Catalytic Converter Price per KG - How to Count Up?

You may know that catalytic converters should be sold when they are clogged or malfunctioning. These are not the parts like mufflers that need to be given away to scrapyards or metal scrapers just to avoid environmental problems or gathering some trash in your garage. Cat converters contain precious metals and cost some money even when they are not working anymore.

But how much should a catalytic converter cost when it's broken or clogged? Today, we'll discuss the price-per-kilogram question and see if it's a good way to count. Unfortunately, it's hard to answer with just one sentence, so read on to find out more about catalytic converter prices.

Can you count the potential price of an old cat knowing just its weight?

No, it's impossible. The scrap price of a catalytic converter will certainly depend on its size and weight, but it's not the key factor. Or let's say it's not the only factor you may think of.

Here's what decides the price of your old converter:

• precious metal prices- this is one of the most important factors to consider and it changes all the time;
• the weight of precious metals in your cat converter- every cat model is unique, there are tables and databases where you can check the potential scrap price knowing the serial number of the cat;
• the condition of the catalytic converter- this is also important because sometimes people try to sell to recycling companies broken and empty cats with no ceramic honeycombs inside them, these cats are worthless;
• the way you sell your cat- you can sell it to an exhaust shop or a scrapyard near you and get just some dollars while you may sell it to a recycling company and get much more revenue.

So, every cat converter is estimated before the buyer will tell you the price they are ready to pay for it. The most important factor is the serial number which decides how much the cat may cost. And also the buyer will look at the condition and decide whether there is a risk of getting less metals out of the cat.

What's the average price per kilogram of a cat converter?

The average weight of catalytic converters is about 5 kilograms or approximately 10 pounds. Today though the companies started using lighter cats and pre-cats, so the average weight goes down to 2-3 kilograms.

If we take the average weight of a catalytic converter at 5 kilos and the average scrap price of a used converter at $160, we get the average price per kilo which equals about $32. But this will tell you nothing because each cat is individually estimated and studied by potential buyers.

Anyway, if someone offers you less money than $32 per 1 kilo of your catalytic converters, you should try and find some other options to sell your cat.

Who will offer the best prices?

We know several ways to sell your catalytic converter that is not functioning anymore. Exhaust shops, scrapyards, and resellers or middlemen are the most popular ways to sell your old converter. But they pay little money and never offer a good price. They just want to resell the converter.

But you may use eBay to sell your cat to a private buyer (if the cat converter still works) or recycling companies (if the cat is completely dead).

How can you check the price for your cat converter?

We know a lot of people asking questions about the prices of their cats. Unfortunately, we don't buy or sell converters, so we can't answer every person individually. But we can tell you where you should go to get the estimated price or even the price offer from a company ready to buy your old converter.

Here's what you should do:

• take the cat off your vehicle and prepare it - clean a bit to see the serial number and condition;
• take pictures that would show the overall condition of the cat and the serial number;
• find websites of recycling companies that buy catalytic converters;
• find the way you can quote on those websites - this is usually pretty straightforward;
• get the price offers and you will know exactly how much these companies are ready to pay.

After you get the price offers, you may choose whether you want to sell your catalytic converter or not. No one will blame you if you just reject the offers. At least, you will know the up-to-date price for your catalytic converter.

The best way to sell an old cat converter

We believe that the best way to sell the cat converter is to sell it directly to a recycling company. This is the fastest and the easiest way for you and it will also give you the average or even the above-average price.

For this, you should follow the steps we've described in the previous section of this article and then find a company that is ready to pay you more money than other buyers. This is a straightforward process.

After a recycling company buys these old converters, it will recycle them and take precious metals out. All other materials are used in different spheres or recycled to not pose any danger to the environment. While precious metals are sold to industrial companies all over the country and help reduce mining scopes of these elements.

This makes selling an old cat converter to a recycling company one of the most eco-friendly ways of dealing with scrap parts.

How much can companies earn after recycling the cat converter?

Your catalytic converter contains, on average, 5-7 grams of platinum, 3-6 grams of palladium, and up to 2 grams of rhodium. Given their prices always change, we can't predict how much money the company will earn after recycling. But what we can say is that these companies don't earn as much as you can think.

Yes, an average cat converter will contain precious metals for about $1,200 or maybe even more. But the question is how much money the company will spend to get its hands on these metals. They need to pay for a license, taxes, salaries, energy bills, etc. Also, the process of recycling cat converters is not that simple. They need to use a lot of heat energy, so they spend some money on expensive resources.

Eventually, they can earn a hundred dollars from each converter. Don't forget that the majority of these companies now pay for shipping. This reduces their revenues even more.

Should you count how much a kilogram of your converter costs?

We believe the price per kilogram factor is not that important. An old big torpedo catalytic converter from a Ford vehicle may weigh over 30 pounds or 14 kilos. A small bread loaf converter may weigh around 10 pounds or 5 kilos. But it doesn't mean that the torpedo cat should cost three times more than the bread loaf converter.

The secret of catalytic converter prices is in their contents. If a certain cat contains a lot of rhodium, it will cost a lot. Other cats may only contain platinum and their scrap prices will be far more pessimistic.

So, keep an eye on the type, origin, and the serial number of your catalytic converter, not on its weight.