If you have old catalytic converters to sell or recycle, you may wonder what the best option is. Who will pay the best price for these parts? The best place to sell a catalytic converter is usually a scrapyard, if you have one or two converters but maybe not if you are selling in bulk. The best answer depends partly on the strategy you want to use in order to sell the converters and make some money. You should also know that catalytic converter prices vary based on several factors. As you probably knew, catalytic converters are valuable to recyclers because of the precious metals they contain but there are two other factors.
These things also make the question of who pays the most a little bit complicated to answer.
What Determines Used Catalytic Converter Prices?
The single most important variable in pricing is the model of the part. The market value of converters varies greatly based mainly on the amount of PGMs (platinum group metals) in the part. The market for recycled PGMs is not going away because platinum, palladium, and rhodium have a range of industrial and commercial uses outside the automotive industry.
You want to find a buyer who can retrieve and sell the metals. The market for used catalytic converters is effectively nonexistent anyway. More likely, you will end up selling your parts to a used parts dealer, for a song, and they’ll sell the converters to a PGM recovery operation that can extract the metals and sell them.
You really have two types of converters hitting the used market. Old parts that are reusable may simply be salvaged and put on another car. This is a realistic option because many cars reach the end of their service life before the catalytic converter wears out. A catalytic converter can last for 10 years or more. Old converters may be worn out and due for recycling, or the owners may prefer to make a little money off the precious metals.
Note that not all converters are fundamentally the same. Newer converters have a lower PGM content, which is because they are more efficient. Those parts may have less value to PGM recovery operations for that reason. They’d still be worth recycling though. Diesel engines also use catalytic converters though the technology is not exactly the same.
Not every catalytic converter buyer is the same and you cannot assume the first place you call will offer a good price. Use our Group Catalyst app to get current prices for your used catalytic converters.
Three Ways to Sell
1 - Scrapyards
The main buyer of used catalytic converters will be scrapyards. Not all scrapyards are the same though. Some have experience buying used converters with the intent of recovering the precious metals they contain. By and large, conventional scrap dealers are not a good option for recycling specialized auto parts like catalytic converters. Other places may not know how to price your old converters correctly, so you get less than you would if you went to a specialist to sell a catalytic converter.
2 - Auto repair shops
These businesses may also buy used catalytic converters that are in good shape. This is an option, but keep in mind that repair shops fix things. They are probably only interested in usable catalytic converters that they can put on vehicles. They are buying used parts at wholesale prices. They may not be interested in bulk purchases either, so they are not a good option for most commercial sellers.
3 – Specialized recyclers
Specialty recyclers are the place to go if you are not in a position to decan, smelt, and sell the metals in those old catalytic converters. This is a specialized business, so it will pay off in the end to deal with an experienced recycler. Those businesses can decan (remove the honeycomb core of a converter) correctly, sell the cores, hedge the value of the precious metals, and avoid any mistakes that will cost you money. Improper handling will damage converter cores and potentially reduce their value. Decanning makes it impossible to know what kind of converter the honeycomb came out of. This makes it impossible for a buyer to offer fair market value for the metals inside.
Remember that one variable you need to consider is how many catalytic converters you have. If you have a few of them, you may not have the option of selling to a commercial recycling operation. Those businesses often only purchase in bulk. However, all is not lost. If you have the storage space, keep collecting old catalytic converters. You may also be able to team up with other small businesses to combine and make a bulk sale to a large operation like Belanger.
Many Factors Determine Catalytic Converter Prices
You have a range of options available when you want to sell a catalytic converter. The best option is probably to go with an experienced PGM recycler or recovery operation versus a regular scrapyard or a repair shop. If you’d like to streamline the process of pricing used converters and managing your inventory, check out our Group Catalyst app for Android and iOS devices. Belanger also decans and hedges PGMs on behalf of converter owners.
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