Catalytic converter thefts rise; auto emission device has precious metal platinum

By Mark Boxley
of The Daily Times Staff

It's a problem that people are seeing across the country: Thieves taking battery-powered hand saws and cutting catalytic converters from the undersides of vehicles. And Blount County is no different.

It only takes a few minutes to steal a converter, and the financial reward is high. On the street, a converter can reportedly go for $200 or more.

"We're just really starting to see a lot of it," said Broadway Muffler Shop owner Frank Marritt of catalytic converter thefts in the area. "It's not been as bad here as it has been in Knoxville."

The problem can potentially affect anyone who owns a vehicle -- reports in Blount County show car dealerships, businesses and individuals have all been victims of converter thefts.

Since the beginning of the year, Marritt said his Maryville-based shop alone has replaced as many as 12 converters on vehicles damaged by theft. Before the uptick in thefts in early 2008, he said the only catalytic converter work he did was on vehicles with bad converters that needed replacement.

Most recently, a thief (or thieves) in Alcoa grabbed seven catalytic converters in one swoop. An employee of Advantage Towing-West Chevrolet, 3377 Regal Drive, Alcoa, reported at 4:43 p.m. Wednesday that a customer came to pick up her vehicle from the company's impound lot, and her converter was gone. When employees checked other vehicles in the lot, they found seven catalytic converters had been cut from vehicles, causing an estimated $4,000 in damage, according to an Alcoa police report.

Marritt said at least one of those vehicles was brought to his business to have another converter installed.

Platinum prices soar

The big draw for criminals is not resale of converters for installation on other vehicles, it is the precious metal inside -- most notably platinum used in the process of burning off excess gasoline and improving emissions.

Valued Friday at more than $2,000 an ounce, platinum is seeing a dramatic increase in price. According to a June 18 Bloomberg report, platinum prices have increased by 36 percent so far this year and could go higher, depending on a looming mining strike in South Africa where about 80 percent of the world's platinum supply is produced. Gold, in contrast, has only seen a 6 percent increase in value during the same period.

There are only a few grams of platinum in a catalytic converter, but the increase in price is definitely driving the thefts, Marritt said. "I think that's what's making it worse," he said. "It's higher (in price) than gold."

Thieves are becoming more brazen in their attempts to get converters, Marritt said. A customer from Knoxville came in a few weeks ago for a converter replacement and told him the original had been stolen in the middle of the day.

"They'd (stolen) it in broad daylight in the parking lot," Marritt said.

And while a thief can make several hundred dollars selling a stolen converter, it can cost a lot more to replace one.

"That's where you get the expense," Marritt said, explaining a new catalytic converter can cost between $300 and $1,200, depending on the vehicle.

In an Alcoa police report from June 6, for example, a converter was cut from a 2001 Toyota Tundra. The replacement cost was estimated at $1,100.

New law clamps down

Getting rid of a catalytic converter at traditional scrap metal dealers will become more difficult starting Tuesday when a new Tennessee law clamps down on metal sales. Under the new law (SB-2400) dealers will now be required, among other things, get a thumbprint from anyone selling scrap metal, and cash payments will no longer be allowed.

Because catalytic converter sales are problematic at best for scrap metal dealers, many have already stopped buying them altogether. A representative of PSC Metals Inc., a scrap metal company that has three locations in Knoxville, said Friday that they have not purchased scrap catalytic converters from individuals for some time.

But there are ways to get around selling converters in Tennessee. For example, a search on eBay for "catalytic converter" brings up more than 1,600 active listings -- some asking as much as $950 for a converter. Add the word "platinum" to the search, and more than 250 listings come up for scrap converters being sold specifically for platinum reclamation. Several advertise multiple catalytic converters in the same auction, including one with seven converters and an asking price of more than $900.

Calls made to the eBay Inc. offices in San Jose, Ca., seeking comment on what safeguards, if any, are in place to prevent stolen catalytic converters from being sold on the site, were not returned.

The worst part in the situation is there really isn't much a vehicle owner can do to prevent the theft, Marritt said. "No, just watch where they park (their vehicle)," he said.