converters
- aidenn0 5y agoThere's been a rash of this all over SoCal. It's very professional. They hit a fixed number of cars of a given make/model in just a specific year range (presumably so they can do it quickly), then move on to a different city. By the time they swing back around they are hitting a different make/model (though as TFA mentions, it seems to always be Priuses and Ford trucks).
- anyfactor 5y agoUnrelated to this. Why did the website use text on pictures as opposed to using just text like a blog? Wouldn't that harm their SEO? I enjoyed the infographic approach but I feel sorry for the visually impaired people trying to read this.
- pkrotich 5y agoI wondered too... the normal text was below the infographic. And like you I truly enjoyed the infographic as well.
- jccalhoun 5y agoIt is really weird. I use noscript so the cards were spaced out weird but still readable. Then I saw that the story was basically repeated at the end of the page. So I turned on javascript to see if that was why. nope. spacing issues are fixed but it was still weird. So i opened it in chrome without any adblock and it still was weird. So I clicked on another of their stories and the layout was different. I even thought maybe the submitter had submitted some mobile version of the site so I searched for the story on the site to see if another version would come up and nope. Still weird looking.
- kjrose 5y agoIt felt like they were trying to double their keywords in a way that might feel natural?
- dougSF70 5y agoBefore the 2008 financial crisis, the value of copper in (UK) 2 pence pieces was worth more than 2 pence. For a short while it was economically worthwhile to melt the two pence pieces down for copper. At the same it was also worth risking life to pull down the electric cables on the UKs electrified train lines (east coast).
- Scoundreller 5y agoHappening in South Africa now. Because the utility publishes their rolling blackout schedules.
- dougSF70 5y agoUnintended consequences!
- ddtaylor 5y agoYou may also like this video on attempting to extract those precious metals from the pavement itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GPWJPLcHg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5GPWJPLcHg
- kristopolous 5y agoAlso going unmentioned is the classic car battery logic. The thieves steal a car component not necessarily because they want that one but because they now know where they can find a brand new one to take next week
- mynameishere 5y agoYou mean, they're going to rob the same car? That takes some balls, because the probability of getting some high-velocity, unprecious metal in the head will increase tremendously in the next week. I guess it depends on the neighborhood.
- s5300 5y agoBelieve it or not, humans in developed countries aren't exactly keen on murdering people. A portion are, but not the majority. Else, it wouldn't particularly be a developed country.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y agoIn more civilized societies the threat of hand amputation is an effective theft deterrent.
- s5300 5y ago"more civilized", perhaps. Not civilized, though. Unless we have wildly different definitions of civil.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y agoAny definition you can come up with is based on an arbitrary standard of morality. There is no absolute. Pearl clutching over thieves who supposedly can't help themselves because of unfair externalities doesn't serve much benefit to society.
- ericbarrett 5y ago
- c0nsumer 5y agoI recently bought a house and found two catalytic converters in the garage. I'm hoping I can scrap them pretty easily, as I don't want to just throw them out. It's clear they aren't cut off, as all the flanges are present and intact, so hopefully I don't get flagged for anything. (The previous owner is a car guy, removed them from one of his cars, and left them behind.)
- rmetzler 5y agoMaybe just sell them to a car repair shop?
- c0nsumer 5y agoIt'd be harder to find one, and I'm not sure a car shop would really be interested in used, potentially failed, parts.
- kube-system 5y agoYou can scrap them no problem. It won't be suspicious if you have two and the flanges are intact. You'll just look like a normal car guy that just did an exhaust job. Your local law may require the scrapper to record your ID.
- c0nsumer 5y agoThanks, that's what I figured, but reassuring to hear. Turns out I've actually got a bunch of copper left over from the house too. I know it's just pocket change in the overall cost of a house, but feels like it'll be nice to get a little bit of cash back.
- bluedino 5y agoIt's also way to easy for thieves to get quick money for almost any metal object at scrapyards. They can get a couple hundred dollars for copper piping, air conditioner condensers, etc and the homeowner is out thousands in repairs
- PeterisP 5y agoSome time ago it seemed popular to steal elevator motors from apartment buildings, since they contain a significant amount of copper.
