replacing catalytic converters, shop wont give back old cats

[pedwards]

Thanks for the info all,
to add some more detail, the shop quoted me ~$350 in parts, before we discussed my taking away the old cats. I just called another shop, they gave me a similar quote, but said there would be no issue with me taking my old cats. so i don't think the recycling profit was baked into my quote. I'll have a talk with this guy when i go to pick up the truck.

 

[mrsleeve]

Given the wording of that state statute , if you have your paper work for the replacements of the 2 cats your selling with YOUR NAME ON IT, that I assume matches your ID. Then I would think you would be covered by the "in connection with the sale or installation of a new catalytic converter(s)" wording . How would you recycle them if you installed them your self like many of us do. My brother lives in AZ and I dont think hes ever had trouble selling off his replaced cats .

 

[hoser]

I would call the shop immediately before they "scrap it."

 

[Sc0-]

More than likely they will say the scrap truck collected it by the time you arrive...

 

[LINUS]

Alot of people seem to forget it was only 6-8 yrs ago when meth monkeys were stealing cats from lifted rigs, Toyota mini/Tacomas were a 'easy hit'.

Our cats were worth $60 ea when I got a prepaid shipping tag to sell mine - I did the offset Magnaflow one for ~$200(?) & old cats got me $120 back.

That was a few yrs ago, but the shop is putting it in yer 6.

I'd want the exact state code they are citing, and I'd have my phone ready to call BS -it's your car part, and recycling isn't the same as selling 2nd hand for re-installation.

 

[inkpot]

Given the wording of that state statute , if you have your paper work for the replacements of the 2 cats your selling with YOUR NAME ON IT, that I assume matches your ID. Then I would think you would be covered by the "in connection with the sale or installation of a new catalytic converter(s)" wording . How would you recycle them if you installed them your self like many of us do. My brother lives in AZ and I dont think hes ever had trouble selling off his replaced cats .

If your installing new cats you just might have the purchase receipt?

 

[inkpot]

Don’t assume that Az state regs make sense. The combination of federal, state, and county refs is so overwhelming that many scrap yards won’t buy cats, period.

 

[LINUS]

Don’t assume that Az state regs make sense. The combination of federal, state, and county refs is so overwhelming that many scrap yards won’t buy cats, period.

Maybe down there, but I sent mine to a place in NV - they emailed a prepaid UPS slip, I boxed 'em & they paid before they even landed. There wasn't any issue as they had a stated policy they were reclaiming the trace metals, not reinstalling as smog equip.

IDK - but we have a pretty regulated state & there was no issue AFAIK.

Honestly your state regs aren't as asinine as some of our happy horsecrap WAC's.

 

[DirtScaresMe]

Just be nonchalant about it and say you disagree and that you're calling the police to file it as stolen property. If the shop is wrong, you'll get it back. If there's some law none of us know about and the shop does, you'll be the cool-as-a-cucumber guy who didn't get frazzled. Never works to get frazzled anyway.

As my gray hairs accumulate I have less and less issue raising s*** up the flagpole either via the police or courts. I hate people that take advantage of others especially something like this where they've been getting away with it so long they're just brazen about it. It would be one thing for them to just ask if you want them back as most people wouldn't.

Call their bs, photograph the police report, put it on Yelp if they really are jerks about it. Save the next guy the hassle. My $0.02.

 

[White Stripe]

Yea just tell them you have never heard of any law and to give you your cats. You don't have to explain why, but you could explain to the cops that you want to take them home and inspect them to see how badly they are clogged. I have people ask for their old parts from time to time. Its their parts. I have had people get pissed for giving them their old parts when they didn't ask for them, learned that lesson quickly a long time ago. I gave them the old brake pads so they could see for themselves how low the brakes were, they could could have cared less. But if a person asks, yea I give them back.

 

[Rifleman]

Google Az catalytic converters Law’s and you get a big response. There are a bunch of restrictions on scrap sales and purchases. I did not read thru all of them but I do know that to sell scrap copper wire or cats the business has to get your I D and FINGERPRINTS.

Inkpot, man o man are you right about selling scrap copper in AZ. About 25 years ago i was working for a company who added on an extra 100,000 SF addition to the factory i was working at. At the end of the job we ended up with a few hundred feet of extra number 2 wire on about 15 wooden spools. I ask the company if they would donate the left over wire to my kids school for an Arizona school tax deduction, they agreed. My son and i took the time to strip all the insulation off of the wire because it's scrap value was much higher if it's "clean, bright and shiny" copper. Anyway when i took it to the scrap yard to sell, they wouldn't take it until i got a letter from my employer, on company letter head stating that they had given me the copper wire. Then they make a photo copy of my drivers Lic. they took down my trucks Lic plate number, and i had to sign a receipt before they would pay me. All that BS to go through for a few hundred dollars, i can't imagine what it's like now to sell scrap copper in Arizona.

 

[pedwards]

UPDATE:
after heading into the shop this afternoon the shop manager (who i've been dealing with this whole time) was polite and even tempered when he presented me with the bill,
~$375 for two cats ( comparative shopping shows these are reasonably prices, they do not mention a core charge, important later)
~$100 labor
~ $10 shop supplies

I told him the truck looked great ( which it did, the welder there has done some work for me before, he's got the knack.) and I reminded him that i was interested in taking my old cats with me.
his response, " i can't let you do that"
mine, "why can't i take them?"
him, " I already told you."
me, "Please explain"

he pivoted and told me that there would be a $50 core charge for the 2 cats ($50 all-together).
I told him that would be fine, and handed over my debit card.

