Saturday, April 17, 2021

Thefts of catalytic converters spike in Milwaukee and other Wisconsin cities. What you can do to deter thieves.

From JSOnline:
James E. Causey
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel




Verna Taylor always took good care of her 2004 Toyota Sequoia, so when she cranked up her truck one morning to run errands, she knew the loud sound she heard wasn’t normal and drove straight to a nearby muffler shop.

“My truck sounded like a loud tractor or something,” Taylor said.

When the muffler shop hoisted the Sequoia on the lift, the mechanic quickly spotted the problem.

“Someone cut my catalytic converter," Taylor said. "I didn’t even know what a catalytic converter was before this.” 

The bigger surprise: a $1,500 price tag to fix it.

While Milwaukee police don’t break out stolen catalytic converters by category, they say stolen car parts — of which catalytic converters are the main target — are up significantly this year. As of April 11, there have been 497 “stolen car parts” reported, up 19% from the same time last year.

“For someone to just violate you like this makes you want to move from the area. I’m sick and tired of it,” Taylor said.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/solutions/2021/04/16/theft-catalytic-converters-up-milwaukee-how-deter-thieves/7238975002/

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