Lakewood is such a shithole.  Doesnt make this okay, but surprises me not at all when I read where it was at.

Yup. I’m honestly amazed the things work at all at the end of the production line with what all had to go into them. This is how it would go if I was in charge: (skip to 1:30 in if you dont want to wait)

Okay, that’s what I meant. They’re getting scrapped for the precious metals inside. “Core” to a lot of people means components like starters and alternators that are sold to companies that inspect, replace parts and rebuild them. There were a few companies that were inspecting, certifying and reselling converters in…

The one I bought for my Tacoma *was* the correct aftermarket converter.  All legal catalytic converters for CA will have an EO (Executive Order) number on it which signifies to the inspector that it has been certified through the state.  

That Federal converter *will* fail visual inspection when the car is taken in for emission inspection. I dont know if Marin gets every other year inspections or just on change of ownership but either way the next time that Prius sees a smog check it will fail for the incorrect converter.

Main barrier to that one is the main housing of an aftermarket cat is usually much smaller than the OEM one (has less catalyst in it) so making a big converter look like a small one would be a challenge.  Maybe camo colors?  

Short answer is there is a federally mandated warranty on the emission systems on a new car. Depending on the year and emissions certification it can be as long as 15 years / 150,000 miles.  The aftermarkets do have a mandatory warranty but it is significantly less than the original. 5/50 I believe.

It’s the amount of precious materials in the converter. All are not created equal. Aftermarket converters have a much smaller amount of these metals - this is why knowledgeable thieves wont bother if its not the OEM cat. They will learn pretty quickly when their buyer wont give them anything for it. For the most part…

Legit scrappers that buy cats do this.  I sold one off a parts car.  They required the VIN, took a copy of my DL and mailed me a check rather than cash on the spot.  I was okay with this (as most legit people would be), but there are still some shady scrappers and many of them are bypassing local scrappers and being…

Definitely.  Some locals were busted recently and it appears that was where they were headed.  https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/07/21/catalytic-converter-theft-raid-elk-grove-300k-cash/

Possibly. I was a smog test tech in CA when the recertification was going on and the test equipment needed I was told was a multi-million dollar investment so not many made that. Cats have also become more complex since then and I believe finding an appropriate aftermarket cat for say a 5 year old vehicle today would…

Yup, I live in NorCal and had my Tacoma cat taken in the initial wave of thefts close to a decade ago.  Died off like you mentioned and its back again, this time with Priuses the target of choice.  I recycled a cat at Schnitzer several years ago from a parts car.  Had to give them the VIN, my DL and they mailed me a…

I occasionally buy cars from my local car donation auction place and at one recent auction they had no less than 7 Prius with no cats.

Note that I said it was illegal for other than scrap. You can’t buy a used converter from a salvage yard because of the law. Individuals sell used converters all the time on CL and FB but those are P2P transactions that technically are illegal.  You will not find any legit business that will sell you a used converter…

There is a federal law against selling used catalytic converters (other than for scrap) unless they have been certified as being functional.  This is why no salvage yard will sell them - they go straight into the scrap bin.  There were a few companies in the 00's that were recertifying them but it wasnt cost effective…

Legit scrap companies will take your DL and send you a check rather than pay cash immediately.  If you are okay with that (most honest people are) then I wouldn’t be concerned about looking bad.

Priuses are very popular because OEM cats are the only game in town so the thieves can come back and hit them more than once if not protected.  A local company manufacturers those guards.  getcatsecurity.com

Seen that happen, especially when they are replaced with OEM.  Aftermarket units have less of the precious metals like Rhodium and Palladium than the OEM ones and are worthless for scrap.  They’re visibly different and the thieves know the difference.  My OEM Tacoma cat got stolen years ago when this thing got…

My stock height Tacoma got hit a couple years ago. Anything they can get under easily is a target. Priuses (Priusii?) are the most recent target here in Northern California and elsewhere from what I’ve gathered. I was able to replace mine with an aftermarket unit for a couple hundred. Once you replace an OEM unit with…

377K on an ‘86 Celebrity wagon. 2.8 V6 had the timing chain replaced at around 250K. Valve covers were never off. Still ran great when the 440T4 trans gave up. Sold it to a guy who wanted the motor for his Fiero.