I am always looking for interesting stories that major media outlets overlook. I have found a great one. The great majority of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles in operation in the world use catalytic converters to filter out pollutants that damage the atmosphere. These converters contain the following precious metals:
Rhodium: $13,100 US per ounce
Palladium: $
2,070 US per ounce
Platinum: $
928 US per ounce
In the US and, I suspect, in other
countries, there have been a large number of thefts of catalytic converters
from cars. Recently here in Pacifica, 10 catalytic converters were stolen. If
you are one of the victims of such a theft, it will cost you an average of
$2,500 US to buy a new catalytic converter for your car. Your car will be out
of service for 4-6 weeks while you wait for this replacement part. Insurance
companies have been slow to cover these thefts. They demand the installation of
a special anti-theft device on the catalytic converter before coverage is
initiated.
Police in Portland, Oregon did a great
investigation and arrested one of the biggest players in the catalytic
converter theft game. Brennan Doyle age 32 was arrested at his Lake Oswego
mansion. He is identified as being involved with the theft of over 44,000
catalytic converters. His assets included the mansion, seven other real estate
holdings, luxury cars, etc. For those of you curious here is the link to the
article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cops-oregon-crime-ring-moved-22m-in-catalytic-converters/2022/08/11/2eba4224-19e9-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html
My advice to all of you is to lock your
cars in a garage if this is possible. Get the antitheft devices installed and
work with your insurance carrier. You might want to add rental car insurance in
case your catalytic converter is stolen.
No comments:
Post a Comment