Toyota Prius Repair Facility In Portland Gets Blasted With Catalytic Converter Theft

If you are tired of me writing more stories about catalytic converter theft, sorry, not sorry. This problem is ravishing the pocketbooks of owners and causing them terrible anxiety. You do not think about how this affects you until you become the victim but consider for a second that you were. How would you react? What would you do?

With the barrage of theft in California, other states like Oregon and Washington (along with other eastern states) are also now feeling the hit. Read on to see how you, a Prius owner, could end up being affected by this heinous crime.

Atomic Auto In Portland Oregon Emailed Every Prius Customer They Know
The owner of Atomic Auto has been installing Cat Security™ protective shields to help keep Toyota Prius owners safe from theft. While the protective shield has been deterring thieves, it has also kept them looking for easier targets.

Wednesday, January 29th, the owner of the Prius shop was notified that something was going on at his shop. It was not the business that he was wanting. Two thieves broke in through his gated area and stole cat converters off two Prius cars that were waiting for repair.

The owner of Atomic Auto immediately sent every Prius owner on his list an email. He explained that these thieves are doing everything they can do get to these cat converters. After that, he ordered even more Cat Security™ protective shields to put on, letting all owners know that Atomic Auto is equipping themselves with an arsenal of shields to deter thieves.

How This Is Effeciting Prius Owners
Think about this for a moment and let it sink in. If your Prius is targeted, you are going to get stuck with a bill you do not want. All Prius owners in California have to pay $2,500 to $5,000 to get their cat converter replaced. What would an unforeseen bill like that do to you? Not only that, but now you have to either sell your car if you cannot afford the repair or find a way to pay for it.

Catalytic converter theft is robbing Prius owners on more than just the surface level. Many of these people end up in the waiting rooms of repair shops sobbing because they feel they have no other option. They are kind, hardworking people that rely on their cars to do essential everyday functions.

One owner who was a victim of this crime that happened on Wednesday said this: "We had two Priuses hit last Saturday at 5 am. They were in a locked and fenced parking area under video coverage. It cost me half a day dealing with insurance, the police, and resecuring the parking area. We have a $500 deductible per car per incident, so it's going to cost about $1000 to fix. It's frustrating and not insignificant for a small business."

Not everyone can pick up and move on from this type of hit. The damages can total out a car, which also makes the insurance companies have to raise rates on the consumer. Increased insurance rates can also affect other Prius owners as well. Think about it, do you want your insurance rates to go up just because you want to drive a Prius? No, you bought the car to save money, now you have an enormous repair bill.

If you think this does not affect you, think again. It is only a matter of time before you get targeted, or your insurance rates go up. It will happen. Any shop that services the Toyota Prius should carry this product.

What You Can Do To Help Fight Back
First, if you know someone who has a Prius in a large metropolitan area, share this article or any of the other ones that are highlighted in this segment. We need to get the word out to more people that this plague shows no signs of slowing down. We have to band together and help each other.

You can also get yourself a Cat Security™ shield on your Prius as well that will help push thieves off your car. It takes an average of 3 minutes to steal your cat converter on an unprotected Prius. If you can quadruple that time, thieves will have to reconsider if the risk is worth it.

A professional shop, with a car lift, takes at least 15 minutes to remove one of these robust shields. A thief, on the ground, with hack tools, will have a hard time getting the converter out. At the end of the day, the product is a deterrent, and if a thief wants it enough, it will get taken. You can increase your chances of safety by doing the right thing and get protected now.

Conclusion
I have seen the damage this has been doing to good people. I will not stop reporting on this. I will keep writing about it until we can see a resolution. The market for these catalytic converters is a multi-billion dollar black market industry. It has to come to an end.

Help us out, stop catalytic converter theft with this protective shield and share this message on every social media place you can. The more we get the word out, the sooner we can help this come to an end.

Thank you for your help. I look forward to seeing you in future articles. Check out, 3 Repairs That Could Warrant Selling Your Toyota Prius.

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Peter Neilson is an automotive consultant specializing in electric cars and hybrid battery technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Service Technology from Weber State University. Peter is also an Instructor of Automotive Technology at Columbia Basin College. Peter can be reached on Linkedin and you can tweet him at The_hybrid_guy on Twitter. Find his page on Facebook at Certified Auto Consulting. Read more of Peter's stories at Toyota news coverage on Torque News. Search Toyota Prius Torque News for more in depth Prius coverage from our reporters.