Catalytic Converters Stolen: USAA only covering non-CARB compliant replacement. (1 Viewer)

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Well there’s all sorts of ways to avoid emissions, there are several states and specifically counties within those states which will allow you to register your vehicle there (like Montana and Idaho) with pretty light proof of residence.

I’ve got to do some more research but what I was told from my cruiser friend in Montana is that any vehicle over 11 years old is eligible for one time lifetime registration, and proof of residency is as light as having a PO Box once.

Even if you wanted to stay with a CO plate you just need a friend in a county that doesn’t require emissions who you “can be a roommate with” to get the address confirmation.

It's not that, you create an LLC, you have a registered agent in montana set it up. The vehicle gets titled by the registered agent. The service is pricey, i think i paid $850. I am probably going to do my other cruiser and just skip the emissions song and dance. You are correct, it is a lifetime tag. I will then let my LLC drift into nothingness.

I thought my insurance would go up, but after spesking with insursnce agents in montana, i listed my llc as an "additional interest" and my insurance rates remained the same. If you have s friend, just have them forward the initial mail to you. After that, you can do business from anywhere.
 
Ah yes, I forgot about the LLC. Who did you use as the registered agent? Also, how did you have to change your insurance, I assume the rig gets registered under the LLC theoretically being a vehicle that remains in Montana so it can't be on your combined insurance with other vehicles? I'll probably need to sit down with my agent and see what he can do.
 
Thanks for the support guys. I do live in a county that has no emissions testing, so of course I have plenty of options. I really would prefer to have a good cat installed on the vehicle like it was before the theft though. I had around 250,000 miles on the OEM one and it still seemed to work fine. One of the biggest surprises and disappointments here is with USAA -- they've become just another bottom dollar insurance company. I understand that I do not have a policy that covers OEM replacement parts, but putting a newer cat that is not CARB compliant on the vehicle just seems wrong.

I hear that the federally compliant Magnaflow Y pipe / front cat (part #23120) used to be the go to option, but is now being made by Bosal and the quality has gone down based on posts here in the last few years. Has anyone had experience with the CARB compliant Magnaflow (part number 447103)? If it is still made by Magnaflow and of higher quality and has CARB compliance, it would be worth the extra $300 to me.
 
Do you do your own work?

Do you know how to turn a wrench?

Do you understand the differences between aftermarket parts and OEM parts?
Says the guy with cupholders and bolt ons in his signature. LOL stay angry Karen after you talk to the manager I'll show you the cars, trucks, and vans I've built.

I'd believe the other poster saying Toyota cats from back then have more rare earth metals and are better steel. Regardless, demanding OEM parts for a 1997 is still hilarious and no insurance company on the planet is going to pay for a $3000 exhaust when a $300 piece that gets welded on in 30 minutes exists. Then comes the crowd of people looking to use the Montana loophole that California is well aware of at this point because so many rich people who are tax evaders couldn't keep their mouth shut. Colorado does suck more now that California and Texas twats moved here and brought their fat wallets. The environmental rules recently passed have nothing to do with them though, it has to do with a Governor from Boulder, the land of white hippies who got rich and want to save the planet. Just don't live in the Front Range hell hole and you'll not need to worry about emissions. That area has failed EPA standards for years even with emissions standards and they don't know what to do. People are stealing cats here because they can't even afford to live in s*** holes because those places got bought by California and Texas twats and hedge funds and turned into upscale gentrified neighbors that cost 3x what they did 5 years ago.


Sorry what was I talking about again? Oh yeah..everyone on this planet sucks. Glad the OP chimed in.
 
The environmental rules recently passed have nothing to do with them though, it has to do with a Governor from Boulder.
Well, it was actually Hickenlooper, and along with tying our regs directly to cali's regs it was cheered for and supported by many people who I can only assume are Californians.
 
Thanks for the support guys. I do live in a county that has no emissions testing, so of course I have plenty of options. I really would prefer to have a good cat installed on the vehicle like it was before the theft though. I had around 250,000 miles on the OEM one and it still seemed to work fine. One of the biggest surprises and disappointments here is with USAA -- they've become just another bottom dollar insurance company. I understand that I do not have a policy that covers OEM replacement parts, but putting a newer cat that is not CARB compliant on the vehicle just seems wrong.

