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Catalytic converters are being stolen, police say
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More from CamarilloCamarillo police report that thieves are taking catalytic converters from vehicles and selling them to scrap metal dealers.
The converters, which cut down on vehicle emissions, contain small amounts of precious metals, including platinum and gold. Platinum has fetched more than $1,000 an ounce this year.
The converters are on the outside of vehicles, making them easy targets for thieves, police said.
Thieves took converters from three minivans in Camarillo on Sunday and Monday. The vans were parked in front of the owners' homes, police said.
Owners can have the converters welded to their vehicles, making it harder for thieves to take them, police said. They can also etch an identifying number on the converter.
Police are asking anyone who witnesses suspicious activity to phone 911.
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and criminal complaint against the thieves.
Callers can remain anonymous, and the call is not recorded. The Crime Stoppers phone number is 800-222-8477.
Posted by Thinkbeforeyoupost on October 10, 2008 at 6:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this is the most crazy thing I have heard of yet! Leave it to happen in Camarillo! To me, it seems like a lot of work to steal a catalytic converter.
Posted by lizzy29e on October 10, 2008 at 6:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm one of the people that this happened too. They cut in so it only takes minutes and alarms don't help you under the car. Lets catch them!
Posted by Hopper on October 10, 2008 at 6:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Liz,
Are you really 29???
Posted by dse_kpa on October 10, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
F-ing TWEAKERS! And yes, there are meth heads in Camarillo....ooooooh shocking!
Posted by brwnbear on October 10, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Lizzy that sucks, so how much did it cost you to replace it.
Posted by iam_caine on October 10, 2008 at 1:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No one notices someone crawling around underneath parked vehicles? Do they just assume some good samaritan is giving free oil changes?
Posted by goldeneye on October 10, 2008 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The scrap metal dealers that take these things should be arrested. They should know when a shady looking guy comes in with 5 catalytic converters that they have been stolen. Arrest the scrap metal dealers and this stops!
Posted by BigJake on October 10, 2008 at 11:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
''Arrest the scrap metal dealers and this stops . . '' Well said.
Posted by lizzy29e on October 11, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)
brwnbear, I still haven't gotten my van back yet but my deductible is $100.00 for comp. The part is around $700.00 from the dealer. I'm very lucky that I only had to pay the $100.00 deductible otherwise I'm not sure what I would've done.
Posted by lizzy29e on October 11, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hopper, Yes I am. Are you really blond? Thanks for the comment Bro-in-law :)
Posted by airics on October 11, 2008 at noon (Suggest removal)
I agree about the scrap metal dealers also being responsible. I have read and seen also copper and electrical wires being stolen from trucks and job sites. I guess there is more money in recycling metal then collecting cans now.
Oh and sorry lizzy but glad you had a low deductible
Posted by ironwoman on October 12, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This happened to my Dad recently, an old toyota truck....it was easy to steal it. The part was about $700.00 from a dealer but we took it to an auto shop in Oxnard who replaced it and charged him much less. They also secured it so it won't get stolen again.
Where are the scrap metal dealers? I have never heard of them before all of this.
Posted by THX1138 on October 12, 2008 at 10:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Most cat-converters are just bolted in from the mfg, so removal is fairly easy. This has been an issue down in L.A. for awhile now - I'm surprized few have heard of this..[?].
If I had a car or truck parked on the street with a bolt-in cat; I'd take it to a muffler shop and have them spot weld the joints. Most likely the perp will move on to another vehicle..
Posted by JenLynn on October 12, 2008 at 9:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Does anyone know how much it costs to have the welding done? Oh and what parts of Camarillo? Maybe if we knew it could spark a memory of some "shady" person walking around.
Posted by Truth_Hurts on October 13, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Any machine shop should be able to weld your cat to your car. Some mechanics will do it too.
It shouldn't cost much at all to weld it on...most certainly less than replacing your cat when it gets stolen.
They are SUPER easy to take, and this article is kind of misleading..."Scrap metal dealers" aren't going to pay you for the precious metals. These cats are going to chop shops where someone with the means and the time can extract the platinum from the converter...it's not just being recycled at the scrap yard.
Take the time to get yours welded on...it's worth it...
Posted by Truth_Hurts on October 13, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
IAM_CAINE - You're Friggin Hilarious...
"No one notices someone crawling around underneath parked vehicles? Do they just assume some good samaritan is giving free oil changes?"
Posted by jdub17 on October 16, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Stupid question- but do these thieves target every type of vehicle? I've noticed they usually target larger vehicles like trucks and vans- is that b/c they are larger and have more scarp medal. Or should people with smaller cars be concerned as well?
This is happening all across the State. I was visitng my parents in Northern Cal. when I pulled up to the driveway around 1am and saw a man run from under my dad's truck. He was trying the same thing.
Posted by jdub17 on October 16, 2008 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
metal not medal...hey, it's almost Friday
Posted by THESILKY1 on October 19, 2008 at 8:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This has been going on all over the state. The State's auction yard in Davis had 30 plus new vehicles stored at the yard and all of the vans came up with missing cats, costing us thousands of dollars for replacement.
My co-workers Toyota T-100 was hit for a cat a couple of weeks ago, and he now has a cable attached to his vehicle's cat.
I read about a container ship that was heading for an overseas port that was busted with several containers of stolen cats.
This is more than the local scrap yard and the crack head making a buck. Cats are sent overseas to be torn apart for the metals and as usual they are outsourced for the cheaper labor rates.
Word up be careful have your cat welded. A couple of spot welds won't cost bu a few dollars and is cheap insurance. The replacement of a factory cat can be as much as $1000 plus dollars.
The Silk.......
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