Stolen Catalytic Converter

Some real piece of trash stole the catalytic converter off of my 2005 Tribute.  They just unbolted one side and sawed the other side off.  Any idea about how much this should cost to have replaced?   This happened when I just got back from vacation and I don't have a ton of money for this kind of freaking repair. 

Furthermore, is this common???  This ever happened to anyone else???  Sorry....I'm just totally floored by this.  It makes no sense to me.  I don't have any enemies that I know of. 

Oh no! You are one of the victims.
I found this news. There''s a lot of cat-co thefts today. Everybody be careful. Check this out:             

                              http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_8913.aspx

Goodluck buddy!

        

It's still under warranty but there is no way it covers theft.  I just got the phone with a friend who told me this is becoming common due to the materials inside the cat.  He said it is only a half hour to hour job but since it's an 05 I might have a rough time getting the part.  Good freaking Lord.

Oh....that artice says it's only about $300 to replace.   That's not bad....I thought it was going to be a lot more than that.  Maybe just because the car sounds like total hell right now.

A new factory converter for a 4 cylinder retails for $536. The one for the V6 engine is $631 or $693 depending upon build date of vehicle. Could probably knock off quite a bit purchasing online and have delivered to you.

It's a 2005 4 cylinder.  I spoke with a mechanic at a muffler shop and he said they could do it for $240.  He said it's only a 30 - 45 min job and a very easy job.  He said I could get a factory one for around $500 (which is consistent with what you said) but I would not know the difference with this one.  Does this sound correct??  If so is there anything specific I should ask him before having this done?

If the aftermarket is a direct bolt in then your catalyst warranty of 8 year, 80k miles might fool the dealer at some point down the road. What does your auto insurance cover? If they cover theft related items them coverage may well extend to parts stolen from the vehicle. If that is the case then would look into that area and see if they would cover and may end up costing you nothing to have a new OE replacement installed.

I would assume the insurance company would cover that however, the deductable is $500 so it's kinda pointless to file a claim.  The aftermarket is a direct bolt in. 

Does a deductible apply to Theft & Comprehensive or just to Collision (and then only if you are at fault)?

Well isn't this just nice.  EPA demands we have Catalytic Converters on our vehicles and Criminals can get rich off this mandatory device.  And unless you carry full coverage insurance on your vehicle with a low deductible this has to come out of your pocket to replace.  I wonder if the EPA will recognize this as a problem and allow automakers to stop using catalytic converters since all newer engines are more efficient than the motors of 30 and 40 years ago.

Or at least all Automakers should go to a design that most other automakers use and integrate the catalytic converter into the exhaust manifold design or at least do so close enough to the engine making it more difficult to access by these thieves. 

sorry, double post.