WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another catalytic converter targeted

| Crime | Gatewood | West Seattle news

Yet another incident in which a catalytic converter was targeted – but this time, Steve reports, the would-be thief/thieves failed:

This morning a little after 5 am on the 3900 Block of SW Rose Street, my neighbors and I were awoken by my car alarm. The windows of my Prius were not smashed but my catalytic converter was cut and damaged. The culprits were presumably scared off by the alarm before they could take it.

A neighbor told me he saw an older powder-blue BMW next to my car (which was out of place) and which had two male occupants, one was possibly Caucasian or Asian. Another neighbor also saw this vehicle near mine with two men, although she couldn’t make out any specific attributes.

The SPD incident # is 2020-253114.

KT August 29, 2020 (11:03 am)

palladium is over 2,000 an ounce so apparently that is why the surge in catalytic converter theft.

Just wondering August 29, 2020 (2:08 pm)

So who is buying them? Wouldn’t it seem odd for someone to always be bringing one in for sale?

Carole August 29, 2020 (11:22 am)

They got mine This week. My alarm didn’t go off.

Elaine August 29, 2020 (11:50 am)

They got ours this week too. Replacements are scarce: 4 – 6 weeks to get one.

Carole August 31, 2020 (4:36 pm)

Toyota projected a few weeks for mine. Took only 6 days, including the anti theft cat cover.

Adam Adam August 29, 2020 (1:08 pm)

If you have a prius you need to buy a catalytic converter shield. This is a big enough problem that there a ton on the marketplace. Just google or search amazon. Will slow them down enough to make them just give up and go search for an easy one. They can jack up your car and cut it out in under a minute without one.

Carole August 29, 2020 (1:26 pm)

For under $200 you can get an attachment that gets riveted over the converter to protect it from theft. Toyota dealer is adding one on mine while installing replacement.

AT August 29, 2020 (4:32 pm)

Folks in Georgetown have also reported a catalytic converter thief in a blue bmw .,. There’s a pic in the comments in this post, don’t know if that could help anyone. https://www.facebook.com/groups/GeorgetownCommunity/permalink/1258333281186926/

Gatewood August 29, 2020 (7:17 pm)

AT, Steve here, thank you so much for sharing this! It sounds like the same person to me. And thank you to my neighbors who saw something and said something. Much appreciated!

West Seattle Resident August 29, 2020 (5:49 pm)

Is this a Prius thing?

John W August 30, 2020 (10:56 am)

Great question that piqued my curiosity. Apparently Prius models before 2011 are the prime target. Because the Prius is a hybrid with a combustion engine that runs less, causing less degradation to the catalytic converters’ precious metals, their catalytic converters are worth $200 + on the illicit market.

CarDriver August 29, 2020 (5:59 pm)

Just wondering. TOO MANY wrecking yards that DO NOT CARE, and know they will NOT be held accountable. They DO NOT care who brings things in. If they can make money they buy it.

Tom August 29, 2020 (7:33 pm)

It’s not necessarily wrecking yards, they don’t sell those fast enough. The likelihood is a metal recycling facility. It’s the rare metals that are the prize in catalytic converters. Palladium is one in it, ~4 of those cats is $2k of Palladium.

Sorry, comment time is over.