Is this a country wide phenomenon? It is actually a GLOBAL theme.
I just became like you nice folks, a victim of this cat converter theft. Unbeknown when I started the engine of my RX400h I thought I was sitting in a tank or tractor.
Called AA for breakdown, he immediately knew what happened. So I started to google and yes, it's global, LA, NY, London, literally everywhere.
Why ? I read there is about 2.5g of Palladium,Rhodium,Platinum in these converters. Palladium price per ounce shot up in the last few years by 500-600%, Rhodium +1400/+1500%.
Usually they are quoted USD/oz, so I took the GBP exchange into account, basically a 2.5g portion Palladium went from £28 to £168 and a portion Rhodium from £38 to £591 .
No wonder this crime increases exponential. For them, to sell this stuff at a scrap metal shop, it's extreme lucrative for a 1-2min job.
I am - like you - trying to figure out what really can be done. Catlock is not the ultimate solution, perhaps it takes 2min instead of 1min to cut. The worry is, the thief can always go back to my public street parking location, and can do it over and over again, it's like "open season". horrible.
good luck to all of you x