- macintux 5y agoLocal food bank was robbed of copper tubing about 15 years ago, and the resulting loss of refrigeration destroyed nearly a half million dollars’ worth of food.
- fmajid 5y agoThe Tunnel de Saint Cloud, one of the main highway tunnels into Paris, had to be closed for almost an entire day because copper thieves stole the copper from the security systems of the tunnel, with horrendous ensuing traffic jams. Telcos and electric utilities have to deal with this on a daily basis.
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago> The amount of precious metals in a catalytic converter varies widely, but a standard part might contain: At current market value, that’s an average of $595 to $1,420 worth of precious metals. > Victims often have to shell out $500 to $3k+ to fix the damage. Their estimates for the value of the precious metals seems high. It also doesn’t make sense that their floor for the value of the precious metals is $595 but the floor for the replacement cost of an entire catalytic converter is $500.
- 14 5y agoIt would only be $500 dollars to replace if you could find a used one from say a salvage yard if you have to go brand new then it is expensive. Source I am a backyard mechanic and that is how things are done. Poor means you do the job yourself and salvage while soccer mom means you pay a premium for a new part and pay someone to install it.
- rfrey 5y agoIf catalytic converters have enough value for people to steal them at night, and have >500 bucks of raw material in them, there are none at the wreckers. When steel went through the roof in price I couldn't get leaf springs anymore because the wreckers knew they could sell them for scrap more profitably - yards are a low margin business and they know how to maximize revenue. Source I am a backyard mechanic who doesn't feel the need to be condescending to those who aren't.
- 14 5y agoWell I said salvage yard but in reality it could be buy it used from someone who crashed their car. Even my local salvage yard has some they will sell for cheap because they haven’t had the time to go under and remove it. The point is in some cases you can get the parts for scrap prices. Around here the most scrap cars go for is about $300. Lots of people have a yard with 2-3 dead cars. I have 3 currently. Yes if I take every part off and sell individually I can make more money but for just as is $300. The other means of fixing this issue is just not add a catalytic converter but then you need to install a cat delete device so you don’t get a CEL and fail emissions testing. That too would cost several hundred dollars. Wasn’t trying to be condescending perhaps you woke up wrong side of the bed. Good day.
- Eduard 5y agoCatalytic converters are also stolen for making the drug _bombé_: https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/new-drug-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-the-zombies-of-kinshasa-a-b6c69627-922b-42c7-bb6f-25b939f5d2ac https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/new-drug-in-the-d...
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y agoDas Schmiergel? Mit diesen Standluftpumpen machen Sie richtig Druck auf Ihrem Treppenlift!
- halfmatthalfcat 5y agoThat was a really interesting article, thanks for sharing.
- hericium 5y agoAfter reading news about such unusual substance abuse being increasingly popular in Congo recently, I have actually thought that this is the main reason behind catalytic converters' thefts all over. But it's still rare metals thieves are after so I assume the substance abuse popularity may grow outside Congo.
- wiremaus 5y agoBe fascinating to hear more about how that actually works; or is it a fabrication by police or drug manufacturers? What mechanism of action would a bunch of metal and exhaust particulate possibly have to produce drug-like effects?
- Eduard 5y agoIn case it's not a fabrication/not a lacing with conventional drugs , my very uneducated guess: the crushed catalysators contain nanoparticles which cross the blood-brain barrier easily
- wiml 5y agoI'm with you; it does kind of sound like a drug-panic story. The article does suggest that bombé is made from conventional drugs and basically cut with converter residue, so perhaps the residue slightly modifies its chemistry. Or it might do nothing at all; I'd be surprised if there's been a blind study comparing the effects of bombé made with cat residue to the same made with, say, clay.
- bb123 5y agoThe worst part of this that it’s not uncommon for the thieves to total the car in the process of stealing the cat. They can warp the chassis by jacking the car up in the wrong spot, or simply by dropping the car off the jack once they’re done to make a quick getaway.
- caturopath 5y agoWhat is "not uncommon"? I know a several people who've had their cats stolen from older cars and hadn't heard of this yet. Is not-uncommon like....10%?
- nikanj 5y agoNot uncommon as in the mechanic will say "Oh yeah, sometimes that happens" vs "Holy bob, I've never seen that one before! Mind if I post it on the social media?"
