05/01/2026
Why have thefts of Catalytic Converters become so rampant in the past eight years?
Answer: It’s the precious metals.
Converters contain rhodium, palladium and platinum. These precious metals are such a small part of converters - roughly comparable to the weight of a nickel. But those precious metals are even more precious today, than they were in the past.
In the past, the value of these precious metals didn’t cause big payments when recycling converters.
And in the past 7-8 years, rhodium has seen peaks as high as $25,000/ounce for rhodium, palladium at $1,500/ounce, and platinum around $1,500/ounce.
The result is that a used converter can bring $100s each at the recycler.
Which vehicles are most at risk for converter thefts?
Pickups and SUVs, particularly those with bolt-on converters. And, hybrid vehicles, because those converters contain more precious metals and bring more $ from the recycler.
Keep your converters safe!
