A four-cylinder cargo van with great fuel economy, the 2021 Nissan NV200 is perfect for freight haulers, pallet movers, van dwellers, and everyone in between. Nevertheless, the 2021 NV200 is at risk of being targeted by one of the biggest blights facing car owners today—catalytic converter theft.

You probably know someone who has had their catalytic converter stolen over the last few years. If you do, then you almost certainly did a backflip when they told you how much it cost to replace.

If you’re looking for ways to better protect your Nissan NV200 against thieves, then look no further. In this article, we’ll tell you how to better protect your cat converter, what to do if it gets stolen, and how to use your

car insurance

to cover the cost to replace it.

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How to lower Nissan NV200 insurance costs

Is it easy to steal the catalytic converter from a Nissan NV200?

We’re sorry to say it, but your Nissan NV200 has a very high risk of having its catalytic converter stolen. Most NV200s have two catalytic converters, one in the engine manifold and one in the exhaust system underneath the vehicle.

Catalytic converters are one of the most common targets for thieves because they can easily be accessed through the underside of most vehicles.

There is another somewhat unique risk for vehicles like the NV200 specifically—thieves can and will target entire fleets of cargo vans since they are often parked outdoors and lined up side by side. This can be devastating if you are a small business owner and find that not one, but all of your work vehicles have been sabotaged throughout a single night.

Top Nissan NV200 years that catalytic converter thieves target

Pretty much every Nissan NV200 manufactured between 2009 and now is seriously prone to catalytic converter theft, since there is almost always at least one cat in the exhaust system below the car.

MORE:

Which cars are likely to have their catalytic converter stolen?

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Why are Nissan NV200 catalytic converters stolen?

Catalytic converters are highly targeted for

car theft

because they contain small amounts of rare and highly valuable metals rhodium, platinum, and palladium.

These metals form a filter that neutralizes harmful emissions from your exhaust system so they don’t get out and harm the atmosphere. The last few years have seen the value of these metals rise exponentially, resulting in a rise in catalytic converter theft across the country.

Here are the values of the precious metals in your NV200’s catalytic converter as of January 2023:

Platinum: $1,075 per ounce

Palladium: $1,658 per ounce

Rhodium: $12,350 per ounce

There is much less than an ounce of each of these metals in your car’s catalytic converter, but the low amount of material is offset by the fact that they can be stolen very easily. All it takes is for a thief to jack your van up a few inches, saw through the pipes holding your car in place, and make a clean getaway. Suddenly, you have a serious (and expensive) problem on your hands.

Nissan catalytic converter replacement cost

You might want to sit down for this one because RepairPal puts the average cost to replace a Nissan NV200 catalytic converter between $5,067 and $5,098.

You can probably save a little bit of money by using an aftermarket part, but there’s no way to avoid this particular financial beating.

MORE:

How to fix a catalytic converter without replacing it

How to prevent catalytic converter theft from a Nissan NV200

Chances are that catalytic converter thieves probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, so let’s go over a few methods you can use to keep your Nissan NV200 as safe as possible.

Park in a secure area

This sounds too easy, but parking in a garage or a well-lit area is one of the best strategies you can use to keep your cat safe. You could install some motion-activated lights above your driveway at home or park directly below a streetlight if you don’t have a driveway.

A car that’s in plain sight makes thieves more exposed and less likely to try anything.

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How to tell if a parking garage is liable for a stolen or damaged car

Buy a catalytic converter shield

You could also invest a little money into a theft prevention device like a catalytic converter shield, which is essentially a metal plate that covers your cats to prevent direct access.

The good folks at

Cat Security

already offer an anti-theft plate specifically for the 2013-2021 Nissan NV200. Even better, they offer bulk or wholesale purchases so you could easily equip your entire delivery fleet with car shields if you wanted to. The Cat Shield costs $500—much less than the cost of replacing a cat converter—and comes with full-color instructions for easy installation.

To top it all off, you could even get a discount from your insurance company just for installing one!

MORE:

The best anti-theft devices to keep your vehicle safe

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Put your VIN on the catalytic converter

It’s less direct than installing an anti-theft shield, but writing your unique VIN on the catalytic converter makes it much harder to sell on the black market.

Look for VIN etching events in your area hosted by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). You can also tag your cat at your local muffler shop if there are no NICB events in your area.

MORE:

How to check and decode a Nissan VIN

Invest in comprehensive insurance

While adding

comprehensive coverage

to your car insurance policy won’t prevent someone from stealing your catalytic converter, it will protect you from being saddled with the crushing replacement costs.

You can only file a claim for a stolen part if you have comprehensive insurance. Trust us, it’s better to go ahead and add

full-coverage insurance

to your policy now instead of wishing you had done so later.

What to do if your Nissan NV200’s catalytic converter is stolen

If the worst comes to pass and your NV200 ends up burglarized, your first course of action should be to call the police. They might be able to find some security footage depending on where you were parked, but they will file a police report regardless.

You’ll need a copy of that police report handy for the next step: contacting your insurance company. If you have comprehensive coverage, you can

file a car insurance claim

for the theft.

Your insurance company will then schedule a visit to the mechanic and cover the cost of a new catalytic converter, but only after you’ve paid your

comprehensive deductible

. Don’t worry, the deductible will be significantly less than the full replacement cost.

Without comprehensive coverage, you’ll be responsible both for replacing your catalytic converter and paying for it.

MORE:

How to know if your catalytic converter was stolen

Can you drive a Nissan NV200 without a catalytic converter?

You can still drive safely without a catalytic converter, but you shouldn't make a habit of it by any means.

For one thing, you need your NV200’s catalytic converter to pass emissions testing. Some areas require this to maintain your

vehicle registration

Your vehicle’s performance will suffer, as well, and you’ll begin to notice things like loud road noise and rough, uneven acceleration. Finally, the longer you drive around with a missing cat converter, the more harmful pollutants you release into the atmosphere.

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How to lower Nissan insurance costs