Dodge RAM Catalytic Converter Scrap Price: How Much For An Old Cat?

Catalytic converters don’t live for ages. Their best mileage is considered between 100 000 miles and 150 000 miles. After that you will have to replace them, otherwise, getting through an emission test will be a big problem. Your old catalytic converter is something you can earn some money with. Well, you could even mine some precious metals and sell them in a black market, but it will be too hard for most of us. So we prefer just selling old cats as scrap metal.

Dodge RAM trucks are equipped with large converters. And some Dodge trucks will even have a couple of them, not just one. Once these converters are done, you can sell them as scrap metal for a decent price. The price will depend on several things, including your searching abilities. You will need to find a company that pays more for your scrap converters.

Here’s what we are going to talk about today:

• How much is the RAM converter after it’s broken?
• What can make the scrap prices of an old cat much lower?
• Why are used converters so expensive and wanted?
• What does Dodge include in its converters?
• How can you sell your converter at a better price?

Let’s get started!

So what can you trade your Dodge cat for?

We would say that the price of the catalytic converter taken from the Dodge RAM truck would be anywhere between $20 and $500. It depends on some factors, but we are pretty sure that most of you will be able to get around $300 for your old cats (for each of them).

The scrap metal price is something unobvious and unstable, so after we publish the article, something may change sharply. The price depends much on the precious metal prices on the market. At the moment one gram of palladium costs $75, one gram of rhodium is $522, one gram of platinum is $33. When these prices grow, the price of your scrap catalytic converter grows, too.

Here are some other factors that will affect the price:

1. The company that you choose to sell your scrap cats. Different companies offer various prices and estimation procedures, so we insist that you should investigate for some time before choosing a scrapyard.
2. The size of the catalytic converters. RAM trucks have always had big cats, but they have been changing the shape and size all the time. So the generation of your RAM truck is still to consider.
3. The condition of your catalytic converter. If it looks new, the company will be ready to pay more. But if it’s a rusty piece of metal with no serial number on it, you will just get few dollars for it.
4. Year. In modern converters, Dodge has used more precious metals, so a scrap yard will be glad to pay you more for a converter that was taken from a 2018 truck.

But still, to say for sure how much money you may get for your catalytic converter from a scrap metal company is a hard task. We would say that it all depends on numerous individual factors and you will need to apply to different companies to know the final price. It’s a very easy task, by the way.

How to know the precise price of your converters?

What you need to do is to take two pictures of your catalytic converter. The first picture should show this part from above. By seeing its shape, an expert can say for sure what should be the fair price for your cat. The second picture should show the serial number of your catalytic converter. Find it on one of the sides of the converter. Sometimes you will need to work a little with a metal brush to clean the serial number from rust. It’s important because this is the information that a scrap yard can use to evaluate your cat.

After that find three or four companies who buy used catalytic converters and send them those pictures. Just ask them how much they are ready to pay you. These companies are severe competitors for each other and they know pretty well that you are going to send these pics to different businesses. That’s why they usually offer a fair price. Then just choose the company that offers more money for your cats.

Also, bear in mind that delivery may cost a lot. So you should choose businesses that are located not far from your address, or you should find a company that is ready to pay for delivery.

Why do old catalytic converters from Dodge RAM cost so much?

You could wonder why someone pays hundreds of dollars for an old rusty piece of metal that you have just taken from your Dodge RAM because it stopped working. The answer is precious metals. Scrapyards take the cats apart and mine some precious metals that are located inside. This is the reason why people buy and sometimes even steal those catalytic converters.

Here’s what you can find inside a Dodge RAM (original) converter:

• 3 to 7 grams of platinum;
• 2 to 6 grams of palladium;
• up to 2 grams of rhodium.

Final quantities depend much on the year, model, and type of the converter. But the problem is that you aren’t likely to get those metals easily at home. And then you won’t know what to do with the rest of the materials. Also, selling 2 grams of rhodium is a tricky thing – most companies will buy only large quantities starting from 100 grams or something.

So, it’s usually more convenient to sell your old cats to scrapyards that buy hundreds of converters each day and can easily gather large quantities of the metals for selling them.

What can make the scrap price of Dodge RAM cat lower?

The scrap price will be much lower if you can’t see the serial number. In this case, you will have to find a scrapyard that can investigate the converter and offer you the best price after that. Also, the price will be low if the converter is damaged, there are holes in the body, you can see the inner part.

Of course, converters without the inside equipment are not worth anything. And also aftermarket converters are very cheap – usually, scrapyards will only buy them for $20 or $30 because there is not so much precious metal in these converters.

Can you sell your converter at a better price?

Unfortunately, scrapyards don’t offer really good prices. You will end up selling your converters for $300 each, on average. But simple math can bring you to the conclusion that even the worst RAM converter contains precious metals that cost around $1300. So can you sell your catalytic converter at a better price?

Here’s what we offer:

1. You should investigate more. Some companies will only be ready to pay you $200 for your old converter while some other businesses will be ready to offer as much as $500 or even more.
2. Search for companies in other states. It can be that your state has some additional taxes or restrictions for scrapyards, so they will pay you less to earn more on your converters. Check some scrapyards in other states. Even including delivery prices, your revenue may be much higher.
3. Become a private seller. On some websites like eBay and also on some forums you can sell your old catalytic converter as a private seller. This means you can set the price that you want to get.
4. Find out if you can sell the precious metals by yourself. Then find a person who has the equipment to take your precious metals out of the catalytic converter and consider whether it will be more lucrative for you.
5. Let the converter be there in your garage for some time and watch the price of precious metals go up. When the price is higher, you can sell your old catalytic converter taken from Dodge RAM at a much better price.

Final words

Unfortunately, taking the precious metals from your old cat is not a simple task. You will need some equipment to melt the metal and other parts of your converter. Only after that you can gather the metals and try to sell them. Usually, car owners will choose a less complicated option – they will sell the converter to a person or to a company that offers a decent price for this part.

After some research online, you can find a company that will pay a fair price for your old converter. Make sure you get the best offer and then just sell your old cat. Of course, you may wait for a while because prices for scrap catalytic converters tend to get higher once one of the components gets up in price. Maybe, in a year or two, your old converter will cost twice as much as you can get today. But it can also cost less if the prices for precious metals go down.