BMW E46 Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – Our Investigation

Old catalytic converters form a great business for some companies. They buy your malfunctioning BMW cats, take out some precious metals from them and sell these metals to industrial companies of all kinds. Through this, they make money and also do a good thing by preventing these old cats from accumulating in scrapyards and dumps.

But what can you get from your old catalytic converter? Today, we are going to tell you about the scrap price of your BMW catalytic converter that is not functioning anymore. Read on to find out the estimates. We will also tell you how exactly you can sell the converter in today's world in order to get more money.

Precisely, we'll be talking about the following:

1. The types and location of cat converters in your BMW E46.
2. How much should a BMW E46 catalytic converter cost?
3. Can you find a better price for the converter taken off the BMW vehicle?
4. When is it time to replace cat converters in your BMW E46?

Let's get started!

BMW E46 cat converters types and locations

The E46 is the fourth generation of the legendary compact 3-Series that was first introduced in 1997 and was manufactured up to 2006. Within this time, it was changed and modified several times. Today, we'll only concentrate on the technical part because this is what's important for us to understand the scrap price of the cat converters from your E46.

So, the vehicle had L4 and V6 gasoline engines and also some diesel engines that weren't sold much in the US. The L4 engines may have one or two catalytic converters and the V6 ones may have three cats in the exhaust assembly. Usually, one or two pre-cats are used while one main cat is located closer to the muffler. Pre-cats are placed near exhaust manifolds.

Here's what you should know:

• in a BMW E46, you can sell pre-cats and main cats, they both cost some money, but smaller pre-cats are not that expensive;
• original (OEM) cats are only valuable, you need to make sure that the cat converters you have were made by BMW;
• aftermarket catalytic converters may cost $20 or $30 and they aren't as valuable, so selling them is not very lucrative;
• the company used different types of converters in the E46, so you should find the serial number if it's possible with your cat;
• an average main cat converter in a BMW E46 will contain up to 7 grams of palladium, some platinum, and also a little rhodium;
• the BMW cats are very durable, so even after years of use they still look good and aren't rusty as hell;
• also, these cats aren't usually damaged inside, the ceramic honeycomb is usually intact which means they are sold at their full prices.

We can continue telling you about the BMW E46 catalytic converters, but we suppose these points are enough for today's task. The most important thing is to remember that everything we'll tell you today is about OEM cat converters. You can't sell any aftermarket cat at the same price, it's just impossible.

Now you know where you can find cat converters in your vehicle. Before cutting them off the car and preparing them for sale, you can try to find serial numbers on them and see if there are original. If not, selling them doesn't make much sense.

How much will an OEM BMW E46 cat converter cost?

We've mentioned that an OEM catalytic converter contains a certain amount of precious metals and this is basically why it can be sold at a good price. But what price are we talking about? Unfortunately, you can't sell a BMW cat converter at 8 hundred dollars, even though many blogs insist you can. We don't know where they take this information from, so we decided to check it out thoroughly.

Our estimates: a used BMW E46 catalytic converter (OEM one) should cost $160 to $220 for the main cat and $60 to $110 for a pre-cat.

Now, you should also know that we estimate the average prices by having a look at what recycling companies offer right now. But things may change. For example. palladium may go up in price and you will be able to get much more money for an old converter.

Here's how you can get up-to-date information on prices:

• go to scrapyards and ask them how much they can give you for a converter, but don't sell it to them right there and then;
• take pictures of your cat and send them to some recycling companies to quote - you may get much better price offers here;
• go to eBay and see how much people want to get for the same types of cat converters from a BMW;
• find a person in your city or town who buys out cat converters and inquire about the price.

There are some ways to find out the price for the cat. After you get all these estimates, all you need to do is just count the average price. Everything that is above your average will be a good deal.

Well, scrap cat prices depend on a dozen of factors like the price of precious metals, the time when you sell the converter, the company that you choose, and also the condition of the cat. Sometimes, broken and shabby converters will only be sold for $20 just because it's extremely risky for a company to buy such converters.

How can you get the best prices for your old BMW cat?

Well, selling a BMW E46 catalytic converter for little money doesn't make any sense at all. These cats are full of palladium which is now on the rise and you can find great price offers from numerous companies.

We would only use recycling companies that offer convenient services to buy your catalytic converters. Here is the simple step-by-step instruction on how to sell your E46 converter at a really good price:

• take the converter off your cat and clean it to find the serial number and to make sure it's an OEM part;
• take pictures of the cat so that the serial number could be seen;
• send those pictures to recycling companies and quote to know which price they are ready to pay for the cat;
• find as many recycling companies as you can, this way, you will have the opportunity to compare price offers;
• after that, choose the best offer and just ship the converter (shipping fees are often paid by recycling companies).

This is the fastest and the easiest way to sell the catalytic converter from your BMW E46 at a really good price. If you want to check whether there are opportunities for even higher prices, you can compare.

Actually, the only option that can bring you more money is eBay or any other marketplace with the option to advertise your goods for sale. But eBay sales are not really convenient because you never know how long you will wait for your client.

People buy old converters to pass fog tests or to repair them. So, if your E46 converter is destroyed or badly damaged, you won't be able to sell it at a good price on eBay.

How long do cat converters live in a BMW E46?

Catalytic converters live about 10 years or up to 100,000 miles, on average. But BMW cats are pretty tough and they can live longer. We know guys who have been driving their E46 sedans since they bought them new and they haven't had any problems with the cat converters.

Yes, they may notice now that they have lost some power of their engines, and the fog test shows the near-the-error amount of CO2 and NOx, but still, these cats are working and aren't causing any dreadful consequences when they get dirty or partially clogged and they can serve for decades.

Though, there is a point where you will still need to replace them. This is easy to understand by these symptoms:

• stalling - the engine just can't breathe and may stall when idling;
• loss of power - if the power loss is significant, you should check the converter's health;
• poor gas mileage - problems with the cat may cause bad oxygen sensor readings and problems with air-fuel mixture;
• check-engine light - if it flashes for no obvious reasons, you should take care of the cat;
• damaged converter - if the cat looks damaged, you should replace it as soon as possible;
• bad fog test results - this is an obvious sign that you need to deal with the converter.

In any BMW E46, a converter will be partially clogged now because these vehicles are really old and have high mileage on them. But the replacement is not really cheap.

Final words

Having an OEM BMW E46 catalytic converter in your hands is one of the best situations where you can earn some money. Take pics of it and quote online to get to know the price. After that choose the best offer and just sell the converter. You can make up to $250, on average, and even more, depending on the precious metals' prices and some other important factors.