If fenders are seldom stolen , any theories why thieves would steal the cat but leave the fender?
Fenders are generally made from plastic or maybe steel.
The metal in the catalytic converter is far more valuable. The fender is more to carry and of little or no value.
1 Like
I doubtin the cat is that much more valuable than the fender on the resale market. My guess, fender-theft is more visible, more likely to get caught. Have to open the hood and door.
And you’d be wrong. Cats contain platinum, palladium, and rhodium. A fender??? How would you get it off? A 2 hour heist for a few pounds of steel?
3 Likes
Just look up why catalytic converter theft is so common. You shouldn’t be able to sell them for scrap. But people always find ways.
A convertor can be sawed off in less than a minute and worth quite a bit. A fender takes far, far longer and is worth less.
1 Like
This may be the most ridiculous question I have heard this year.
Steal a catalyst in less than 2 minutes, end up with $100 in ill-gotten gains.
Steal a fender in 10 minutes (or more) and end up with a piece of scrap metal worth $5.
Unless you think there’s some market for used quarter panels that makes used ones more valuable than new ones.
5 Likes
I’ve paid as little as $15 for a fender. Never heard of the sheriff stopping someone with a trunk load of fenders.
I’ve sold scrap steel many times. I’ve never gotten more than 5.5¢/pound.
I thought Fender stood for the Fender version of the Beetle at 1st…
I have never heard of fenders being stollen other than chop shops…
Then I figured it had to be a joke of some kind…
Yeah I’ll add, ever taken a fender off? Hood open, rusty bolts underneath, sometimes door needs to be off, etc. so might as well steal the hood and door at the same time. Stupid criminals that don’t know the value of sheet metal.
1 Like
Get real, @George_San_Jose1 
1 Like
Where is the article or data or some kinda prof that there is any kind of trend of fenders being stolen???
2 Likes
I first thought it was about a guitar…maybe a nice US or Mex made Stratocaster.
1 Like
When car thieves need parts they steal the whole car and take it apart away from prying eyes. People leave their keys in the car, leave the car running while they run into the 7 Eleven etc. A tow truck can snatch a car in a minute or two.
1 Like
There’s only one kind of person who would even think about stealing a fender–someone with a similar vehicle which has a damaged fender, and who cannot obtain an affordable replacement through lawful channels. And even then, it would be a lot of risk and effort to try and unbolt a fender from someone else’s vehicle, while parked outside of their home, or out in public somewhere.
A catalytic converter could be stolen by someone who has a similar vehicle, and needs a functional cat to pass emissions, but it could also be stolen by someone who plans to sell it for scrap instead. Obviously, if it’s being stolen for reuse, it must be carefully unbolted, which means additional time/effort/risk, but if being stolen for scrap, a few minutes with a battery-powered reciprocating saw is all that’s required to remove it…and this is why scrap dealers should not be allowed to purchase any catalytic converters which have been cut out–only those which were unbolted.
1 Like
Each month, when I get the local PD Blotter in my email, there will be several cases where someone had his/her car’s contents stolen, or the entire vehicle has been taken. In every case, the key/key fob was left in the vehicle. Each time that I see these cases, I marvel at just how lazy/stupid some people are.
As I said, VW Beetle had a Fender limited edition version in 2013 (I think)…
1 Like
