Catalytic Converter Theft: A Growing Issue

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Catalytic converters are a crucial component in vehicles, responsible for reducing emissions and minimizing environmental impact. However, they have become a target for thieves in recent years.

The Problem of Catalytic Converter Theft

Catalytic converter theft is an issue that has gotten out of hand in the past few years and this year it hasn't gotten any better. In 2021, there were 65,398 reported thefts nationwide, representing a staggering 353% increase from all reported thefts of catalytic converters in 2020.

The Statistics Don't Lie

That's ridiculous! The alarming rate of catalytic converter theft is a clear indication that something needs to be done. With the help of these products, which are especially designed to prevent your catalytic converter from being stolen, some people believe that they can add an extra layer of protection against determined thieves.

But Are These Products Worth It?

Some of these products are going to run you a couple hundred bucks. But can a determined thief get around them anyway? Today, we're going to find out.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Catalytic converters.- Catalytic converter.- Catalytic converter theft.- Catalytic converter theft is an issuethat has gotten outtahand in the past few yearsand this year it hasn't gotten any better.- In 2021 they estimated there were 65,398thefts nationwide.A 353% increase from all reported theftsof catalytic convertersin 2020.- That's ridiculousSo what can you do to stop it?- Well, these productsare especially designedto prevent your catalyticconverter from being stolen.But some of 'em are gonna runyou a couple hundred bucks.Are these things worththe added protectionor can a determined thiefget around them anyway?Today we're gonna find out.I'm Zach, this isJustin, welcome to Donut.Hey, are you looking to kill timebefore the new seasonof "The Walking Dead?"Then check out today's awesomesponsor, "Monster Legends.""Monster Legends" is afree-to-play mobile gamewhere you can collectover a thousand monstersand build a monster empire.Freedom to create all new speciesand feed 'em to strengthen them for battleagainst other monster masters.Compete to win rewards, conquer trophies,and reach the top leagues.Plus to celebrate the returnof "The Walking Dead,""Monster Legends" isreleasing six new monstersinspired by the iconic characters,Rick, Daryl, Michonne,Negan, Carol and Maggie.Check out the Rick monster right nowwith his invincible machete ax attackand you can collect the othersas they become available in the game.To start your own monster empire,download the game in a description belowor scan the QR code on screento get a special free starterpack with 100,000 gold,20,000 food, three gems,and the monstrous Mothman.Just click the link.- All right, so what wehave here is our director,Henry's suburban who's hadhis whole vehicle stolenand then found it cat-lesssomewhere else in the city.- I was about $3,000in the hole that week.- Which is why we're here totalk about protection methodsto protect your cat, toprotect your hard-earned money.- Last year, we madea video about why thievestake this precious piece off of your car.It's because inside ofthese catalytic convertersthere are precious metals like rhodium,platinum and palladium.Thieves can sell them at ajunkyard or recycling centerto make some quick cash.- Now, thieves have beenknown to steal a catoff someone's car in aslittle as 90 seconds.Justin and I have somejacks and a sawzall,and we're gonna see if we'vegot the chops to do the chop.We're gonna establish a baseline.We'll see how long ittakes us to get the car upand to saw out the cat onthis car with no protection.- Rock, paper, scissors, shoot (bleep).- You're going under.- And that's how it happens.- Are we ready?- Yes!- Ready!- Three, two, one, steal!(dramatic music)- Now, when a thief does this oftenthey do it pretty unsafely.You've probably heard storiesabout cat thieves gettingsquished under cars.You really don't want that to happen.So we're gonna do it safely.Okay, drop it.sawzall me.Oh God.This is our first time.Coast is clear, coast is clear.Now it's also worth rememberingthat thieves are targeting carsthat they don't have tojack up to get under.Taller cars, such as SUVsthat they can just slide right under,and then it only takes 'emas long as it takes to cut the cat out.- Get out!- You've got to takethe jack stand with you.- Time!Wow, just like the bad guys,a minute and 28 seconds.(Zach cheering)That's 90 seconds boys.Wait, but that's a resonator.- Yeah, so the thing about the Sebring isthat the catalyticconverter is like up kind ofunder the hood and not ina great stealing location,but it's the only car that wehad that we don't care about.So we're gonna pretend like this resonatoris a catalytic converter forthe rest of the day, okay?So we're gonna be gradingthis on speed, ease,cost, and stealthiness.That spells S.E.C.S..All right, so speed:how quickly can a thiefget past this thing?That's why we set a baseline,as we test these productswe'll see how much time they addto the cat removal process.Ease: how easy is it to install?Cost: how much does the thing cost?And stealthiness: how loudis the thief gonna have to beto remove this thing from your car?Alright, Justin, what theheck's the first thing we got?What is this?