- bb123 5y agoSource: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9512053/amp/Catalytic-converter-thefts-time-high-claims-soar-57-March.html https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9512053/amp... Not sure the sarcastic comment is warranted, or really adds anything to the conversation.
- nikanj 5y agoI'm sorry if my comment came across as sarcastic. I don't think anyone is keeping good statistics on "how often does a car get frame damage from cat theft", but I know that mechanics treat it as "not uncommon" as per my previous comment.
- mlyle 5y agoI believe he wasn't being sarcastic, but instead was trying to illustrate what was meant when you wrote "not uncommon". The question of what "not uncommon" meant in this context was explicitly raised, and nikanj tried to clarify on your behalf. I'm not sure how you got such a bad read from what he said.
- bb123 5y agoI’ve heard stories of people being advised not to install cat protector shields on their car, as often the thief will smash the windows and slash the tyres as payback for inconveniencing them. The leaps in mental logic that must take is astonishing.
- caturopath 5y agoWould be interesting to find some stats on how much excess vandalism there is of cars with cat shields. Sometimes these stories people tell aren't born out by the data. Slashing tires is hard and smashing windshields is loud.
- germinalphrase 5y agoOur car was broken into a couple years ago. We were sitting in the backyard while a criminal broke a side window and stole a laptop bag. Apparently, smashing is loud, but if you take a screwdriver and pry, the window will pop instead which draws less attention.
- jes 5y agoAs a former firefighter, we used to carry a tool used by machinists: A spring-loaded center-punch. Position it at a corner of a door window and press until the punch fires. The window just disintegrates into a thousand pieces.
- 41b696ef1113 5y agoThey sell these (with seat-belt cutters) for $5-10. Billed as a way to get out of a car that is sinking into a body of water (does this happen to more than a couple of people a year?). Alternatively, if you are in a cab/uber that locks the doors and traps you inside. Or if you just want to break into some cars.
- asddubs 5y agoi've heard if you throw the ceramic from a spark plug, the window will break silently
- H8crilA 5y agoThis reminds me of the crypto phishing scams which intensified so much in this bull run. Ehhhh
- lordnacho 5y agoIs it possible to have the catalytic converter stolen without knowing about it?
- ingalls 5y agoYou would notice as soon as you turned on your car. It would sound like a roaring sound from under your car and would get worse any time you give the engine more fuel. You can drive a car without a catalytic converter but it is almost universally illegal and you assuredly won't pass emissions.
- bittercynic 5y ago>You can drive a car without... There is at least one case where this doesn't hold: On a 3rd generation prius the coolant loops around the cat to warm up the engine faster, and the coolant will leak out if someone steals your cat. The engine would be destroyed pretty quickly if you run it without coolant I think.
- rmetzler 5y agoYou would think there is something wrong but you wouldn't necessarily think there was a part stolen. We only found out there was something stolen when the mechanic sent us pictures from underneath the car. It was his first of these cases.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoEmissions inspections are not required in most rural areas, and not required in quite a few state (FL/WA/MI come to mind as populous places that do not require inspections): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_Unit... I would just straight pipe it if someone cut out my cats. Although, my cats have been dead for years, so I wonder if they would even get paid for them.
- gregoriol 5y agoIf your exhaust line is cut, broken or just rusted to the point of having holes, the sound of it will change, but also the exhaust gases won't come out from the back of the car but in the middle under it, and go inside the cabin very easily, you'll be able to smell it, and this might get seriously dangerous to inhale if you try to drive
- codesections 5y ago> This honeycomb is sent to an illegal smelter, where the precious metals are extracted, distilled, and sold to manufacturers. Does anyone know any details about this part of the operation? The article doesn't provide any, and I'm surprised to learn that "illegal smelters" are a thing — I've never thought of smelting as especially subtle
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- xnx 5y agoImagine a shipping container of stolen catalytic converters unloading in China.
- jcrawfordor 5y agoI don't know exactly how this is done for cats but I've gotten into some backyard metal extraction before. If you have lax safety standards and some ingenuity a lot of precious metal extraction can be done with reasonably inexpensive and small equipment, it's the kind of thing you could set up in a rented garage for probably under $10k in equipment if you're thrifty and clever. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2019/2318157/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2019/2318157/ suggests a process, basic technique seems to be to extract the core, crush it, and then chemical separation and precipitation using reasonably easy to get reagents. And given that they talk about it as an eco-friendly method I suspect that isn't the easiest way.
