Stolen Catalytics near DIA

[3rdgen]

Hi Guys,

Long story short, had my 08 sequoia parked at 61st and Pena for 4 days. Flew in with family and found my catalytics stolen along with a cut fuel line. Haven't called my insurance company yet but will be later. Just curious if anyone had experience with stolen cats and what the process was. Anyone have a shop recommendations?

-Dan

 

[J1000]

The #1 place where vehicles are stolen is DIA. Lots of cat thefts reported there too. Crazy how the highest "security" place in the state has the most thefts....

"Last September, a study conducted by the Common Sense Institute found that Colorado has the highest rate of motor vehicle thefts in the country. So far in 2023, there have been 108 car thefts at the airport, out of a total 2,568 car thefts in the city. The top Denver locations for stolen car reports are the Pikes Peak Shuttle Lot, with 43 reports, followed by La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham at the airport, with 16. An apartment complex comes in third, and there’s a three-way tie for fourth between the East and West garages at the airport and the RTD Central Park Station, each of which report twelve car thefts."

Vehicles Are Flying Out of Denver Airport Parking Lots...With Thieves Behind the Wheels

The driver of a stolen Ford-150 Shelby offers this advice: "Pay for the Uber."

www.westword.com

 

[3rdgen]

Good to know. Thank you. In the past I have parked at United parking lot cause my uncle works there and monitored the truck. This year the lot is under construction so couldnt park it there this year. I drove it out last weekend, because our summer CO trips are normally a road warrior vacation and I have been wanting to run Mosquito and Tin Cup. Thinking I will probably drive it home or park it at my aunt and uncles in Littleton.

 

[mcgaskins]

My Cruiser is at the shop now due to cats, o2 sensors and fuel lines cut and stolen at the Pikes Peak lot. DEN and Denver police don’t seem to care about the rampant theft and vandalism there as evidenced by lack of security and cameras. Not to mention there is little penalty for getting caught these days.

 

[BritKLR]

This stuff drives me nuts.......I park at DIA 5-6 times a year and pay their ridiculous parking prices and yet they can't be bothered to address this issue! Good thing they just received their APO award for Parking Lot Security"!

"Accredited Parking Organization (APO) is a designation for parking, transportation, and mobility organizations that have achieved a comprehensive standard of excellence. Launched in 2015 by IPMI, the accreditation recognizes best practices in responsible parking management and operations, access management, customer service, professional development, security, sustainability and more."

 

[3rdgen]

My Cruiser is at the shop now due to cats, o2 sensors and fuel lines cut and stolen at the Pikes Peak lot. DEN and Denver police don’t seem to care about the rampant theft and vandalism there as evidenced by lack of security and cameras. Not to mention there is little penalty for getting caught these days.

Are you getting OEM replacements? Im also curious to know what shop you went to, seeing that I will need the same parts replaced and they will know exactly whats needed. Ill be calling my insurance company this morning to figure out how this will all play out.

 

[HDavis]

Sorry to hear about your cats at 61st and Pena. That station, the hotels and the private garages in that area are ripe for stolen vehicles and cat thefts and our Toyota's seem to be a prime target. Here is a recent thread recommending area exhaust shops. Being from Illinois you may find out that it's much more expensive here than it would be back home to have them replaced. Thats because in Colorado it must be Carb compliant and no shop in town will install one that isn't.

Exhaust Repair-Front Range Area Recommendations-'97 LC

Hello I am looking some recommendations for exhaust shops or independent fabricator to build me an exhaust system from the Y-pipe to the tail pipe. My Y-pipe is starting to leak. Would it make more sense to just buy the magnuson or OEM Toyota Y-pipe w/cat and have the rest fabricated? I have...

risingsun4x4club.org

This is really a systemic problem, not just airports. RTD Struggles and most metropolitan airports struggle with it just the same. If you have a large parking lot where thief's know people will be gone for 8+ hours or multiple days, they go where the opportunity is.

I am very well versed in airports specifically DIA and know the property and the buildings better than many ever will. It's also like shooting fish in a barrel, there are probably 6000+ cars in this lot at this moment, it's pretty easy to take your time to find a target and avoid being spotted.

Given the infrastructure and manpower required to monitor these systems it is just not feasible to have enough cameras and security to monitor the sheer number of parking spaces. I believe that alternative systems could be designed to help reduce the number, but we really need to address these crimes wholistically to make an impact that is worth our efforts.

 

[3rdgen]

Thank you Hans. Currently I am at the mercy of State Farm. Unfortunately, I cant get an appraisal until Tuesday morning. From there, they will set up a tow and choice of a few shops. Thankfully, I have access to another vehicle while I am out here.

