"All I know is that I’m out a great deal of money," Sandlin said.
Sandlin said she paid $915.55 to the muffler shop and her insurance company paid the remaining balance. She reported the theft to Clear Creek RV, and the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office took a report of the theft, Sandlin said.Ĭlear Creek RV did not return calls to the Kitsap Sun to answer questions on Sandlin's case or whether other RVs were hit by thieves. She drove to Kitsap Muffler & Brakes to get the issue diagnosed and found out the catalytic converter was stolen. 11, it was making a loud noise, she said. Sandlin, one of Davis' customers, brought her RV to Clear Creek RV for minor bodywork in September, and when she picked it up on Oct. Gail Sandlin had the catalytic converter and muffler of her RV stolen while it was in for service at the Clear Creek RV Center in Silverdale. "I hate to say it because they're thieves, but they're smart thieves," Davis said. "They know what vehicles to get the cats (catalytic converters) out of because of a dollar value that's enough." Thieves striking vehicles of all sizes
To compare, the price of gold was $1,797, according to Kitco. The price of platinum rose from $608 an ounce in March 2020 to $1,266 in February 2021 and went back to $959 as of Sunday. Sometimes the precious metal is worth more than gold. Generally, thieves are after metals like platinum and rhodium. "It's definitely a huge problem over here," Davis said.Ī catalytic converter is used in vehicles to control engine exhaust emissions. The device converts toxic gases and pollutants into water vapor and carbon monoxide and is located on a vehicle's exhaust system between the engine and muffler.Ī rise in the price of scrap metals that make up the converters drives people to steal the device, Davis said. The recent tightening of vehicle emissions standards, “means that the newest catalytic converters require more of the valuable metals.”įor more information, click here and here.Typically, his shop sees two to three vehicles a month that must have their catalytic converters replaced after being stolen. But in the last 30 days, Davis said he's seen 30 to 40 cars, sometimes up to two vehicles a day. Second hand cars exported mainly from the United States, the European Union and Japan to countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, are often stripped of their catalytic converters and sold on the black market before the cars reach their new owners, contributing to environmental, health and safety issues.īut not only older cars are at risk for theft, the report stated. The problem of stolen components sold for precious metals exists on a global scale. In addition, catalytic converters are not stamped with vehicle identification numbers, and as a result, it isn’t easy to identify stolen ones. The researchers explained that the Highway Loss Data Institute’s findings were not based on specific components reported stolen in insurance claims, which are not recorded in the institute’s database, but on the consistency of the dollar value of the typical claim during the high-theft years - about $2,500 to $3,000 - a customary amount needed to replace the catalytic converter and exhaust system.