Dodge Caravan Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – How Much For A Big Cat?

Old catalytic converters are still valuable, even though they may look like a piece of scrap metal. These parts contain precious metals - at least some grams of them. And while some metals will cost not so much, the cat converter will contain extremely expensive metals that are wanted by industrial companies all over the world.

A Dodge Caravan old catalytic converter can be sold at a pretty good price. We believe that the price for an original Caravan converter should be between $120 and $250 depending on some factors. First of all, you should know that different generations of Caravan have different engines and they may have different kinds of cat converters.

Today, we'll be talking about the following:

1. How to distinguish the type and the price of a converter?
2. How much should a Caravan converter cost?
3. How can you sell the old cat from your Dodge Caravan?
4. Some important things you should know about the old cats.

Let's get started!

How to know which type of converter is on your Caravan?

You may have heard that people get good deals when they sell their old converters. But not all catalytic converters are actually good for selling. Sometimes they don't cost just anything. We can think of two situations: fully destroyed converters without the ceramic honeycomb inside, and also aftermarket converters.

Your original Dodge (Chrysler) cat should be integrated into the exhaust system. Do you see a welding line right near the cat? It's an aftermarket part. Then, the OEM Chrysler cat is quite heavy and it should have a Dodge or Chrysler logo on it and also the serial number. Without these things, it will be hard to sell the cat.

So, you will need to remember a couple of factors:

• the original cats are the ones you should try to sell at a good price;
• destroyed catalytic converters will not cost anything;
• aftermarket converters will only cost $10 or something like that;
• original cats are not welded into the system, they come integrated into a part of exhaust pipe;
• original converters are heavy and big, they may look like a torpedo or like a loaf of bread depending on the year of your MPV;
• the bigger engines have bigger converters that are usually easier to sell at a good price.

The converter business is very precise in terms of distinguishing between good and bad cats. If you want to sell your aftermarket cat and get a good price, better forget about it. No recycling company and no scrapyard will give you a lot of money for a cat that costs nothing.

People who buy cat converters know very well that their revenue depends on the precious metals that they can find in a converter. Usually, these metals are platinum, palladium, and also rhodium. If you believe that you can trick someone and sell a bad converter at a good price, better give up now.

What's the average scrap price of a Dodge Caravan catalytic converter?

The Dodge Caravan is an MPV or a minivan that was first introduced in 1984. Since then, it has already changed five generations. The last Caravan was made in 2020 but we still believe that we'll see the sixth generation in the future. During these years, the company has installed dozens of engines and dozens of converter types. So, saying some average price for a scrap cat from the Caravan is impossible.

But we'll try to tell you some factors that are very important for determining the final price of the converter that you have in your hands.

Here are some of them:

1. Age. The age is important because very old cat converters may be destroyed. So, the companies tend to pay less for them just because they risk more.
2. Type. The torpedo converters may cost up to $250, while the original Chrysler big converters will cost up to $160. The converters from smaller engines should cost around $120.
3. Condition. A converter with holes, a lot of rust, the destroyed honeycomb will still be sold, but they will be much cheaper. While the cats in good condition will be sold at the full price.
4. Price for precious metals. You know that the precious metals market is something like the stock market. Prices change every day and even every minute. And this affects the maximum price you may be offered for the converter.
5. Buyer. The company or the person that you've chosen for selling your converter can also determine the maximum possible price. We'll tell you about that later.

Unfortunately, those legends that a person sold the Caravan converter for $800 are not true. Everything has its own price, and the Chrysler converters that were installed in Dodge Caravan are not an exception. No one will pay you more than the scrap converter actually costs on the market.

You may think that it's a good idea to wait until the precious metals are more expensive than now. It's a good idea only in the case of a recent sharp fall in the price of platinum or palladium. In this case, you have the chance that the price will go back to its original rate. But usually, you can't predict where the price is going to go, so waiting doesn't make sense.

How many grams of platinum and palladium do Dodge Caravan converters have?

It's a tricky question. You will expect to find up to 5 grams of platinum and also up to 5 grams of palladium there. Also, recycling companies are hopeful of getting around 1 gram of rhodium which is extremely expensive. You may count that they are going to get over $1000 after they sell all those precious metals to industrial companies.

And here you may start hesitating whether it's a good idea to sell your converter for $200 or even $100 if they can earn over $1000. But bear in mind that getting those precious metals out of the converter is not a very simple thing. You will need very expensive equipment and a license for recycling metal parts. The final revenue of a recycling company is not as huge as you may now think.

Who can you sell the Caravan converter to?

Selling the Dodge Caravan converter to a scrapyard is something natural and we think that over a half of people will just do that. And then they will read our article and think that $200 for a Caravan converter is just impossible. But please keep reading to learn how to get much more money for your scrap converter.

You shouldn't sell your cat to a scrapyard in your area or to a car shop. They will offer you $10 to $50 depending on the type of converter. These companies are resellers and they will immediately sell your cat at a higher price to some other company. So why should you just lose this money?

Here are three ways to sell your Dodge Caravan scrap converter:

1. Recycling companies. Find them online and quote for price on their website. You can find a lot of them and inquire about the price - this way you will choose the best offer. This is the most expensive way to sell your converter and this way allows you to not lose your time.
2. Middlemen. In every state, you will find people who are ready to buy your converter for cash. Some of them will offer $10-15, but usually, they are more generous. These middlemen offer twice less money than the recycling companies, but they give you cash right there and then.
3. Private sales. Use internet platforms for finding a private buyer. It may be something like eBay or just some forums. This is also a good way to sell your converter at a good price. But it has one big disadvantage - no one knows how long you should wait.

As you see, selling your old Caravan converter is not that hard. You can sell it online and you will not spend a lot of time finding your buyer. Make recycling companies compete for your old converter and ask all of them to tell you the price for your cat. They will be ready to offer you the best prices in order to get the converter and to recycle it.

But keep in mind that tomorrow the situation may change. The precious metals may go down in price. So, all the offers that you get work just at the time when you receive them. You don't have much time to make your decision.

Final words

Fortunately, Dodge Caravan has an original Chrysler converter. It's not the most expensive cat converter in the world, but it actually costs some money which is good. You can sell the converter to a recycling company or just to a middleman. These are the ways we offer. We would choose a recycling company because, in most cases, they pay more money for your old cat. But you may try to find some better offers if you want.