Some lowlife got to my catalytic converter

[Seanzky]

Trade a brand new car in for another one because some cut a cat off? Don’t see how you could come ahead on that…

The way the market is going, if he can at least break even, I'd say it's an option worth considering. The downside is he will have to sacrifice a couple of months (at least) waiting for a new '22 to arrive from Japan.

I sold my 2-year old 2019 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 2 months ago, with 18,000+ miles, and netted $6k. I basically owned it for 2 years for the price of a 1-year lease. I then saw it sold on Carvana for around $8k over the sticker price I paid 2 years ago. Someone actually bought my Tacoma for $46k! That sale helped me put down $10k on my brand new '22 GX 460 Premium. There are other members on CL with similar stories, turning in their leases on GX or RX early to get the new '22 GX and came out unscathed. I know it's hard to believe because we're so used to seeing vehicles depreciate the moment we drive it off the lot, but at the very least, OP can explore that option and if it makes sense for him. If not, he can just turn it down. It all depends on the equity he has on it, the shortage vs. the demand on the GX currently, etc. It can't hurt to consider.

 

[re_guderian]

Does a rising tide not float all ships? Not seeing how a dealership would take in a trade for a new car and lose money in the transaction, which is what would have to happen for a buyer to "come out ahead"...

 

[aztoyman]

I worked the graveyard shift at a trauma center in Tucson. We had cameras, and security staff with K9's walking around and still had theft. They even got in a locked fenced area for us bike commuters and stole bikes.

And how do they manage to cash in on the cats? I have a couple from my own vehicles that no one will take because of theft? Our world sure has changed.

 

[Seanzky]

Does a rising tide not float all ships? Not seeing how a dealership would take in a trade for a new car and lose money in the transaction, which is what would have to happen for a buyer to "come out ahead"...

I don't think I ever mentioned trading in to a dealership? Apologies if your post wasn't directed at me.

 

[re_guderian]

I don't think I ever mentioned trading in to a dealership? Apologies if your post wasn't directed at me.

Not you directly. More of a general math statement. The profit anyone makes on selling a used car is almost certainly going to be lost to a dealer's "special market adjustment" markup. Seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Especially with sales taxes, higher registration and insurance etc. I've bought and sold recently, so understand the market, but all in, prices everywhere are up, so one would really have to thread the needle to "make money" on a transaction like was described above.

 

[URJ150L]

Does a rising tide not float all ships? Not seeing how a dealership would take in a trade for a new car and lose money in the transaction, which is what would have to happen for a buyer to "come out ahead"...

This and the vehicle has to be repaired regardless… you would either have to do it yourself prior to the trade in or the dealer will know they have to do it and they will deduct that cost from the trade in value. Either way your paying for it. Might as well keep it at that point and put some skids on it and move on.

Another option is this:

URD Off Road Y Pipe for 2010+ Lexus GX460 - Underdog Racing Development

The stock Y pipe has flow impediments. It has many bends and pinches down to some very small cross-sections. The stock Y-Pipe also poses a clearance issue some have run into – literally. The piping is 2.25” high quality, heavy gauge 304 stainless that is extremely durable utilizing only TIG...

urdusa.com

They can’t steal what isn’t there…

 

[Rednexus]

I sold the upstream cats on my GX470 earlier this year after putting on headers. I got $585 for the pair. As a thief, it's the perfect crime. 5 minutes with a cordless sawzall and you make $600. If you hit 1 car per day over a year it's $219,000, which is probably better profit than robbing banks and would come with a lighter sentence if and when you get caught. The yard I sold my cats to checked my ID, but that was it. Some require a title check. I'm pretty sure the yard would have looked the other way at a fake ID.

Regarding the cat replacement - I wouldn't worry about it affecting the resale value too much. It's a bolt-on, bolt-off part that takes a couple hours to replace and the GX wasn't involved in a collision. It's not like it was rear ended and required major reconstructive surgery (which would reduce the resale value).

