A string of car thefts in Winston-Salem has owners and auto mechanics scrambling to protect the vehicles against future break ins. The thieves are looking for catalytic converters.
West End Auto Clinic owner Ralph Ricciardi recently received a phone call that's becoming all too common.
“He said, ‘I have a problem with my Prius,' and I say, ‘What's wrong?' and he says, ‘It sounds like a NASCAR!' I said, ‘Okay, I think I know what's wrong with it,” says Ricciardi.
The catalytic converter was literally cut out of the vehicle. And in this down economy at roughly $1,400 scrap value and with a quick turnaround, Ricciardi has seen the numbers from his clients climb from roughly once a year to two in just the past two weeks.
“They take them off of a lot of SUVs and trucks where they're already high off the ground, so they can crawl under there real quick,” he says. “But when I found out the value of what they're giving for the Priuses now, I understand why they're going underneath those. They're probably bringing a floor jack. It's two bolts, and they can saw it off and within three minutes they have it.”
Rattle & Hum Automotive owner Bobby Henneberg agrees. A recent client had his Prius stolen off the street in front of the car owner's house. Henneberg typically sees one car a year with a missing catalytic converter. So far this month he's already fixed two with repair costs ranging from $1,600 to $2,500.
Henneberg says the interest in acquiring used catalytic converters is definitely growing. With precious metals like platinum, palladium and rhodium, they're quickly turned to cash in scrap markets across the country.
“There are a lot of guys coming in here from out of state,” says Henneberg. “I had a guy in here from Iowa a month ago who was looking to buy scrap catalytic converters. In the last six months I've probably had six or seven different people with out-of-state tags pull up in a van asking if we'd sell them catalytic converters, and they're walking around with several thousand dollars in cash.”
He says protection shields can be welded underneath the car to make access more difficult. The Winston-Salem Police Department reports the majority of these thefts occur at local businesses. Officials there are urging drivers to park vehicles in well-lit areas whenever possible.