- 8note 5y agoCody's lab has all kinds of chemistry and smelting videos: https://youtu.be/UHStZrQ3OP4 https://youtu.be/UHStZrQ3OP4 for getting them from a catalytic converter. He's also done an attempt at getting the precious metals from the dust on the interstate
- wiml 5y agoI would have expected any smelting/extraction to be on the "legal" side of the fence — usually, articles about cat theft suggest they're sold to unscrupulous but legal scrap dealers, who can mix the stolen converters in with their legitimate stream of parts sawn off of junked cars. (It also, as a practical matter, seems easier to do that than to convince manufacturers to buy odd batches of rare metals from your illegal smelter.)
- djanogo 5y agoTexas recently passed bill(House Bill 4110) making this crime a felony, I wonder if this will make it easier for owners to be covered under Sec. 9.42 code which will let owners use deadly force against anybody who is under your car or running away with your converter during night time. Texas is 2nd highest in US for this crime, somebody is gonna pay with their life for this crime. https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB4110/id/2408113 https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB4110/id/2408113 https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/SOTWDocs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm
- mint2 5y agoBy that somebody do you mean someone that random vigilantes assume stole a cat in the past with little proof? And then grab shotguns and pick up trucks to chase the somebody if they ever see that somebody again and proceed to execute the person?
- Someone1234 5y agoCatalytic converter theft is obnoxious, and I'm fine with it being a felony (in particular as the cost of repairs is substantial higher than the "raw cost" of the stolen converter itself). That being said: It isn't a capital crime and shouldn't be. If people can legally justify deadly force without self-defense (e.g. finding someone under their vehicle and shooting them) then the law itself is a problem. If the state wants to make things a capital crime they should just do so directly, because at least then you get your day in court, a jury who could nullify, and lawmakers have to suffer the political ramifications of killing a bunch of petty thieves.
- dylan604 5y ago>If the state wants to make things a capital crime they should just do so directly, whoa, easy there fella! Don't go giving this guy any more zanny ideas. He'll call another special session just for it (no governor has called this many). The wackier the idea, the better he'll like it.
- xenocyon 5y agoConsidering that lawmakers in Texas and other places have recently been trying to make it legal for car drivers to mow down pedestrian protesters, I don't think they are worried about the political ramifications of people killing petty thieves, or rather they believe such ramifications will play to their advantage rather than disadvantage.
- iramiller 5y agoThis would be easily solved if car manufacturers cared at all… simply cover the bottom of the car with panels. A side benefit would be the increased fuel economy from the cleaner airflow and reduction in drag (this is an inherit benefit of electric vehicles—-especially trucks). It’s not done because no one looks under their cars and it’s easier/cheaper to manufacture and design for cooling. I should add that installing a simple piece of metal cut to fit over the bottom of your vehicle isn’t a great idea if it doesn’t properly account for the changes in ventilation and cooling that it causes.
- connor4312 5y agoI recently bought a new Prius. Toyota even has bolt holes to allow easy installation of a "cat shield", and could install a nice steel plate there with minimal additional cost, but instead it was on me to buy and install an aftermarket product. Maybe it's a question of liability?
- avalys 5y agoThis isn't a problem for about 90% of the population in the US. At best, Toyota would offer it as an option.
- renewiltord 5y agoMy hypothesis is that when you’re selling a product to a price-sensitive customer you have to strip down things.
- imglorp 5y agoThe shield would affect price, weight and mileage.
- Someone1234 5y agoWe're starting to see changes in vehicle design to address this but typically it is only during a major model redesign rather than between model years. The popular solution, that is almost free, is simply moving the catalytic converter from mid-tailpipe to directly connected to the engine block. Essentially the CC is surrounded by the engine block itself on all sides, and you have to disassemble the entire engine from above to get to it. But you're talking about 4~ years between redesigns and that doesn't address any of the vehicles already sold/tens of years of old designs.