At the moment I don't mind the carb compliance. Illinois has emissions too but never had a shop quote for cat replacement before. My uncle had a cat go bad on a Ford Escape and gave me a heads up that the independent shop he normally goes to would only put a new one in that had Ford stamped on it. And since I should only be paying $500 of the total cost, I am going to push for OEM replacements.

 

[J1000]

In CO you have the choice of repair shops you don't have to use the one that the insurance recommends.

 

[DaveInDenver]

They can't hope to ever identify someone who's there stealing converters or even a whole car but God have mercy on someone who doesn't pay their parking fee. For that they'll have public enemy #1 tracked down in no time with the full suite of license plate readers, cameras and databases feeding into their fusion centers and a strike team at their door within the day.

 

[J1000]

My uncle used to work out at DIA and the security for employees is appallingly light. I'm guessing that these theft rings have friends on the "inside."

 

[nuclearlemon]

they have audio systems to determine gun shots...why can't they determine if there's a cordless sawzall on an exhaust?

are the recyclers not required to report suspicious deals like pawn shops are supposed to? if they get busted receiving then they get super stiff fines/prison as if they were the thieves

we used to shoot horse thieves. we should go back to that. cars are responsible for people being able to survive like horses were.

 

[Stuckinthe80s]

This stuff drives me nuts.......I park at DIA 5-6 times a year and pay their ridiculous parking prices and yet they can't be bothered to address this issue! Good thing they just received their APO award for Parking Lot Security"!

"Accredited Parking Organization (APO) is a designation for parking, transportation, and mobility organizations that have achieved a comprehensive standard of excellence. Launched in 2015 by IPMI, the accreditation recognizes best practices in responsible parking management and operations, access management, customer service, professional development, security, sustainability and more."

View attachment 117804

WTF?!?!? Seriously?!?!? Is this an award they came up with and were the only ones in the running for?

 

[mcgaskins]

Are you getting OEM replacements? Im also curious to know what shop you went to, seeing that I will need the same parts replaced and they will know exactly whats needed. Ill be calling my insurance company this morning to figure out how this will all play out.

Yes I'm getting OEM replacements and the initial estimate to replace and repair everything was north of $6k. I'm using Japanese Auto in Wheat Ridge, and they've been awesome to work with. I've used them for all kinds of stuff in the past for several vehicles and always had a good experience. If you talk to them, ask for Matt and tell them Matt with the 200 sent you

 

[DaveInDenver]

WTF?!?!? Seriously?!?!? Is this an award they came up with and were the only ones in the running for?

They won the Second Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

 

[60wag]

Are the private lots, like Wally Park, any better security than the public lots?

 

[3rdgen]

Yes I'm getting OEM w and the initial estimate to replace and repair everything was north of $6k. I'm using Japanese Auto in Wheat Ridge, and they've been awesome to work with. I've used them for all kinds of stuff in the past for several vehicles and always had a good experience. If you talk to them, ask for Matt and tell them Matt with the 200 sent you

Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it. I'll be looking into having mine taken there.

 

[AlpineAccess]

How many people who are flying park at long term parking; either Mt. Elbert or Pikes Peak. and then leave within a few hours or less?

Every plate is recorded entering and exiting the lot along with date/time stamps. They have access and exit control, the information they need to identify criminal activity, and a contract police force. A single officer running plates and conducting traffic stops on violations at the exit, even infrequently, would create a much higher risk factor for criminals. I fly frequently and have never seen an officer at the access points.

I did see that they put a few portable camera masts in the parking lot over the winter, but didn't see them there this week. Maybe they can put up a few no stealing signs to really strike some fear into these people.

 

[DaveInDenver]

How many people who are flying park at long term parking; either Mt. Elbert or Pikes Peak. and then leave within a few hours or less?

Every plate is recorded entering and exiting the lot along with date/time stamps. They have access and exit control, the information they need to identify criminal activity, and a contract police force. A single officer running plates and conducting traffic stops on violations at the exit, even infrequently, would create a much higher risk factor for criminals. I fly frequently and have never seen an officer at the access points.

I did see that they put a few portable camera masts in the parking lot over the winter, but didn't see them there this week. Maybe they can put up a few no stealing signs to really strike some fear into these people.

The lots are enclosed, too, right? So it should be pretty straightfoward to figure out. Either they drove in and out in less than a day or they're jumping the fence. But maybe they're smart enough to rotate with two cars, drive in one, leave it, drive out another. Or someone's helping. I had the plate on Imelda in an odd location where the plate camera wasn't pointed and booth attendants often had to get out of the shack and record it manually. So if they obscure or move it then it may not be hard to avoid.

 

[AlpineAccess]

While I have this idea that the airport could do more, I'd put my money on them having spent a lot more time looking at this issue than we ever will.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it likely doesn't matter if they intercept these guys or not if they get released the next day and are back with a bit more experience on how to avoid getting caught.