The Top 10 Cars That Catalytic Convertors Are Stolen From in the Northeast

Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise across the country and New England is not Maine is not immune to those ever-increasing numbers.

According to WGME, in the early morning of January, thieves got away with two catalytic converters off a truck owned by K&D Countertops in Windham. It cost around $10,000 to replace them.

Catalytic converters help reduce the emissions from the vehicle to make what comes out of the exhaust pipe not as toxic for the environment. The reason thieves are after the catalytic converters are that they contain platinum, palladium, and rhodium, all precious metals that can fetch a pretty price, but leave the car owners with a not-so-pretty price to get them replaced.

A new law in Maine went into effect in 2022 requiring new and used car dealers to engrave the VIN of the vehicle off the vehicle on the catalytic converter in hopes of making it traceable in a database. The same rule goes for recyclers and anyone who removes an unmarked catalytic converter from a vehicle. Opinions are divided on whether or not this new law will have any effect on the number of thefts in Maine.

Carfax crunched some data and came up with a list of the 10 most targeted cars in the United States for catalytic converters, but they also whittled it down to regions of the country.

Since we're in New England, we fall into the Northeast category. Here are the top 10 vehicles that thieves are targeting up here in our neck of the woods. Do you drive any of these cars?

1. Ford F-Series Truck

2. Honda Accord

3. Toyota Prius

4. Honda CR-V

5. Ford Explorer

6. Ford Econoline

7. Chevrolet Equinox

8. Chevrolet Silverado

9. Toyota Tacoma

10. Chevrolet Cruise