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Learning About Catalytic Converter PricingOver the years, we have heard many stories about different catalytic converter pricing and how people always feel like they are getting cheated while selling their cats. Well…we hear you and have even been in that boat before; not knowing what something is worth is one of the hardest things to do when scrapping because you are essentially trusting whatever scrap yard or catalytic converter purchaser to tell you the truth…that’s tough. So, let’s take a step back and talk about where the prices for catalytic converters come from and go from there. What’s Inside A Catalytic Converter?That has been a question we have heard and talked about many times, but we want to try to make it a little clearer to learn. There are three primary metals that are used inside of converters as well as other materials.
Suggested Reading: How Do Catalytic Converters Work? Comparing Catalytic Converters to Copper WireIf you have 100 pounds of THHN and the copper content is 75%, that means that 100 pounds * 75% = 75 pounds of copper, and at $1 per pound, it is worth $75. That was easy, right? Straightforward? Sure! But how do we do that for catalytic converters that is the problem? The everyday scrapper, auto wrecker, parts guy, or scrap yard generally cannot do that because they need to have a lot of the same type of cat to get that percentage of each precious metal, and THAT is very hard to do. 100 Pounds of Catalytic Converters could have various amounts of those precious metals compared to the next 100 pounds. This problem is why catalytic converters must be priced per piece, not by weight. How Much Metal Can You Recover From A Catalytic Converter?With thousands of different grades of catalytic converters out there, you would need to collect, well, thousands of catalytic converters of each and then assay each of them as separate lots to get a true percentage and know what each is worth that day. Let’s apply the copper example to a sample catalytic converter recovery. Let’s say that platinum is worth $100 per ounce in today’s market, a nice round number (again…we hope it’s worth more than that while you are reading this!!!). You find a car with a catalytic converter, and just by chance, you can refine that cat down and get just the platinum recovered from it. Assuming none of the inside honeycombs was missing and the recovery goes perfectly, maybe you get 0.5 ounces of platinum out of it, which multiplied by $100 per ounce would equal $50. You may think that that cat is worth $50, but you are not taking a few things into account. The recovery process, waiting to get paid, profit from whoever you would be selling it to, etc. All of these will make the cat only worth $30 on the open market, and that is where the price will come from. CLICK FOR PRICE CHARTWhat Are Diesel Catalytic Converters & DPFsSince the late 2000s, the use of DPFs (Diesel Particulate Filters) has been introduced into the diesel world as a form of a new catalytic converter. There was a problem with diesel engines generally being dirtier burn than gas engines. We are sure that many of you have been driving and have seen that black smoke billowing out of a dump truck or tractor-trailer on the road and said…yuck! Well, so did many auto and truck makers, and they started to do something to change it (new laws helping to cut down on greenhouse emissions also had something to do with it). These new DPFs have been able to help cut down on the black smoke emissions and help diesel trucks, vans, buses, and other cars burn much cleaner and more efficiently…..and have created a new category of catalytic converters for scrap! These DPFs and the catalytic converters that will go along with them generally have a much higher value (anywhere from 3 to 200 times!!!) than the older catalytic converters from earlier models of the same vehicles and trucks. Thus…we have seen the scrap prices start to flourish since many of these vehicles have been on the road since 2009! How To Know The True Price Of CatsOne answer…impossible, but we will explain. Unless you have 100 catalytic converters off of the same vehicle, all containing the same amount of material, and can do an assay of those cats through a trusted processor, it will be very hard to know the number of precious metals inside. This is why scrap yards and catalytic converter buyers exist, to buy these from you (at hopefully a fair market rate) and then pair them with other cats they have and ship them to downstream vendors and processors. The value of catalytic converters per piece comes from many buyers doing large assays of the same type of cats, knowing what the recovery of precious metals will be from the inside, and then being able to use a formula based on the spot market pricing on the platinum, palladium, and rhodium markets to create a price. CLICK TO QUOTE YOUR CATAdvice on Cashing Catalytic Converters InWatch two primary markets, platinum and palladium. These are the two largest indicators for the market and how the recovery for catalytic converters will happen down the road….compare the prices to the last 12 months of pricing, or even 5 years, and you can see where the metals markets are and where the prices could be. Related Articles:
Can I get money for my old catalytic converter?The answer is yes! Even though your converter may no longer be doing its job, it can still be recycled for the valuable metals it contains. iScrap can help you sell and recycle your catalytic converter when the time comes. Keep reading to learn more about how you can get money for your old catalytic converter.
Which catalytic converter is worth the most for scrap?10 Cars With The Most Expensive Catalytic Converters. How much is a stolen catalytic converter worth?Replacing one can cost a motorist from $1,000 to $3,000, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an insurance industry group that works to combat insurance fraud and crime. Police say thieves can get from $100 to $150 for each converter.
How do I know how much my catalytic converter is worth?For a web-based app, you can go to https://www.converterdatabase.com/. Encode the serial number or a description of the catalytic converter to get the information you need. This database also provides the current market value of platinum, palladium, and rhodium.
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