Hundreds of thieves are in Colorado converting catalytic converters in to cash, which leaves the car owner with a 'surprise' repair bill of over $2,000.

Not many people know what 'exactly' a catalytic converter is or does; if asked, I would say 'it's to cut emissions, it's for the environment,' and that's basically true. It's about less 'bad exhaust' from your gas/diesel engine polluting our air.

CBS4 Denver reports that over 2,000 catalytic converters were stolen in the City of Denver in 2021. That is a lot of cars that need to have that replaced. It used to cost about $900 to do so, but new regulations have made them twice as expensive over the last couple of years, so you'd be looking at about $2,000 for a new one.

Without question, if that happened to me, I would be furious. I have enough issues with my car, things that I need to address, without some out of nowhere 'mandatory' bill for $2,000. You have to replace the converter, because without it, the noise is unbearable.

Why Are Catalytic Converters Being Stolen?

  • Some re-sell the converters.
  • Most are trying to get the precious metals (platinum, rhodium) to sell on the black market.

So now, there's a bill in the state legislature to do at least a couple of things to bring these thefts down.

  • Put platinum and rhodium on the list of 'commodity metals' like gold and silver, so that they'll be regulated. Regulating things makes them harder to sell.
  • Make it illegal to sell, re-sell, install any catalytic converter that hasn't been certified by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The thing is, I appreciate them trying to find away to stop the thefts, but it seems to me that thieves are going to find a way to keep making a buck of the converters. Maybe I'm just a cynic. I do wish the bill luck, because just by writing this article I feel I've increased the odds of my converter being swiped.

Get more on the bill from CBS4 Denver HERE.

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