- pkrotich 5y agoThere was a news story [0] recently about 2 teenagers that died in the back of the car due to carbon monoxide poisoning - I thought it was very unusual and had wondered if the cat was faulty. I now wonder if it was damaged due to attempted theft. [0] https://people.com/human-interest/n-c-teens-found-dead-in-car-outside-school-died-of-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-medical-examiner-says/ https://people.com/human-interest/n-c-teens-found-dead-in-ca...
- Someone1234 5y agoBetween that story and this one[0] wherein Ford modified a bunch of vehicles for police usage and carbon monoxide was leaking into them (potentially causing crashes and sickness). Almost makes me think I should have a cheap battery CO monitor in any gas vehicle. [0] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ford-rushes-repair-police-suvs-more-departments-raise-carbon-monoxide-n791031 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ford-rushes-repair-poli...
- pkrotich 5y agoThank you for the comment - just had a lightbulb moment - that’s what’s going to socks stockings for Christmas. Keychain version is perfect & portable.
- Someone1234 5y agoWhere did you find a keychain CO detector?
- pkrotich 5y agoLooked on Amazon - even Walmart has them. It's a little pricy but I think it's worth it. I bring keys with me everywhere.
- jcrawfordor 5y agoVery affordable option since NTSB recommended CO detectors in all light aircraft: https://www.asa2fly.com/Carbon-Monoxide-Detector--P822.aspx https://www.asa2fly.com/Carbon-Monoxide-Detector--P822.aspx
- jccalhoun 5y agoI'm lucky enough to live in a small city in the midwest so I own a house with an attached garage like all the houses in my subdivision. However, I always joke that my neighbors probably think I'm weird because I park my car inside my garage instead of in the driveway. If it really does only take less than a minute to remove the catalytic converters then someone could make a mint going up and down my street.
- greedo 5y agoWhy would it be considered weird to park inside your garage?
- s5300 5y agoIn the MidWest, the garage is often for a hobby/storage, to the point a car won't actually fit in it. You have plenty of driveway space, so you just park there.
- greedo 5y agoI live in the Midwest, and no one in my area parks their car in the driveway unless the garage already has a car in it. The lucky ones use their third car garage for a workshop/storage area.
- jccalhoun 5y agothat's the joke. everyone else has their garage crammed so full of junk they can't use their garage as a garage. I can so I am weird compared to their "normal"
- sharken 5y agoSo another effect of shutting down societies. This should hopefully make politicians worldwide think long and hard of the consequences of lockdown. Given that we have excellent vaccines for Corona, there is no reason to consider lockdowns anymore.
- amitport 5y agoThere are specific car models they're looking for (e.g., Prius 2009), so to maximize the chance of finding these they search in large crowded parking lots. So, if anything the problem was aggravated (at least here) when the societies were "powered up".
- acdha 5y agoThis has been going on for decades in various forms – catalytic converters briefly became the most profitable thing to steal but if you search news archives you’ll find stories about things like copper theft predating lockdown by many years. The broader societal problems have nothing to do with public health measures, especially since in most countries those were accompanied by significant public aid.
- lamontcg 5y agoThe people that buy the catalytic converters and buy these metals on the secondary market really need to be more highly regulated and inspected. Someone showing up with a van full of catalytic converters needs to get bounced out of every metal scrapyard they show up to.
- kube-system 5y agoThere have been a lot of states that have passed regulation requiring documentation for scrap transactions regarding catalytic converters, and other frequently stolen types of scrap. But I'm not sure that it's as easy as kicking people out for having a lot of them. The people who have legitimate scrap also tend to have a lot of it, because it is waste from their business.
- cyral 5y agoI wonder how they are enforced. I'm sure many shops are not keeping up with passed regulations much less abiding by them if they even know about them.
- TrispusAttucks 5y agoI recycle bulk amounts of aluminum cans. Mostly because it's good for humans and the earth but you also get a small check. Usually deliver a truck load to the recycling plant. I always have to show ID and they often cut a check if it's over a certain dollar amount. So there are definite attempts to keep a light on things to prevent black markets and stay credible and prevent fraud. Copper piping is also a big problem area. Thieves will go and strip entire houses of all copper piping in a night.
- Spooky23 5y agoIt’s a more complex issue than you might think. There’s a lot of grey market business in auto repair and parts, and you’ll just push the shady stuff underground and support a new business for organized crime. The only controls that work are with limited source scrap like railroad equipment. You’ll get banned from a scrapyard if you show up with rail ties or signal components.
