In a few days, a local Police Department (Newport News, VA) near me will be Hosting a VIN Engraving on catalytic converters. I’m not sure how it will work out, because you register, you drive in, and they engrave the VIN Number.
I’ve got three things to say; those catalytic converters are HOT, I do not know how anyone can get close enough to do this. The YouTube videos are not too informative…
And I have to wonder how the engraving will protect your catalytic converter , even if they give you a decal for your car to notify thieves that your cat is engraved, do you really think they will notice that. I would imagine that their attention would be checking that no one is watching them…
And finally, anyone who is buying “boatloads” of cats from thieves probably does not worry about the engraving as it will be relatively easy to disguise since the cat is on the bottom of the car where it get lots of road damage, scratches, scrapes, dings, and dents, all of which could conceal the VIN engraving…
I probably already said this but a deputy stopped a car with six cats in them. He a,so had paperwork showing that he shipped them to an outfit in New Jersey and the mailed him the payment. Ya think these guys are going to look for a vin and then call Minnesota to see if it was stolen? For people in a fog yet on reality, the answer is no.
The catalytic converters are hot, but probably not too hot for someone wearing welders gloves, flame retardant jacket, and and a face mask. The thieves are going to harvest the innards for the high value metals. Grinding off the engraving is more like grinding the engraved metal completely. Who cares if there is a hole?
They already had evidence of theft without a vin that’s why the guy was arrested. don’t think the scrapyard in New Jersey will have a deputy there checking for vins on cats.
I dunno. A couple weeks ago some ladies were meeting at a church for an hour or so. When they were done, one of the ladies was missing her cat. I’m not sure what kind of alarm would help. Takes a few minutes and they’re gone. Only did one though.
Does meth head take 4, 11, 25 cats to recycling? I don’t know process. Where does a home mechanic dispose of a rusty cat?
Does a muffler shop change out 10 cats each day?
2 per week? Maybe a muff shop owner could chime in?
So then they will just get disposable gloves, safety glasses, Disposable Protective Coverall, and cover their face…
If a scumbag wants to steal your cat, not much you can do without welding a plate around it…
I’m a fixer. I fix systems and procedures for efficiency and to reduce cost, or did anyway. So let’s start with the bottom line. Once the cats are gone, the damage is done. There is no I’d, paint or anything else that will matter when the scrapyard out of state gets it and sends the payment to the thief. It just makes people feel better.
It takes maybe five minutes for a guy or girl to crawl under the car with their battery angle grinder or sawzall and hack it off. They want to be shielded by other cars when they do it, so clustering cars together like in the wagon trains did in pioneer days is helpful to the thief. Remember Pearl Harbor? I’m not sure what kind of alarm would signal someone cutting your exhaust system, but ya gonna confront the guy unarmed? Maybe start the car if you have remote, but he has already started cutting. You can put a shield on but then they’ll just cut more of the exhaust.
So I don’t know. Outside of just eliminating the things as a bad idea, don’t have a high car. Don’t park in clusters. I hate to say cameras and a roving guard for big lots but if you want deterant, that would help. But there is only a small number of people that do this, just like car jacking, so take them off the street. Good luck with that in this environment.
The framers thought that the final deterant was an informed public who would vote people in to correct problems. So the bottom line is have you contributed to your own misery? And what are you going to do about it besides paint and register your cats?
