Chevy Express Van Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – Selling the Cat

Chevrolet Express has been manufactured since 1995 and it's one of the most successful vans and cargo vans on the market. Thousands of them are sold monthly and people keep buying them thanks to their durability, comfort, and practical functions. These vans are still made and sold new, but we'll be talking about older Express Van vehicles that already have problems with their cat converters.

Today, we'll be discussing the scrap price of the clogged or broken catalytic converters that are taken off the Chevy Express Van. How and where can you sell them? How much money can you get for them? And what should you know about these cats and the way you can get some money for these parts even when they are not working anymore?

Here's what we'll be talking about:

• Chevy Express Van catalytic converter types and sizes.
• What's the scrap price of these catalytic converters?
• Where and how can you sell the Chevy Express Van cat converter?
• Is the Chevy Express Van cat prone to theft?

Let's get started!

The types and sizes of Chevy Express Van converters

It's quite hard to generalize here because the vehicle has been in production for almost 30 years now and many generations have been changed. Every generation had some improvements in exhaust assembly and emission control systems, so the Chevy Express Van from the late 1990s will have a different type of cat than the new Express.

It means you will need to learn what type of cat is installed in your vehicle. First of all, you have to make sure you have the OEM cat. If not, it's better to stop reading now and just sell the cat to a scrapyard. Aftermarket catalytic converters are usually not very expensive and learning other strategies is just not going to pay off.

Here are some facts you should know about these cats:

• all Chevy Express Van vehicles have at least one catalytic converter, in some newer versions the number of cats may be up to four (pre-cats and main cats);
• also, the Chevrolet Express Van will have OEM General Motors cat converters in its exhaust assembly, these cats are not among the most expensive ones;
• to see if the cat converter is actually OEM, you can investigate the part and see if it has the GM or Chevy logo on it and also the serial number;
• each cat has some precious metals inside it, so you can sell the part for recycling and get some money from a buyer;
• usually, these cats contain platinum and palladium in small quantities, also some cats will have 1 or 2 grams of rhodium;
• all General Motors cats are made with high-quality metals and ceramic materials, so they are pretty durable and don't usually get damaged badly;
• to sell the cat, you will have to take it off or have taken it off from your vehicle and then find a person or a company that will buy it.

Pre-cats are located near the exhaust manifolds or are just integrated into the manifolds. They are smaller and usually contain just a little of precious metals. The main catalytic converters are placed in the exhaust system, right near the muffler. They are bigger and usually have some heat screens around them.

Locating catalytic converters is not a big deal. But unfortunately, you will not be able to see how they work just by looking at them. Cats should be diagnosed by professionals. If they are clogged or damaged, they will not clean the exhaust gasses properly and will require replacement.

How much can you get for a Chevy Express Van catalytic converter?

The average price of a single OEM main catalytic converter from the Chevy Express Van should be about $220 to $300. Pre-cats will cost about $60 each. You should remember that these prices are only true for OEM converters, not aftermarket ones. If you or someone else have already replaced the OEM converters with aftermarket ones, you will be able to sell these cats for $20-$40.

But the prices may vary. They fluctuate because of many factors and change every single week. Here are some of the most important price factors for used cat converters:

• the type and size of your cat converter which is easily determined by the serial number;
• the condition of the converter - we mean some damages may reduce the price offered by potential buyers;
• the prices for precious metals - we mean exactly prices for platinum, palladium, and rhodium;
• the person or the company buying the cat from you.

Please consider that you can't control most of these factors. The only thing that depends on your choice is the buyer of the cat converter. And this is what we are going to concentrate our tips on selling the old clogged part on.

You may choose between different buyers and compare their offers in order to find the best possible price for the cat. You should also know that some buyers are nearly always bad because they traditionally offer low prices and you shouldn't just waste your time on them.

Who can you sell the catalytic converter from your Chevy Express Van to?

You can sell these cats quite easily because a lot of people and companies will want to buy these parts. But we should warn you that the majority of them are the companies and private buyers that will only want to earn using your cat converter just by reselling it to other companies. And selling something to them is a bad idea just because you lose your money.

Once your Chevy Express is fixed or at least the old cat converters are deleted, you may start your search and find the best price offer. How can you do that? You should forget about scrapyards, middlemen, exhaust shop workers, exhaust part stores, etc. The only thing you should concentrate on is recycling companies.

Here's how you can sell your Express Van cat to them:

• first of all, start with taking the cat off the vehicle and cleaning it to see the serial number;
• then, you should also take pictures of this cat to show its condition and the serial number;
• after that, find recycling companies online and open their websites;
• search on the sites for any opportunity to send the pictures of your cat (it's usually called quoting);
• after you quote, it will take them a day or two to answer you back and offer a certain price;
• then, you will have the chance to compare these prices and see which one is the best for you.

This is the easiest and fastest way you can sell your catalytic converter from the Chevy Express Van and get a decent price for it. Also, you will learn the up-to-date prices and perfectly know if other buyers offer you good prices or not.

Recycling companies are the only buyers who actually recycle cat converters from your Express Van. All other buyers will just want to sell the cats to recycling companies. The secret is simple: the equipment for recycling is pretty expensive and it's also hard to legally operate a recycling company.

Are Chevy Express Van vehicles prone to cat converter theft?

Usually, a catalytic converter will last about 10 years or 150,000 miles. But Chevy Express Van has cats that can last more than average. So, you can expect a cat converter to last at least half of the vehicle's life expectancy.

But sometimes, the cats don't live that long just because they may be stolen. Not only you and I know that cats cost some money and can be easily sold. Thieves know that, too. And they know how to quickly cut off the cat and where to sell it.

Here's what attracts thieves to your Chevy Express Van:

• it has a really big cat converter that is more expansive than average;
• these cats are easy to cut off because they are located at a "convenient" place;
• it's not hard to fit under the vehicle, the ground clearance is high enough for this;
• your Express Van may be left in some dark areas without any proper security;
• not many Express Van owners invest in good security systems.

So, this is why some thieves really want to steal the cat converter from your vehicle and then sell it. There are some ways you can secure your converter and make the task much harder for a thief. Talk to any exhaust shop to learn more.

Final words

Your Chevy Express Van catalytic converter is one of the most expensive GM converters to sell used. Even if it is clogged and slightly damaged or not working, you can sell it to a scrapyard or to a recycling company.

In this article, we told you how to sell your clogged or malfunctioning catalytic converter from a Chevy Express Van. Also, we've outlined some good and bad ways to sell the cat and explained to you why it's bought that expensive. We hope now you won't make a common mistake of selling a Chevy Express Van cat converter at a really small price.