------------ begin best part ----------------

he called to the welder and told him i would be taking my cats with me.
the welder shouts from the back of the shop " OH THATS TOO BAD, THATS ALOT OF MONEY WE COULD HAVE HAD!"

------------end best part-------------------

i took my parts triumphantly to my truck and drove away knowing he put a B.S $50 charge on my account. but from my point of view, its a cheap lesson on avoiding this place in the future.

 

[Pin_Head]

You could have sued him in small claims court. You not only get the value of the cats, you can recover your court costs and lost wages and time to recover your property.

 

[midfat]

UPDATE:
after heading into the shop this afternoon the shop manager (who i've been dealing with this whole time) was polite and even tempered when he presented me with the bill,
~$375 for two cats ( comparative shopping shows these are reasonably prices, they do not mention a core charge, important later)
~$100 labor
~ $10 shop supplies

I told him the truck looked great ( which it did, the welder there has done some work for me before, he's got the knack.) and I reminded him that i was interested in taking my old cats with me.
his response, " i can't let you do that"
mine, "why can't i take them?"
him, " I already told you."
me, "Please explain"

he pivoted and told me that there would be a $50 core charge for the 2 cats ($50 all-together).
I told him that would be fine, and handed over my debit card.

------------ begin best part ----------------

he called to the welder and told him i would be taking my cats with me.
the welder shouts from the back of the shop " OH THATS TOO BAD, THATS ALOT OF MONEY WE COULD HAVE HAD!"

------------end best part-------------------

i took my parts triumphantly to my truck and drove away knowing he put a B.S $50 charge on my account. but from my point of view, its a cheap lesson on avoiding this place in the future.

Post a skathing one star review on yelp. Start it out with a nice word like “CRIMINALS.” I’d bet you $50 you get a call from the owner offering you your $50 core charge back if you remove the review. Yelp is a powerful consumer weapon against unscroupulous service providers.

 

[LINUS]

Yep.

Kinda thought it was greed. -Like I mentioned, mine were worth $60 ea shipped to NV - and they had paid before UPS even had delivered. So I knew they were making $$$ hand>fist.

Since I'd welded & had SS wire/tri-mix & even told them I was chopping flanges, I knew the $60 ea had to be a bargain ATM in scrap paladium/rhodium/platinum.

I'm a dumba$$ redneck, but up here in a honeyhole area where I've been a refinery operator, we talk about stuff like this - we love to play stupid but I know the metals in a cat & even the "why" of when meth monkeys were let loose with the dealer - fronted tools to steal cats.
What stupid meth junky could afford those tools? None. Cops knew localiy it was dealers fronting stolen tools, giving meth as a bounty for cats.

I'm in favor of the regs approved to sell dead cats, and it helped here - we were in a situation so bad in ~2011/12 you didn't dare park a lifted 'Yota in a local park-n-ride in Snohomish county (N of Seattle/King co.).

Cat stealing is waaaaay down up here, so I'm good on the regs - it's even been awhile since copper made a major headline here. Maybe some newer laws are working, IDK.

 

[1973Guppie]

Post a skathing one star review on yelp. Start it out with a nice word like “CRIMINALS.” I’d bet you $50 you get a call from the owner offering you your $50 core charge back if you remove the review. Yelp is a powerful consumer weapon against unscroupulous service providers.

YELP as a company are in the business of extortion. You should be aware of their business practices and not provide content so they can hold small businesses hostage. Google reviews is a much more honest, reputable source for reviews.

Another Lawsuit Against Yelp Over Reviews on Its Site Gets Thrown Out of Court

if you don't pay their advertising fees you get burned. Crooks

 

[samiam09]

They have been doing that here because of the amount of cat thief s. they have to have some sort of license to sell them for scrap
had a few old ones no place would buy them from me. they are suppose to fingerprint everyone selling copper her because of people stealing it from buildings job sites and such

 

[gummycarbs]

All that BS to go through for a few hundred dollars, i can't imagine what it's like now to sell scrap copper in Arizona.

Good. When I was working in Phoenix around 2001, I got to work one day to find out the whole company was shut down for the day. Someone had stolen the entire brass water valve assembly that had been out front of the building for twenty-ish years. A 200+ person business was entirely inoperable for a full day because some a-hole wanted a quick buck.

Glad you got your cats back, OP. Who knows what else that shop lies about.

 

[White Stripe]

If u had paid the 50 with credit card u could have cancelled the charge. I love replacing cats because I take the bad ones in and get some money as a little bonus for myself. German cats are worth the most. Interesting how 50 bucks makes the federal law issue go away and now their is a "core charge." They could have just said up front "the price we gave u included us keeping the cats to get the money for them." Rather than make up some federal law. Or we could all be wrong and their really is a law and a couple of black suburbans and a truck full of SWAT team guys will show at your house late tonight and we will never hear from u again because your locked up in Guantanamo being tortured to get u to fess up to your illegal ownership of used 80 series cats.

 

[Kaninja]

Glad you got your cats back. I hate shady businesses that lie to your face.

Just happened to me with an oil change place I use on the company car. I wanted and paid for Mobil1. They tried sneaking in Motosel but I caught them. Then they lied and said they had no Mobil1 on the premises and that I was stuck with what they gave me. Best part.....this was a Mobil1 Express Lube. Funny when I got out of the car and sat in their office refusing to move they found some actual Mobil1. Owner has since threatened legal action if I don't take down my Google review.