What parts the thieves are stealing from cars
How can you prevent this from happening to your car
Final word
What parts the thieves are stealing from cars
Currently in Hawaii, there has been a rash of theft when thieves will steal parts from people’s cars so they can sell them for scrap for a small profit. The problem is that these are important parts of cars that are legally required in order for the cars to be driven. Some cars may not even operate properly without these parts.
The parts they are stealing are the catalytic converters. A catalytic converter lowers the amount of toxic gasses that cars produce while they are running. So, your car still could run without the catalytic converter, but it is illegal to do so. In fact, if you take your car in to be inspected without a catalytic converter, you will fail the inspection.
The biggest issue with these parts being stolen is the cost to replace them. When you need a new catalytic converter installed, it will very likely cost over $1000 dollars. The sad thing is that the thieves who take these parts and cost the victims all that money only make about $50 themselves because these parts are sold as scrap metal.
How can you prevent this from happening to your car
It is no easy task to prevent your catalytic converter from being stolen. It is located on the undercarriage of your car, so it is quite difficult to “keep an eye” on it. However, there are a few things that you can do to prevent it from being stolen:
- Keep your car in a garage – If you have a garage or have access to one, then you should definitely keep your car in it. Remember, the thieves are only making a few bucks by stealing these Catalytic Converters, so if you make it more trouble than it’s worth, you will not need to worry.
- Keep your car in a well-lit area – These thieves want to grab these parts off of cars as quickly as possible with as little chance as possible of being caught. So, they will default to stealing these parts from cars in poorly lit dark areas rather than areas with more lighting.
- Always keep an eye out for any sort of suspicious individuals loitering near your car – If you see someone hanging out on your block and/or near your car and they seem suspicious to you, report them to the police immediately.
- You can write your VIN on your catalytic converter – Your Vehicle Identification Number is specific to your car. If you write it on your catalytic converter you will at least stand a small chance of having it recovered. More importantly, a converter with writing on it will be worth less and harder to sell, so you will be discouraging someone from stealing it.
Final word
Replacing your catalytic converter is very costly. So, do whatever you can in order to protect it from being stolen. If it is stolen, you will need to replace it eventually as your car will not pass an inspection without it. Right now, this is occurring primarily on Oahu but this sort of criminal activity can easily spread to neighboring islands.
