A girl on Twitter just lately took to Twitter to share her ordeal of getting her Honda City’s exhaust pipe stolen. According to her post, the car was parked at Glenmarie LRT station automotive park whereas her household took the prepare on an outing to Kuala Lumpur when the theft occurred.
In a comply with-up tweet, she revealed it was the center part of the exhaust system, which is the place the catalytic converter is hooked up to, that was taken from her automotive. The catalytic converter is the prize right here, as the thieves will then promote it off to a scrap steel seller for the worth of the numerous valuable metals used in its building like platinum, rhodium and palladium.
A catalytic converter modifications dangerous substances discovered in exhaust gasses (carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons) into much less dangerous substances like carbon dioxide and water vapour by way of chemical reactions.
Inside a catalytic converter, you’ll discover a honeycomb construction sometimes product of ceramic onto which valuable metals like these talked about are utilized to behave as a catalyst that reacts with exhaust gasses. It is these valuable metals which have an intrinsic worth, making them a goal for thieves as in this lady’s case.
While we don’t usually hear circumstances of catalytic converter theft right here, it has turn into very prevalent in different international locations. According to a report posted in March 2021 by the United States’ National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), there have been 108 catalytic converter thefts monthly on common in 2018, 282 common month-to-month thefts in 2019 and 1,203 common thefts monthly in 2020.
So, simply how valuable are these valuable metals then? As of the time of writing, gold is priced at round RM269.28 (22 karat) and RM293.68 (24 karat) per gram. Meanwhile, platinum is about RM140.67 per gram, palladium is round RM347.41 per gram, and rhodium is round RM2,545 per gram – costs have been taken from numerous sources and will differ. A catalytic converter can have round one to seven grams of every valuable steel on common, relying on the mannequin and make.
These figures are undoubtedly motivators for thieves to focus on catalytic converters, however there are some methods to hopefully forestall your car from being a sufferer. These embrace all the time parking in nicely-lit areas when potential, putting in an anti-theft machine in your catalytic converter and establishing an alarm or digicam system to catch the culprits.
Painting the catalytic converter and inscribing your car’s identification quantity (VIN) on the painted floor is one other suggestion, as it will possibly alert a sincere scrap seller that it was stolen and make it simpler to establish the proprietor. Have you ever had your car’s catalytic converter stolen earlier than, as this lady has needed to endure? Share your expertise with us.
