Ford E350 Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – Making Money On Your Old Van

Ford catalytic converters are pretty durable and efficient. They clean the exhaust gasses effectively and reduce the amount of harmful elements that get into the air when you drive. The bigger the engine, the bigger its bad influence on nature, and the bigger converter you need for such a vehicle.

A malfunctioning catalytic converter is bad news for a Ford E350 owner. You will have to spend some time and money on replacing the bad part and the cost of this replacement may not be pleasant for your budget. But the good news is that you can sell your old malfunctioning converter and make some money. OK, not make but compensate some money.

Here's what we are going to tell you today:

1. How much can people pay for the old converter from your Ford E350?
2. What kinds of converters are installed in Ford vans?
3. How much is to replace a converter in a Ford E350?
4. Selling your old converter at a good price - is it possible?

Let's get started!

What's the scrap value of your old Ford E350 converter?

Unfortunately, sooner or later, the cat converter will give up. And you will have it in your hands without understanding what to do with it. Some van owners just give these converters to mechanics that help them with car repair. But this is not a very wise decision. You can make money with your catalytic converter - so why not try?

The scrap value of a Ford E350 catalytic converter can be anywhere between $200 and $550. It's not bad at all considering you may just throw away this part and get no money at all. The scrap value is not a stable thing, it can change every day.

Here are the factors that will decide the final price offer:

• the engine type is a very important thing - smaller engines have smaller converters that cost less;
• a year and serial number of the converter - Ford used different technologies, so the type and year of the converter will be important;
• condition of the converter - old and rusty cat converters will not be the best options, they cost less especially if they have holes in their bodies;
• condition of the honeycomb - the ceramic element inside the converter contains the most precious materials, so it matters much;
• current price for precious metals - mainly rhodium, palladium, and platinum have to be taken into account;
• the company you have chosen to sell your converter - some scrapyards will pay less while others may offer more money.

In this article, we'll tell you how to get to know the fair price for your Ford E350 catalytic converter and also how to get the best price offer. It's not that easy, by the way, unless you know the step-by-step instruction.

If you are being offered $50 for your old converter, never agree. This thing should cost much more. But please bear in mind that only OEM converters will cost a lot of money. If you have an aftermarket cat converter, it will cost just a couple of bucks, and selling it doesn't make much sense.

How much is a new converter for your Ford E350?

Before we tell you how to sell your cat converter at a better price, we want to make a short outline of how much you will spend on a new cat. So, this part is not cheap. If you want an original Ford converter, you will need to pay around $1500 to $2000 and also pay some labor bills. Aftermarket converters will cost $600 and more, but a more or less good option will be around $1000.

Replacing a catalytic converter is very important if it starts malfunctioning. Firstly, you will not pass the fog test with a bad converter. Secondly, you will have to cope with poor engine work and an eternal flow of errors on your dashboard. A converter should be OK, otherwise, driving your vehicle is not safe.

But you can compensate up to 50% of the expenses if you sell your old catalytic converter. It's not hard to do it but you will have to follow some simple steps.

Who will buy the old cat converter from your Ford van?

A lot of people are hunting for catalytic converters. They want to get your converter in order to sell it to a big recycling company. Usually, those people are referred to as middlemen. In every state you can find hundreds of such middlemen and selling your old converter to them looks pretty nice. They will come to you or even pay for shipping. But we don't recommend you deal with middlemen.

Also, scrapyards are not very good options. You will only get $40 or something for your big converter which should cost at least 5 times more. The same problem is with car shops and repair stations. They may buy your cat but they will only offer a little money for it.

We insist that you should try selling your cat directly to recycling companies:

1. Search for such companies online. They usually have websites that help them buy converters from private sellers.
2. Read the conditions. Also, you will be able to learn approximate prices for different kinds of converters. Don't pay much attention to it at this step.
3. Take pictures of your catalytic converter from all sides. Make sure you take the picture of the serial number, it's very important.
4. Send the pictures to recycling companies - to all of them. And inquire about the price they are ready to pay for the converter.
5. After that just wait until all of them (or the majority) will answer back with their price offers.
6. Compare the offers and choose two companies offering the best prices. Then check their shipping and payment conditions again on their websites.
7. Read customer reviews. Better find some forums and independent websites that show reviews of real clients.
8. Sell your converter and get the maximum amount of money. Now your deal is completed, you can spend your money.

We know people who managed to get $450 for their Ford E350 OEM converter that was in an average condition. We believe it's possible to get half a thousand dollars for this converter just because the prices for precious metals keep growing.

To feel comfortable, you may also contact some middlemen in your state and ask them how much they can pay you for the converter. But this business is predictable, they will offer at least $150 less than recycling companies. Just because they will want to sell the converter to recycling companies and get some revenue.

Why do companies buy old converters from Ford E350?

Old Ford converters are very wanted because they contain precious metals. Some of these metals are so rare in nature that they cost extremely much. But these metals are wonderful catalysts, so without them, it's impossible to clean the gasses properly. In aftermarket converters, manufacturers usually include alternative materials and only some precious metals. While OEM converters contain 1-2 grams of rhodium, over 7 grams of platinum, and up to 7 grams of palladium.

These metals are very wanted by recycling companies. You will not be able to sell 1 gram of rhodium although it costs around $650. But when you have half a kilo of rhodium, you may find an industrial company that is interested in buying your metal. So, recycling companies just buy a lot of scrap converters from different cars and take these metals out. The process is very hard and expensive, but in the end, it brings them some money.

Ford E350 catalytic converters contain a lot of precious metals, so they will cost a lot. Especially, if a converter is not damaged and still looks pretty good.

Why are private buyers a bad option?

You can think - why not make more money on your old converter from Ford E350? One of the ways is to advertise the converter for sale in your eBay account or in some forums.

But selling the old cat privately has a lot of disadvantages:

• you will need to wait - sometimes very long;
• the prices are approximately the same as a recycling company will offer;
• private buyers are always very suspicious about the condition of the cat;
• you may deal with a scammer who will not pay you eventually;
• you will spend your time and money on advertising the cat but will not be guaranteed to sell it.

It's not that easy to recycle the catalytic converter. In many states, it's forbidden and only big licensed companies can do that. So selling a cat to a recycling company looks like a nice idea.

Final words

You may have known that catalytic converters cost some money. But now you know for sure that the old part of your Ford E350 van will cost $200-$550 depending on some factors. Be careful and always check the prices before you agree to any offer. The easiest and the fastest way to sell your old malfunctioning catalytic converter is to offer the part for sale to some recycling companies.