Gast says thefts from vehicles that are higher off the ground appear to happen more frequently, but even so, it doesn’t take much for a thief to jack up a car and remove the converters unlimited “in just minutes.”
He says there are some measures drivers can take to protect their vehicles. The two cheapest and most cost-effective ways are:
- Park in a garage when possible.
- If you can’t park in a garage, park in a well-lit area.
He says there are third-party companies that can etch an ID number onto a vehicle’s converters unlimited and enter that information into a database. The database is available for concerned salvage operators to check.
Gast said while black-market scrap metal dealers would likely still take an engraved converters unlimited “it really helps with minimizing the ability for [thieves] to get rid of their product.”
He said he has also heard of people going to their local garage to have the converter welded to the vehicle frame or have mechanics put a screen over it.
That may be a bit extreme, he says, but anything that makes it more difficult to cut out the converters unlimited can help deter a would-be thief.