More than a dozen vehicles, nearly all of which were Toyota Prius’, had their catalytic converters stolen over a two week period recently.
It continues a trend that has been alarming for Madison Police.
Hundreds of catalytic converters have been taken in the city so far this year; as of late September, the number was over 300.
It’s a trend that doesn’t surprise Rob Jordan, who works at Smart Motors Toyota and has seen more than his fair share of cases recently.
“One of the things the Madison community is known for is our environmentalism so there are a lot of Prius out there and it’s one of the top targets,” explained Jordan.
The Toyota Prius is known as being an environmentally friendly vehicle. However, it also has a reputation among thieves…jackpot.
According to car expert Harvey Briggs, the Prius contains a large concentration of the targeted precious metal.
“Things like polonium, platinum and rhodium in them. Rhodium costs 11,500 dollars an ounce,” shared Briggs.
According to Smart Motors Toyota, they are working with police to create a potential solution to this problem for those that could be targeted.
“We are working with the city of Madison police department on serializing their catalytic converters and what this will allow the police department to do is attach a serial to a specific vehicle so they can track down where that converter came from,” said Jordan.
However, if you are looking for an immediate solution…our experts you can install a metal plate for around 500 dollars, which will give your converter extra protection.
COPYRIGHT 2021 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
