Top 10 Most Popular Cars Among Catalytic Converter Thieves in Idaho

You may have absolutely no idea what a catalytic converter is or why having one on your vehicle is important. But thanks to buzz on the news and social media? You are very aware that it’s something thieves may want to swipe from your vehicle. 

According to JD Power, catalytic converters help convert pollutants in your engine’s exhaust into something that’s more environmentally friendly. Wide use of the devices began back in the 1970s and they’ve cut down on how the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and bad hydrocarbons are released into the air. Through a series of chemical reactions, it turns them into less harmful things like carbon dioxide and water vapor. 

So, you might be wondering why would a thief want this. What possible use could they have for a catalytic converter? Well, they don’t want it for a science experiment. They want it because they contain valuable metals like platinum, palladium (yes, the element that almost poisoned Tony Stark in Iron Man 2) and rhodium. 

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At press time, JM Bullion says that an ounce of platinum is selling for $969.39. Palladium is selling at $1,338.56. And Rhodium? Well, Metals Daily says this is the most valuable of the three. When we checked the live price of Rhodium, it was selling for $4,450 an ounce. The thieves are in it to make money, not their own arc reactor. 

Earlier this year, CarFax published an article about which vehicles are targeted by Catalytic Converter thieves most often. They looked at it from 10,000 feet as an entire country and then broke it down into smaller regions. Idaho got separated from our Pacific Northwest neighbors, Oregon and Washington and was placed in the “Plains” state region with Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. 

According to CarFax, the following 10 vehicles are the most targeted vehicles in the “Plains” region. What’s interesting to note is that pick-up trucks topped this list AND the list of the 10 Most Stolen Vehicles in Idaho.