Legislature aims to put brakes on catalytic converter thefts with tougher sanctions
MIAMI - The story is way too familiar, with security video capturing catalytic converters in the act.
Back on April 2021, it happened in the middle of the night in Davie and a security camera caught the crooks armed with electric metal saws.
Patrick Olsen is the Editor in Chief for Carfax, the service that provides vehicle history information for buyers and sellers of used cars. He knows the story well.
He tells CBSNews Miami, "They get anywhere between $50 Bucks to $200 Bucks from the people melting down the metal."
It is what is in the converters that is valuable. Highly expensive rare metals allow the converters to change toxic gas into safer emissions.
Olsen spelled out the economics of converter theft, "Palladium, Platinum, and Rhodium trade for about $1,000 bucks an ounce, an ounce of Rhodium trades at about $10,000 an ounce."
The converters contain a minuscule amount of the expensive metals but add up when crooks grab lots of them often hitting car dealerships and fleet operators.
Florida Republican State Senator Jim Boyd says it is a growing problem in The Sunshine State.
"Car Dealers in our area started coming to me saying it was a big problem." Those concerns resulted in the Florida Legislature's Senate Bill 306 aimed at those who traffic in the stolen converters.
Boyd says, "it has all of a sudden become quite a problem and a very expensive problem."
How expensive? "Converter crooks" armed with the proper tools including metal-cutting electric saws can snatch the valuable car exhaust component in as little as 66 seconds. The cost for replacement can run as high as $1,500.
Easy targets are trucks and SUVs where there is some more ground clearance so much easier for crooks to get to it.
In 2022, there were 153,000 converters stolen nationwide.
In the Southeast U.S. including Florida, the most popular targets were the Ford F-Series Truck popular for towing boats, followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander, and third, the Honda Accord.
In South Florida, where many homes have no garages and a majority of vehicle owners park in front of their homes, condos, or apartments
Patrick Olsen says, "There is no Silver Bullet protecting yourself, parking in a secure garage works great but if you are in Miami where people park in the street there is no real protection. Olsen's advice is to make sure you have comprehensive insurance for your truck, SUV, or car.
The hope in Florida is legislative action: Senate Bill 308 is making its way through committees at the Florida State Legislature.
According to Senator Boyd, the chief sponsor, says the legislation aims to put the criminal precious metals dealers out of business as has happened in other states.
Boyd told CBS News Miami the bill provides for a third-degree felony for individuals knowingly possessing, purchasing, selling and installing a stolen converter.