- We have a alarm system here by-- Fast Guard- Fast Guard Alarms.This is $30, and it hadthis little alarm doohickeythat you activate whenyou're done driving your car.And you have to make sure you turn it offwith your little key fob here.- That's the big issuefor me is the key fob.I would never remember.I'd lose that thing day one.- But, what's the first thing people dowhen an alarm goes off?- Nothing.- Exactly, they ignore it.Let's see how long ittakes before someone comesand checks out whatall the noise is about.- I have a feelingnobody's gonna check on us.- No.The installation of thisthing does not require itto be near the cat.It actually just needs tobe somewhere on the exhaustto feel the vibration ofsomeone trying to cut it off.So I say that's good enough.- Let's activate this thing(alarm beeps)- Here we go.- Okay, so now we're set.- Yeah.Three, two, one.(saw buzzes)(alarm beeping)(mischievous music)- Oh.It stopped.- That was only 30 seconds so...- Yeah, That's not evenenough time to wake up.Oh, look, we got one.And he waited until itcut off to come check.- I mean, it sounded likesomeone's '90s BMX bikewas getting stolen- And it only rang for 30 seconds.That's less time than ittook to cut the cat off.- It's true.So the problem with thisthing is that it's notsuper securely attached to the exhaust.So if you're a thief and you're under herestarts doing that, it'snot gonna slow us down.See if you can get thisthing off of the sawzall.(saw whirring)You (alarm buzzes) Literallyhad one job, Fast Guard.(alarm beeping)(dings)(buzzes)Fail.All right, Justin, let'stalk about S.E.C.S..First off speed,it only took me about 10 or15 seconds to just cut it offthe car, took you 15seconds to destroy it.- And no one likes a minute man- Onto ease of install.- Definitely easy to install.- It was easy, it was quick.How much did it cost?- $35.- So onto the C, it was $35.- 35 bucks.- That was pretty cheap.- Really cheap.- And stealthiness, Imean, it was pretty loud,but I don't know if it's loud enoughto really get anybody's attention.As a theft prevention productI don't think it's that good.But we did get three tripleA batteries out of the deal.- Sick!- Let's check out our next product,see if it does any better.Okay, up next we've got the Catclamp.This thing costs 200 bucks.Justin, how's this thing work?- This rope here feedsthrough those clampsand gives you like a flexible cage aroundyour kettle and converter.- Yeah, cutting through this loose cable,especially with thesawzall is gonna be tricky.Let's install it.All right, so it doesn't look great.- What are you talking about?- I think unfortunatelywe gotta undo and redo.(wire threading)Okay, that should be a clamped cat.- Resonator.- Our clamps are tight,our cables are cinched down by the clamps,to get this thing out,you'd have to be able tocut inside of the clampsand then fish it out between the cables,which looks next to impossible.You can totally cut here and here,but then the cat itselfis attached to the car.- By anchoring it multiple timesto the chassis of the vehicle,you not only have to cut the pipe,but you have to cut everysingle one of these lines,which is very inconvenient if someone'strying to steal it.- Yeah that sucks.- I guess we have to do that.- Yeah.- Let's see what happens- And go!(saw buzzes)(Zach chuckles)- Try like closer to the holesor like where it's tight, man.It's flapping so hard.- My blade's taking quite a beating.- Dude I don'tthink that's the right toolfor the job.- All right gimme the cutter.(Justin grunts)(saw whirring)- Yeah!- Oh God, there's so many.(Zach cheers)- Where else?Where else?- Looks likea couple more in the back.And yeah, keep an eye on that gas tank.Time!- So that wasa total of two minutes.- Oh no!- Two minutes?And that's just an additional two minutes.We haven't even taken the cat off yet.- And that's on a liftand plenty of light.- Yeah.- So imagine doing this inthe dark, trying to be sneaky.That's impossible.So how does this producthold up to S.E.C.S.?- S.E.C.S. me up, Justin.- All Right, so speed, absolute horrible.This took forever.- Yeah, doubled our time- Definitelyhelps you in that way.- Yeah, slows down a thief,which is akin to stopping a thief.- Ease of install.We had a bit of trouble at first.(sad music)(indistinct chatter)- Have a bit of trouble at firstwith almost everything I do.- Exactly.- It took us really 30 minutes.So not too bad.- Five stars.On cost, this costs a lot.- But the clamps arepretty cool and it does makefor a pretty good kit.So it is 200 bucks, but it could save youupwards of a thousand.- And then as far as stealth,they're definitely not gonnabe sneaky cutting this off.So, I recommend this product.That that's pretty good.- Yeah, I thinkit would stop a thief.- For sure, for sure.- That's what we're here to test.Okay, well, where can we go from here?This seems like what I wouldexpect to be kind of top tier.So let's take a look atthat other thing we got.All right, so for ourlast product we've gotwhat's called a Catstrap.It is a strap that you put on your cat,and it prevents it from being stolen.But inside of this fiberglassstrapping is some cable.And the idea is that it stops a sawzallfrom basically working.It just is a little bit jiggly.So the sawzall just moves with itand takes a thief longer to cut.So we'll install these thingsand see how much they deter us.Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and mask up now.I know you can't see it,but this is letting offall sorts of tiny littleparticles of fiberglass.They're all over me.All right, so this is kind of interesting.First off, bright orange,so thieves know to get the hell away.And then on the back side,it's got this black materialit says with heat, once this is installedit'll bond to your exhaust.Which is kind of funnybecause when you look at it,it's obvious that this is just duct tape.By bonding to your exhaustit means it's just gonnamelt to it when it gets hot.It even says in the instructionsthat a melting smell is normalduring the bonding period,which is hilarious.But I mean, not wrong, it'sgonna bond to your exhaust.So let's bond her up.(rock music)- I don't know, it justkind of looks dumb.- Yeah, oh, I hate this.- Let's try and cut this bad boy off!- And, go!(saw whirring)- Oh yeah, I forgot, I don'thave to actually cut it out,we already got that time.(saw whirring)You know what?I got a better idea.Better idea is not that much better.Okay, with that out theway, and there we are,cutting the cat.- That was an extraminute and 15 seconds.- Pretty easy to defeat.Didn't even have to switchout for the cutoff wheel,managed to just sawzallright through them cables.- So how does it hold up the S.E.C.S.?- Well, let's talk about it, Justin.First off speed.It didn't take me as long as the catclampbut it was an additional minute 15.So I'm gonna say not bad.That's that's a pass for me.In terms of ease, install wasway easier than the catclamp,but to its detriment, I think.Then, we've got cost.The Catstrap by itself is 200 bucks.- Pretty high.- That is pretty high,especially when you considerthat the cat clamp was $200and I would say unarguablydid a better job.And then lastly, stealthiness.Tough to be stealthy cuttingthrough much of anything,so I think it does passin terms of making itun-stealthy for a thief.All right, before we look atour last catalytic convertertheft prevention device,I wanna show you somethingand that's our sick newDonut Media license plate frame.You can get yourself one at donutmedia.comand you should cause they're sweet.And if you want to keep up to dateon our merch stuff thenfollow our merch account,our Donut Merch Van on Instagram@DonutMerchVan, go follow it.Get a plate frame, I love you.All right, now let's talk aboutone of the most effectiveways to protect your cat.A plate of metal.Basically there's acompany called cat shieldthat makes basically skidplates to go over your catto protect them from thieves.They make 'em for a handful of cars,but if they don't make one for your car,you might have to DIY it.But that's okay, sometimesthat's the best way to do things.- On his new cat, our director Henrywelded rebar to the catalyticconverters and the frame.He also engraved his VINnumber and the word stolen50 times on each cat.So I mean, yeah, someone's notgonna want to deal with that.- And this has seemed to work,it's been about eight monthsand no one's stolen the cats from me.- So a rebar cage is definitelyone of the safest way to do itbecause something as simpleas a sawzall or a cutoff wheel,won't cut through rebar as easily.- So we're not gonna makea whole cat protectorfor the Sebring, but just tosee how long it would takea thief to get through one,we're gonna cut a cat size holejust to make sure metal'sstill tough to cut through.Henry's gonna time it andwe'll see how long it takes.- Are you ready, Jobe?- Yeah.- Are you ready Kitty?(Zach meows)- Three, two, one.(saw whirring)(country music)- Do I have to cut four sides?- We can stop.We can just double the amountof time that that took.- Swell.Well, what do you know?That took forever and it was loud as hell,three minutes 45 seconds to be exact.And I only got halfway there.So call it seven and a half minutes.I don't think any thief's gonna do that.So if you really wanna protect your cat,I think something like a shieldis what the doctor ordered.That said, I mean the cat clampis my other favorite for a productyou can buy off shelf.- A good steel skid plate, a rebar cageor the cat clamp, surprisingly.- Yeah, the nice thing aboutthe cat clamp is that it ispretty much reversible, right?If you do a shield like this,especially if you weld it in place...- Yeah.- Well, that's it.Then you gotta cut it outnext time you need to get in.- Then that's your problem later.- Yeah.- And if you're out therestealing cats, stop it!Stop it!- Please stop.Please stop.♪ In the Arms of an Angel ♪- Stop.- But hopefully yourcatalytic converter is intactand hopefully it'll stay that waywith what you learned in this video.If you've gotten your catalyticconverter stolen beforetell us the story in the comments,and let us know what elseyou wanna see us test.Thanks for watching.Follow me on Instagram @ZachJobe.Follow Justin @JustinFreeman.Make sure you follow Donut @DonutMedia.We'll see you guys, later.- You all have a good one.