I hear that the federally compliant Magnaflow Y pipe / front cat (part #23120) used to be the go to option, but is now being made by Bosal and the quality has gone down based on posts here in the last few years. Has anyone had experience with the CARB compliant Magnaflow (part number 447103)? If it is still made by Magnaflow and of higher quality and has CARB compliance, it would be worth the extra $300 to me.
Actually Oregon law states, the insurance company has to restore it pre-accident and cannot force you to buy cheap parts or aftermarket crap, so stand up against the insurance company, and get what is legally right
 
Thanks for the support guys. I do live in a county that has no emissions testing, so of course I have plenty of options. I really would prefer to have a good cat installed on the vehicle like it was before the theft though. I had around 250,000 miles on the OEM one and it still seemed to work fine. One of the biggest surprises and disappointments here is with USAA -- they've become just another bottom dollar insurance company. I understand that I do not have a policy that covers OEM replacement parts, but putting a newer cat that is not CARB compliant on the vehicle just seems wrong.

I hear that the federally compliant Magnaflow Y pipe / front cat (part #23120) used to be the go to option, but is now being made by Bosal and the quality has gone down based on posts here in the last few years. Has anyone had experience with the CARB compliant Magnaflow (part number 447103)? If it is still made by Magnaflow and of higher quality and has CARB compliance, it would be worth the extra $300 to me.

I was with USAA for almost 20 years before I dropped them. It was tough for me because I’m a creature of habit and I like loyalty. I agree that USAA has become the bottom dollar company and their operating principles have shifted. I went with GEICO and while I don’t have experience with a claim, their rates are much better for better coverage than USAA. Before I dropped USAA, I asked them, “can you get anywhere close to what GEICO is offering me in terms of coverage and cost?” They flat out said, “we can’t even come close”.

I think USAA may work with you if you continue being persistent and work your way up the chain. Let us know how it turns out.
 
shocktower, thank you for the info, I will check that out. I was reading that they can use aftermarket parts as long as they have been "certified equivalent to factory parts by an independent testing facility." I wonder what legitimate testing facility declared the NAPA cat equivalent to the Toyota one. I am still discussing this with the claims person and haven't tried to escalate it or anything yet. I can take my time with this and would at least like them to come part way in this case.

Over the phone, when I expressed my concern about corrosion issues of the cheap aftermarket Y-pipe/cat, the claims person actually implied that these parts were better and/or would last longer due to the OEM parts only being warrantied for one year while the NAPA part is warrantied 2 years or more. I mean, everyone knows that OEM Toyota cat rusts right off the car as soon as you're out of that 12 month warranty period. :rofl:

On an unrelated note, is there a way to ignore posts made by specific posters?
 
My father and law had his cats stolen from his 2007 Prius and the insurance company wanted to replace with Napa parts too. After speaking with the agent and the Toyota dealer, oem replacement would costs $2900. The insurance company would only fork over $1300 and the remainder paid by my father and law. He uses nothing but oem parts and goes over to the dealer for everything lol even if I offer to replace whatever it needed with half the price! Anyways he ended up paying the remainder because the used car market is crazy and the car was fine before the theft. Maybe something worth looking into. Good luck
 
Red703, I am definitely considering paying for full OEM replacement parts out of my own pocket, but I am concerned it could happen again with how wildly pervasive this issue is all of a sudden. I very rarely park the car outside overnight unless I am camping (and then I am very nearby), but I would still be absolutely sick to see the cats stolen again.

My plan now is to continue to work with USAA a bit more and escalate the issue. I may write a letter the old school way to see if that gets anywhere, but I drop them as my insurer if they won't budge. Such a shame...

After that, I will talk to my local exhaust place and see what all my options are.
 
Says the guy with cupholders and bolt ons in his signature. LOL stay angry Karen after you talk to the manager I'll show you the cars, trucks, and vans I've built.

I'd believe the other poster saying Toyota cats from back then have more rare earth metals and are better steel. Regardless, demanding OEM parts for a 1997 is still hilarious and no insurance company on the planet is going to pay for a $3000 exhaust when a $300 piece that gets welded on in 30 minutes exists. Then comes the crowd of people looking to use the Montana loophole that California is well aware of at this point because so many rich people who are tax evaders couldn't keep their mouth shut. Colorado does suck more now that California and Texas twats moved here and brought their fat wallets. The environmental rules recently passed have nothing to do with them though, it has to do with a Governor from Boulder, the land of white hippies who got rich and want to save the planet. Just don't live in the Front Range hell hole and you'll not need to worry about emissions. That area has failed EPA standards for years even with emissions standards and they don't know what to do. People are stealing cats here because they can't even afford to live in s*** holes because those places got bought by California and Texas twats and hedge funds and turned into upscale gentrified neighbors that cost 3x what they did 5 years ago.


Sorry what was I talking about again? Oh yeah..everyone on this planet sucks. Glad the OP chimed in.
Hey @simple - you're new to this board, I see.

