During their peak, platinum sold for $1,289 per ounce and palladium sold for $3,307 per ounce, making a typical catalytic converter worth at least $128 of platinum and $231 of palladium.

Car owners sometimes find, to their dismay, that their catalytic converters have been stolen because of the platinum inside. How much platinum is that, anyway?

A catalytic converter is a component of an internal combustion vehicle’s exhaust system. In most cases, it looks like a flattened muffler that resides about halfway down the exhaust pipes.

Inside the catalytic converter is a mesh of filters which consist of rare earth metals like platinum, palladium, or rhodium. These metals act like catalysts, hence the name, catalytic converter.

Problems with your vehicle’s catalytic converter might first become apparent through poor acceleration, a rotten-egg smell from the exhaust, or the check-engine light coming on.

Inside Chicago’s catalytic converter theft epidemic Thieves have taken more than 17,000 in Chicago since 2019, and that’s surely an undercount.

PRESTON: Well, the prices for the precious metals inside the catalytic converters have come down significantly. You'll find three precious metals inside of these things.

What makes a catalytic converter so valuable? The part itself isn’t as valuable as what’s inside it. Catalytic converters are designed to reduce the amount of toxins and pollutants inside a ...

Catalytic converter thieves have struck more than 17,000 times in Chicago since 2019. And they almost never get caught. Only 34 of those reported thefts — 0.2% — ended with an arrest, a ...