Video: Catalytic converters are hot items with metal thieves

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SEATTLE - Catalytic converters are quickly replacing stereos and rims as the items most likely to be stolen from cars across Western Washington.  And thieves are targeting certain cars. 

Even if your car is an old junker and you don't carry anything valuable inside, you do have a catalytic converter.  Located on the undercarriage of your car, they can be stolen in less than a minute, leaving you with thousands of dollars in repair bills. 

When Denise Baker started up her SUV Tuesday, she wasn't greeted by the purr of an engine, but rather the roar of a rip-off. 

"Smells like boat exhaust and sounds like I'm driving a lawnmower," said Baker. 

Baker's catalytic converter had been stolen, swiped right out from under her Toyota 4 Runner. 

"It's such a normal function of your car, you'd never think someone would come and violate that," said Baker. 

Catalytic converters, which clean your car's exhaust, have been hot items for thieves the past couple of years, stolen and sold for the small but valuable amounts of platinum and other precious metals inside. 

The issue cropped up a year ago - thieves targeting car lots in rural Washington, but now it's hitting the big cities and beyond.  Surveillance video from a theft in Michigan shows a suspect making off with a converter in less than two minutes. 

There is one particular make of vehicle that is a favorite of catalytic converter crooks: Toyota trucks, because of their higher suspension and easy access to the undercarriage. 

One way to protect yourself is a lock called the "cat clamp," available online for about $250.  It's something Denise Baker is now thinking about because unlike flashy rims and expensive stereos, you can't quit buying catalytic converters. 

"If they targeted me this time, who says that once I get it fixed it won't happen tomorrow?" said Baker. 

Replacing a catalytic converter is not cheap, often running more that $1,000.