Allow me to make a polite suggestion - try to be a little nicer. Your posts are (to me) arrogant and off-putting. This is a Land Cruiser tech forum, where people share ideas, experiences and suggestions to keep these old 80 Series running well and going over rough terrain.

If we treat this community and each other with respect, this will be a much more better forum.

Thanks.
 
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+1 @simple you'll find out that @BILT4ME has a wealth of knowledge and has an incredibly clean build, his skills are immense.

There is a reason why you'll see thousands of responses in this forum that, in one way or another are advising someone not waste their money on OE parts because they never last, You see this because the majority of us have experienced it and know it's the reality.

Those rockauto parts may work on your 1992 ford escort but they sure as hell don't on the cruiser.
 
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Hey @simple - you're new to this board, I see.

Allow me to make a polite suggestion - try to be a little nicer. Your posts are (to me) arrogant and off-putting. This is a Land Cruiser tech forum, where people share ideas, experiences and ideas to keep these old 80 Series running well and going over rough terrain.

If we treat this community and each other with respect, this will be a much more better forum.

Thanks.
Thank you for saying this in a much better way than I could have.

I started reading this thread to learn about catalytic converter insurance claims because I'm perpetually paranoid that this will eventually happen to me. I did not come to this thread for rants.

The world would be a better place if everybody was nicer to each other and a discussion board such as this is an easy place to practice being kind to strangers.

Bringing things back on topic - has anyone ever dealt with Progressive for something like this? I have full coverage on my rig but am still worried that it would be a pain to get stolen cats replaced.
 
Red703, I am definitely considering paying for full OEM replacement parts out of my own pocket, but I am concerned it could happen again with how wildly pervasive this issue is all of a sudden. I very rarely park the car outside overnight unless I am camping (and then I am very nearby), but I would still be absolutely sick to see the cats stolen again.

My plan now is to continue to work with USAA a bit more and escalate the issue. I may write a letter the old school way to see if that gets anywhere, but I drop them as my insurer if they won't budge. Such a shame...

After that, I will talk to my local exhaust place and see what all my options are.
That's the problem we're facing too, luckily there is a cat protector on order, for the Prius but not for our cruisers. I think there is a set of sliders that have a cat protector but not sure its to deter thiefs away, I think its just from the trail obstacles. I'm waiting on White Knuckle Offroad to have their 10% off deal on black Friday and order a set of sliders. If the protector doesn't completely deter theft I might just look for a welder to cage in the cats by attaching it to the slider.
 
Old Toyota cats are far superior to the new Chinese cars period. I’ve burned the cash to find out.

Now I love Colorado but it’s quickly becoming over run by Californians and Texans who are bringing s***ty policy with them, which is why we now have to have Cali cats.

So I can tell you that they do not look for Cali/colo compliant stamps on the cats at the emissions roller, they just check for the presence of the cats. I purchased the “high quality aftermarket” cats from cruiser parts here:


In 2016 and used them to pass emissions in 2016, 2018 and just barely in 2020. I imagine I will need to replace them again to have any chance to pass in 2022, of course I will need to do the work myself or take it to Wyoming.

Or I could just spend $400 in Montana and get a lifetime plate emissions free…
This. I’m about over Colorado. The last few years it’s gotten worse and worse. It’s the worst people from Cali and the worst from Texas. (Both ends of the political spectrum, so don’t try and make it political.) Very disappointing. Glad the wife and I didn’t move there when we got married, like we’d planned to.
 
The Magnaflow y-pipes are Bosal now, yes. Quality went down at first but seems to have gone back up to pre-Bosal levels. If you buy one, get it from Summit or Amazon so if you get a crappy one, you can send it back.

I got one from before the takeover and have been very pleased. I deleted my other cat, because I put the y-pipe on a 94.
 
The Magnaflow y-pipes are Bosal now, yes. Quality went down at first but seems to have gone back up to pre-Bosal levels. If you buy one, get it from Summit or Amazon so if you get a crappy one, you can send it back.

I got one from before the takeover and have been very pleased. I deleted my other cat, because I put the y-pipe on a 94.

I'm running a single magnaflow cat on my 94 as well. Did a PAIR valve delete and relocated the O2 sensors into the exhaust manifold. Cat is 5 years old and still passing smog. Not bad for under $300.
 
Well these recent replies make me feel good, thank you all for the ideas. In my experience so far, unless you have a special, above and beyond policy that covers OEM parts, you're getting junk. I hate that, and it makes me hate insurance companies more and more. Getting really close to researching self insurance options to avoid tossing money at these ripoff insurance companies.
 

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