The main reason for their high prices is probably the high value of platinum group metals (PGMs) that the devices rely on. All catalytic converters use small amounts of platinum, palladium, and rhodium to drive reactions that turn noxious exhaust gases into things that are much less harmful to people and the environment. When you understand how converters are made and what they are made of, you can understand why used catalytic converter prices tend to be so high. As emission control devices, they have to meet exacting standards for cleaning vehicle exhaust gases, a fact that also tends to make individual units more expensive. These factors also help to explain why one expensive catalytic converter can look pretty much like another that is much cheaper.
Catalytic Converter Design
In short, a catalytic converter is a honeycomb-shaped filter inside a stainless steel container that bolts into an exhaust system. The “filter” is a complex ceramic honeycomb covered in a washcoat containing small amounts of palladium, platinum, and (sometimes) rhodium. The washcoat is not necessarily easy to make or apply. The complex honeycomb form of the converter’s core is also complicated, which makes manufacturing a bit more costly.
This honeycomb design, with many tiny passages for exhaust gases, creates a huge surface area in a small space. When the honeycomb gets hot enough it can begin converting carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides into carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen gas. All modern converter designs on gas engines do this. The details are a bit more complicated, but that is the basic idea. Some engines use a simpler, two-way converter that doesn’t work on nitrogen oxides, and diesel engines use a slightly different design but probably 80 to 90% of converters you’ll see at a repair shop or in a scrap yard work as described here.
The effectiveness of these devices depends on a combination of careful engineering and strategic use of those catalyst metals.
The Cost of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)
The precious metals that make a converter into an emission control device but those metals are expensive! A look at recent PGM market prices per ounce will help you understand why catalytic converter prices are so high:
Platinum $865
Palladium $1,849
Rhodium $14,200
Of course, prices vary daily and vary somewhat from one market to another. The point is clear enough though: A catalytic converter using a quarter ounce of platinum and a quarter ounce of palladium has almost $700 of precious metals in it, using those recent prices. As these metals are very rare, it takes quite a bit of work to extract each ounce from the ground, which raises the cost. Rarity also increases the environmental impact of mining each ounce of platinum, palladium, or rhodium because miners have to extract so much material.
Manufacturers or catalytic converters, oxygen sensors, and other things that use platinum group metals like to buy recovered metals, so used catalytic converters are valuable when the vehicles they were in have reached the end of their lives. Competition for the platinum, palladium, and rhodium in those old catalytic converters is extensive.
Now you can probably understand why used catalytic converters are valuable. The cost of making a converter that meets stringent environmental regulations also tends to raise the cost.
Regulatory Compliance
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required a catalytic converter on cars and light trucks since 1975. A device that simply has the components of a converter will not automatically meet pollution control requirements. Most states have one set of emission control regulations, taken from the EPA, while others use stricter standards based on tougher California pollution control laws. A tougher standard from the California Air Resources Board applies in that state, plus Maine, New York, and Colorado.
Those converters have to be more efficient. That increased efficiency comes at a cost because the devices need to use a bit more of those expensive PGMs. Manufacturing a catalytic converter that meets those exacting emissions control standards isn’t cheap, and of course, the government won’t take your word for it. Testing and certification add to the manufacturing cost, which adds to catalytic converter prices.
Three Things Drive Catalytic Converter Prices
Catalytic converters are rather expensive because of the rare and valuable metals they use to clean a vehicle’s exhaust, because of regulatory requirements, and because of the high manufacturing standards that they must meet. Catalytic converter prices are likely to stay high but this means there will also be a robust market for scrap expensive catalytic converters. If you want to sell used converters in small numbers or in bulk, pricing them and organizing your inventory can be a bit of a headache. Our Group Catalyst App for Apple and Android devices can make things easier. Download it to get current prices for each model and more.
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