海角大神

It was, by far, the loudest noise I鈥檇 ever heard come out of my 2008 Toyota Prius. So loud, I immediately pulled back into the driveway and called the dealership. 鈥淵our catalytic converter has been stolen,鈥� they said.

Thus was launched a two-week odyssey involving insurance, police, repair shop, going carless, and a lot of research. The catalytic converter, I quickly learned, is the antipollution device on an exhaust system. And it contains precious metals 鈥� platinum, palladium, and rhodium 鈥� the value of which has soared in recent years. As a result,聽聽nationwide, and not just in cities.

Thieves can make good money stealing 鈥渃ats鈥� and selling them to scrap dealers. 鈥淭hey use a battery-powered saw,鈥� Tommy the insurance adjuster said. 鈥淚t takes 30 seconds.鈥� And, it turns out, my vintage of Prius is targeted,聽.

The repair isn鈥檛 cheap and using my insurance would delay the process. Realistically, I鈥檇 be without my car for two weeks. That led to the next decision: whether to rent a car. I hesitated ... I love to drive. But it was an easy call. I live in Washington, D.C., and can get anywhere by foot, bus, Metro, Lyft, or hitching rides. Just no trips to Costco.

The two weeks flew by. I missed my baby, but I got back into the habit of using public transportation, after a two-year pandemic break. And combining my daily walk with grocery shopping was marvelously efficient. When my car was ready, I even waited a day to pick it up.

Now it鈥檚 home, parked out front under a street lamp. A special shield covers the new catalytic converter. Of course, I could put the Prius in my garage, but, well, that鈥檚 full of stuff. One thing at a time.