- Animats 5y agoNow I have to find out how to sell a catalytic converter. I had mine replaced a few years ago, when I started to get error codes indicating a problem. But I went to a place which put on an aftermarket converter. After a few years, that failed. Wasn't even the right unit for the vehicle. So I went to a dealer and had a proper OEM unit installed. The dealer wouldn't give me credit back for the aftermarket converter, so now I'm stuck with the converter and pipe assembly, which is too bulky to ship.
- tsol 5y agoAccording to the article, junk yards buy them with proper ID. I assume if you're only selling one a single time, you won't have a lot of trouble
- jbverschoor 5y agoThere was an item by Kees vd Spek about this https://app.nlziet.nl/vod/1yKdJfPQWUKDrLg9dvpH1Q https://app.nlziet.nl/vod/1yKdJfPQWUKDrLg9dvpH1Q Basically people are renting a car for a day on a p2p platform, and stripping it from the precious metals. The same could be done for any p2p service, such as airbnb.
- nathias 5y agoThey took mine one month ago in Europe, weird to see how widespread it is.
- bserge 5y agoAs someone familiar with the "business", I'll just say batteries are the next big thing. They might not be able to tow your Tesla's pack, but you better watch your scooter, e-bike, e-motorcycle or anything with a battery pack under 20 or so kilos. This applies especially to street scooter rental companies. You idiots think user swappable batteries were a great idea? Think again after your shit is dumped at the bottom of a river without its $300 battery, which will go on eBay as individual cells that you can't trace. Your little GPS tracker in the pack does not help, btw, and the police probably hate you more than they hate the thieves.
- camillomiller 5y agoOff topic: this entire article is text inside images, plus the same text copypasted below, probably for indexing purposes. I would have wanted to be inside the meeting were they decided to go with that implementation.
- acdha 5y agoI had to use Reader mode just to get it to render on iOS instead of displaying a blank page so their front end team is clearly top-notch.
- xchip 5y agoTL;DR: catalythc converters have valuable metals as rhodium and palladium
- nikkinana 5y agoI love it! Nobody cares about this tax on those that own cars. Insurance pays for it, but those who are honest pay insurance. So it's really a tax on those who work and are honest.
- robbmorganf 5y agoI didn't realize how much metal was in these converters. I always thought it would be milligrams at most.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mrsmee89 5y agoThis is fascinating. I’m curious what other common items incentivizes theft in this manner.
- mnemotronic 5y agoLast night someone broke into 2 cars belonging to members of the co-housing community where I live. They stole the handicap tags -- the plastic thing hanging from the rear-view mirror that we put up when parking in a handicap spot, in this case the county garage next door. The tags have a serial number printed on the front.
- SyzygistSix 5y agoThis is why asteroid mining is so important. Imagine an ~8 year long ~$20 billion dollar mission to the asteroid belt that would bring back a 1000 metric tons of rare earth metals. It would mess with the economy for sure and I bet the second trip would only cost about $2 billion. Scarcity is the great enemy.
- grog454 5y agoNot a retroactive solution but for the future, it seems like an obvious solution is serial number tracking. Make it illegal to purchase or sell a catalytic converter (or really anything of sufficient value) without a legible serial number, and maintain a database of serial numbers along with associations to a VIN. If VIN X has been totaled or the owner of VIN X decides to sell his old cat, it is legal to remap Catalytic Converter 1234 to VIN Y. Additionally, if, during state inspections, VIN Y is found to have catalytic converter 5678 which was not originally associated with VIN Y, figure out what car it came from and what the status of that vehicle is, and what shop the vehicle owner acquired the cat from. I guess this is more "paperwork" but since 100% of it can be digital, so what? This kind of tracking is already done with firearms in the US.
- ianschmitz 5y agoParticulate filters for diesels already do this. Not sure why they never did for cats
- scrubs 5y agoWhile waiting at the bus stop (in north eastern large city) today I overheard a guy tell his friend his catalytic converter was stolen for the second time.
- pepoluan 5y agoA comment on the meta-article: The presentation is ... unique. But very easy to digest. I might be tempted to apply same "story flow" in my articles.