I concur with the skids. These guys use sawzalls so they can get in and get out. They aren't going to take the time to unbolt a skidplate to get at the cats and they probably don't have a socket set with them - they'll go to another car where the cat is unprotected and get it instead. Criminals are lazy, it doesn't take much to make them leave your stuff alone and find another victim. Cars get broken into in my quaint rural Missouri town of 16,000 on a regular basis. Because people leave their cars unlocked . Unfortunately it's resulted in stuff like handguns getting stolen too. Our house/cars/etc are locked all the time.

 

[r2m]

Yup I remember! Thank you for your service to the state of Texas by moving here to fortify our culture of liberty Don’t forget to buy lots of guns and mags while your here. LOL

It is a shame. There’s parts of NY state that are beautiful just like there’s beautiful stuff in CA. I hate it that this sort of thing happens but it is what it is.

The ONLY reason we're still in CA is for the surf and ski, yeah, there's many other ski holes in conservative states, but not any good surf spots on the mainland (please don't mention the east coast or Texas, terrible surf, unless there's a hurricane) , and you can't beat the diversity of off-roading here.
I'm hoping that since we're leading the way on extreme liberalizem, that it will hit a breaking point to where people are sick of it and it will turn around and swing the other way.
Okay, I'm a hope freak...

 

[GrizzlyClint]

I'm a hope freak...

Yes you are. But at least you’re honest about it! No amount of fun things you mention would be worth giving up my liberty and money for. LOL But I digress since I don’t want to derail this thread further. Haha.

 

[umarali]

I will be having cats replaced through insurance which means it will be reported on carfax as "Damage reported" with a yellow tringle of exclamation sign, potential buyer would not know what damage reported and will automatically decrease resale value. that is only concern. I know i could avoid that by buying and replacing cats on my own but i have insurance covering the cost and for deductible i have another 5 year plan i purchased which covers $500 deductible along with other stuff so my out of pocket cost will be zero with this claim.
I know it will not be straight up trade with new one, i will definitely will have to eat up the tt&l cost which is the price to pay for 7300 miles and 4 months of ownership. Still not sure if wife wanna go this route or just keep it and drive. i am convincing her to replace with 2022 to get updated center console but she doesnt like the idea to pay for those tt&l.
I will definitely invest in skid plates if we decide to keep it.
I will be replacing my 2021 gx with lx soon so will look for skid plates on those as well.

 

[re_guderian]

Well, I'd vote for keep and drive. As a buyer of pretty much only used cars for the last 15 years, I only shy away from "recent" damage reports. If damage was minor and many years and miles ago, it's an indicator of nothing major, and not a red flag for me. Stuff happens. Damage combined with immediate sale would be a "hard pass" from me as a buyer. That sends a message to ptoential private party buyesrs. But who knows, it's a strange market.

 

[Bang Bang]

Well, I'd vote for keep and drive. As a buyer of pretty much only used cars for the last 15 years, I only shy away from "recent" damage reports. If damage was minor and many years and miles ago, it's an indicator of nothing major, and not a red flag for me. Stuff happens. Damage combined with immediate sale would be a "hard pass" from me as a buyer. That sends a message to ptoential private party buyesrs. But who knows, it's a strange market.

I agree. What's the benefit of selling this one due to the loss of the cat? So, you get a new one and get into a minor wreck with it the day after you get it. It's gonna get reported to carfax. Gonna trade that one again? It sucks what happened no doubt. But I would fix it and drive on unless there are other reasons you have buyers remorse and want a different trim / color / etc.......

 

[vegasfj40]

Yeah, this crap isnt just happening in so called Blue areas. It happened to my niece in rural conservative Ohio. On a second gen Prius. How the hell do they fit underneath a car that sits 4 inches from the road? Carry floor jacks I guess. Tweakers are everywhere. There does need to be some legislation regarding the recycling of these.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Yeah, this crap isnt just happening in so called Blue areas. It happened to my niece in rural conservative Ohio. On a second gen Prius. How the hell do they fit underneath a car that sits 4 inches from the road? Carry floor jacks I guess. Tweakers are everywhere. There does need to be some legislation regarding the recycling of these.

