unless the cost to extract the metals from a catalytic converter is > $95, and the replacement is a spare catalytic converter (from a junkyard say)
There are numerous catalytic converters for sale on Amazon around the $100 price point. If there’s $500 of rare metals inside, I think I’ll supplement my tech job and do a bunch of drop shipping from Amazon to a scrap metal place someplace.
Justification was diminishing returns as the distribution of cars on the road has naturally changed and eliminated many problems.
Save money and future proof yourself from further thefts.
Instead out of "fairness" or greed, they'd require everyone to get every car tested every X years after Y years of age when sampling would make a lot more sense.
If you’re trying to defeat them, a simple RC or other timer circuit on the signal pins and enough current flow on the other pins to stand in for the heater (if equipped) will result in the ECU concluding everything is fine. Presumably someone trying to work around a catalytic converter issue would be more likely than average to fall into this category.
Most workarounds you see on the market are patched ECU firmware to fib a scaled second O2 sensor value based on the first, so all of the diagnostic tests keep running.
You’re seeing cars fail smog with these workarounds because states like California have started checking calibration IDs against the manufacturer’s listed values at the time of production.
The aftermarket units you see on Amazon skimp out on materials so they have lower purchase prices. They may have significantly less or sometimes zero catalytic material. While these wouldn't fool EPA inspectors hooking test equipment up to a vehicle coming right off of Ford's production line, they'll likely pass a visual inspection by your local Jiffy Lube.