Caterpillar Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – How Much for a Giant?

You can see that cat converters are sold for decent money. People in specialized forums about heavy equipment often boast that they got hundreds of dollars for a cat that was going to be thrown away or sold for a couple of bucks to a local scrapyard. If you have a caterpillar catalytic converter in your hands, the worst thing is to just go to a scrapyard.

These cats can be sold at a good price to a company that is specialized in recycling catalytic converters. You should be ready to spend some time reading our article and then spend another hour or two to get the best price offer for your old Caterpillar cat. We won't advertise any companies; we'll just tell you about the actual experience of dozens of people who daily sell these cats.

Here's what we will be talking about:

1. Caterpillar cat converters - what are they and how do they look?
2. DPF Caterpillar cat converter prices - how much can you get?
3. Who will buy a specialized catalytic converter from heavy equipment?
4. Are there any important things you should know about selling big cats?

Let's get started!

So, what are those big Caterpillar catalytic converters?

If you own some heavy equipment and need to maintain and repair it, you know that the service costs a lot of money. Once something is broken in your Caterpillar equipment, you should seek a loan unless the breakdown is covered by the warranty. Catalytic converters are also prone to damage and clogging, so they won't live very long. And you will need to replace them once they are done.

In most Caterpillar units, diesel engines are used. That's why these units usually have one big DPF which acts like a cat converter and particulate filter. This is one big unit that can be recycled and is now being hunted for by different catalytic converter buyers. Why? Because it contains some precious metals.

Here are some important facts about Caterpillar catalytic converters:

• these cats may look just like passenger cars' catalytic converters but they are much bigger and heavier;
• they are usually presented as a single unit in the exhaust system of the heavy equipment;
• a lot of models have hidden cat converters to avoid theft, this is an important feature of nearly all fresh Caterpillars;
• these cats can be replaced by a simple pipe if you don't need to pass the fog test regularly, but anyway, the exhaust gasses will contain much more harmful elements;
• also, these catalytic converters are very well protected from rust and other damaging factors that can destroy the cat converter easily;
• buying a new OEM cat converter will be a big challenge for your budget, they may cost thousands of dollars and they may only be bought from Caterpillar dealers.

So, the cats are big and potentially quite expensive. But be careful - you shouldn't just cut them out because carelessly cut converters will be suspected to have been stolen and will not be bought by recycling companies.

Also, you will need some documents to prove that the cat converter (or the Caterpillar heavy equipment) belongs to you and you haven't stolen it. Also, these units can't be sold for cash in many states. If you want everything to be clear and legal, better avoid selling your cat converters to some unknown companies or private sellers who offer cash.

What's the optimal price for the Caterpillar catalytic converters?

The optimal price depends on what kind of catalytic converter we are talking about. The DPF cats from heavy equipment may cost from $20 to $800. The average price for the Caterpillar cat will be $250-$350.

But if you have one of those huge box-like catalytic converters that are only installed in the equipment powered by enormously big engines, you can get much more money. For example, you may get $800 for a big-box catalytic converter that contains a lot of blocks filled with precious metals.

But before you jump with joy, let's look at some factors that can sharply change the price offers for your cat:

1. The serial number on your catalytic converter body. The number indicates the type of the cat, so that recycling companies and other specialists can say for sure how much they can earn after dealing with such a thing.
2. Origin of the converter. Sometimes, we've seen aftermarket catalytic converters in Caterpillar equipment. Usually, those aren't bought at a good price - the maximum offer is about $20.
3. The size and shape of the converter. They are easily seen with the serial number, but if you can't get the number for some reason, the dimensions and weight will help you.
4. The prices for the precious metals. Market prices tend to change every single day. And you never know whether platinum or some other metals are going to sell at better prices tomorrow.
5. The person or the company that buys your cat. Well, this is the only thing you can control on this big list. And this is something that can dramatically change the eventual price of your catalytic converter.

We know guys who sold their OEM cat converters from Caterpillar equipment for $50 just because a scrapyard worker offered that price and they didn't want to spend their time searching for any better offers.

We also know companies that managed to sell their big Caterpillar catalytic converters for $850 each just because they knew well what they should do. And this is the key to better prices - knowing where you should sell the catalytic converters that you aren't going to use anymore in your equipment.

Who can buy your Caterpillar catalytic converters?

We don't know why but the most popular way to sell a catalytic converter is to get it to a scrapyard. This is NOT the best way to deal with a big DPF scrap cat from your Caterpillar. This way, you will get half of what you should get or even less. And this may lead to big revenue loss.

Scrapyards don't recycle catalytic converters - they only seek some ways to sell them at better prices. Also, scrapyard workers aren't usually specialists in cat converters, so they will try to buy your cat as cheap as possible.

Basically, we see three decent ways of selling a cat from your Caterpillar:

1. eBay. We wouldn't choose this way because it won't bring a bigger price but you will need to wait for weeks or even months until someone buys your catalytic converter. This is not going to be really cool.
2. Middlemen. They are everywhere. These are just people, private buyers, who buy and then sell catalytic converters. They are resellers but they differ a lot from scrapyards because they really know the prices of certain cats. If the actual price of your DPF cat is $800, a middleman will offer you about $500 which is not bad.
3. Recycling companies. These are just some companies that officially recycle catalytic converters and can buy them from you. They buy cats at a good price and they are ready to even pay for delivery. We would choose one of these companies.

It's not hard to find a recycling company that is ready to pay you more money. For example, you can find 5 companies and quote. Each of them will tell you how much they are ready to pay for the cat. For this, you will just need to send them some pictures of the converter and give details about your Caterpillar. After comparing these offers, you can choose the best one.

What about new cat converters?

If you still need to use a catalytic converter for passing fog tests, you can just install an aftermarket cat. But usually, those ones aren't very efficient. Many companies still decide to use OEM Caterpillar converters because they are more effective in cleaning exhaust gasses and passing fog tests.

Also, OEM converters are more durable and they will still cost some money when they are broken. If you count everything up, it appears that buying an OEM converter is not much more expensive than buying an aftermarket cat of the so-so quality.

Unfortunately, the prices are just insane. If you want a new OEM big-box catalytic converter from Caterpillar, you will have to pay thousands of dollars. The prices also depend on the market prices for precious metals.

Final words

If you have an old malfunctioning catalytic converter from a Caterpillar in your hands, you should just sell it. Choose a recycling company that is ready to give you more money for the cat. Sometimes, you will just need to spend some more time to find a better deal but it's worth the money you can get.

Be careful if you want to sell a cat converter to a scrapyard or to a middleman to get some quick dollars. You will probably have a much worse price offer in this case.