I don’t believe in any more laws or regs, we have too damn many already. We just need the punishment to be more severe and to set a stronger deterrent for both the recycler and thief. Instead of forcing more regs and laws incentivize automakers to VIN stamp all parts (more than a damn sticker) including cats and if a recycler or thief is caught with these stolen parts in possession give them a mandatory long jail sentence and a hefty fine.

Perhaps someone could R&D up a cat that is somehow affixed to a vehicle’s chassis of frame in a spot where you cannot get a sawzall up there to cut off. Make it a much longer process thus not allowing it to be a crime of opportunity. Just an idea.

 

[Littlehouse]

I don’t believe in any more laws or regs, we have too damn many already. We just need the punishment to be more severe and to set a stronger deterrent for both the recycler and thief. Instead of forcing more regs and laws incentivize automakers to VIN stamp all parts (more than a damn sticker) including cats and if a recycler or thief is caught with these stolen parts in possession give them a mandatory long jail sentence and a hefty fine.

Perhaps someone could R&D up a cat that is somehow affixed to a vehicle’s chassis of frame in a spot where you cannot get a sawzall up there to cut off. Make it a much longer process thus not allowing it to be a crime of opportunity. Just an idea.

I always thought the old old old school approach of cutting off the hands of thieves would work. Do that a few times and I bet you things slow down quite a bit.....

 

[GrizzlyClint]

I always thought the old old old school approach of cutting off the hands of thieves would work. Do that a few times and I bet you things slow down quite a bit.....

I’d be in for that. LOL I hate thieves.

 

[umarali]

Yeah, this crap isnt just happening in so called Blue areas. It happened to my niece in rural conservative Ohio. On a second gen Prius. How the hell do they fit underneath a car that sits 4 inches from the road? Carry floor jacks I guess. Tweakers are everywhere. There does need to be some legislation regarding the recycling of these.

ohh well, i own third gen prius as well now i will have to be more careful with that as well?

 

[umarali]

Well, I'd vote for keep and drive. As a buyer of pretty much only used cars for the last 15 years, I only shy away from "recent" damage reports. If damage was minor and many years and miles ago, it's an indicator of nothing major, and not a red flag for me. Stuff happens. Damage combined with immediate sale would be a "hard pass" from me as a buyer. That sends a message to ptoential private party buyesrs. But who knows, it's a strange market.

good insight

 

[umarali]

I agree. What's the benefit of selling this one due to the loss of the cat? So, you get a new one and get into a minor wreck with it the day after you get it. It's gonna get reported to carfax. Gonna trade that one again? It sucks what happened no doubt. But I would fix it and drive on unless there are other reasons you have buyers remorse and want a different trim / color / etc.......

Well not really buyers remorse since my wife wanted this exterior and interior color combo. Just the dent on carfax is the reason i am leaning towards replacing. I am very careful driver and havent had any accident, dent or scrape in years but you never know it can happen anyday anytime. Will probably end up keeping it since wife doesnt want to lose on the price difference from selling or trading this to buying new.

 

[Banandalorian]

Yeah, this crap isnt just happening in so called Blue areas. It happened to my niece in rural conservative Ohio. On a second gen Prius. How the hell do they fit underneath a car that sits 4 inches from the road? Carry floor jacks I guess. Tweakers are everywhere. There does need to be some legislation regarding the recycling of these.

IIRC the Prius is a favorite target for this since they either have "better" cats or more of them for super low emissions. That means more money for the thieves.

This can happen anywhere, but some areas definitely have organized theft rings beyond the errant tweaker who knows he can make a quick buck. The unfortunate reality is that trucks and SUVs make easy targets. A skid plate is basically the best you can do to deter them to move onto the another vehicle.