Catalytic converter theft driven by precious metal prices

Rhodium, a precious metal found in catalytic converters has risen in price from £750 and ounce in 2014 to £9,000 now. This has meant that thieves are increasingly stealing them, typically jacking up the car to access the converter from underneath or brazenly towing the whole car away. Recent police figures have shown that catalytic converter theft has risen from 2,000 reported cases in 2018 to 13,000 cases in 2019.

The true figure is probably much higher as many thefts go unreported because the victims of this crime do not want to face the triple whammy of paying a claims excess, losing their no claims bonus and paying increased premiums for their car insurance when it comes to renewal.

Impact and cost

Even though the cost of replacing catalytic converters can run into the £000’s, owners of the most popular targets, such as the hybrids manufactured by Toyota have no choice but to replace the converter. Toyota themselves have reported a 2000% increase in demand for parts due to the crimewave, creating a backlog where the cars are unable to be driven for up to 6 weeks whilst waiting for the part to arrive.

If you were to suffer from a case of catalytic converter theft, can you afford the cost of replacement and potentially losing the use of your car for weeks? Prevent yourself from becoming a victim of this crime and protect yourself from financial loss and inconvenience by installing an anti-theft plate.

Solution

In-Car Centre can install a heavy-duty guard made from 2mm thick galvanised stainless steel using security fixings to make it nearly impossible for a thief to cut your catalytic converter away from the exhaust system. Using a unique patented design, these plates are made with ventilation holes, optimised to let the converter breathe. Unlike other cheaper and thinner alternatives on the market, our plates reduce the chance of overheating, causing the plate and converter to fuse together and warning lights to stay on in the long term.

Available for a range of Honda, Toyota and Lexus models In-Car Centre can supply and fit our premium converter shield from only £189.

If you would like to deter any potential thieves from towing your car away, we also offer a tilt sensor that will activate your factory fitted alarm if the car is lifted at an angle. This system also retails at £189 supplied and fitted. Should you choose to install both the anti-theft plate and tilt sensor at the same time, we offer a special package price of £349 for both.

To Book your car in, please call our Garage Services team on 020 8566 8544