Ford F450 Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – How Much Can You Get?

One of the most important things when you are driving your vehicle is to know that the car doesn't contribute much to global warming, climate change, air contamination, and other factors of ecology. If your car had a straight exhaust pipe without any ecological equipment, the exhaust gasses that it produces would just kill nature and eventually people.

A catalytic converter is a very important part of the exhaust system that cleans exhaust gasses and helps split harmful elements into much less harmful materials. In a Ford F450, you will find two average converters or one big part depending on the year and engines of your truck. The question is what should you do when the converter starts malfunctioning?

Here's what we'll discuss today:

1. Ford F450 cat converter - what's the scrap price?
2. How much can you earn by selling the precious metals from the F450 cat?
3. How much is a new (OEM and aftermarket) catalytic converter for the truck?
4. How long does the Ford F450 catalytic converter last?

Let's get started!

What's the scrap price of your Ford F450 converter?

First of all, we should say that Ford F450 is one of the targets for catalytic converter thieves. We want to say that stealing such a converter doesn't make much sense. You will not be able to sell the cat to a recycling company unless you show some documents proving that the truck belongs to you. So, you will only sell it to some scrapyard that will probably give you $20. Are you ready to risk your freedom for twenty bucks?

Most Ford F450 trucks will have a single big torpedo catalytic converter. This is a precious thing and it can cost $250 and more. We can imagine that some recycling companies will even want to pay over $300. But sometimes, the prices drop because of some reasons that you can't control.

Now, you may have heard that people were lucky to sell their big Ford cats for $100 and we are now talking about $300. How is it possible? Every person will offer you a certain price. Here's how it works:

• a car mechanic or a car part shop may offer you $20-$30 for the big cat without even looking at it, but it's not much at all;
• a local scrapyard may offer up to $100 or even sometimes a bit more, but you will have to visit a couple of them to find a fair person;
• then, you can sell the cat to a specialized middleman who will offer $150 or something like that - not bad, but still not very good;
• finally, you can sell your cat directly to a recycling company and get $200-$300 if the converter is in good condition.

By saying that the cat should be in good condition, we mean that it may be rusty and ugly, but it shouldn't have any holes in its body or something like this. These are the four ways you can sell your cat converter. We can see one more way - it's eBay and some other services like this, but it will take a lot of time and will not bring much more money.

So, always choose the most convenient way to sell your old cat and try to get more money from your deal. We suppose, the two most convenient ways are selling the cat to a middleman or selling it directly to a recycling company. But we don't see any reason why you should lose your money and give a big part of the potential revenue to the middleman.

Selling your Ford F450 cat to a recycling company

To sell the catalytic converter from your Ford F450 at a good price, you need to find a recycling company that is ready to pay good money. One company may offer $100 while some other companies will be far more generous.

A cat converter from a big Ford truck contains up to 10 grams of platinum, 7-9 grams of palladium, and also about 2 grams of rhodium. These are expensive metals that form the main revenue for recycling companies. You can count that the final price of all these metals is about $2000. But taking these metals out of the converter is not that easy and not cheap at all.

Selling a cat to a company like this is easy. You will have to make a couple of steps:

• Take the converter off the car.
• Take pictures of it.
• Find websites of as many recycling companies as you can.
• Send pictures and quote for prices.
• Get price offers and choose a company.

This will take you some hours but you will be able to get much more money than if you just go to a local scrapyard. The reason is simple - all scrapyards and middlemen will just resell your converter to different recycling companies and will earn money.

So, we wouldn't agree to a price less than $200 for a Ford F450 scrap catalytic converter. But we wouldn't also hope to get over $300. This is a good price for a piece of scrap metal that you don't need.

How much is a new cat converter for Ford F450?

OK, now you know how to sell your old converter that has already started malfunctioning. But what should you buy instead? Just driving your truck without a converter is illegal in most places - you will not pass the next fog test. Also, the sound of the engine will be too loud.

So, you will have to buy a new catalytic converter. This is a problem because these parts usually cost a lot. It means that you will have to spend some money. Of course, you will have some options, it's not necessary to buy an original converter manufactured by Ford. But every option has its drawbacks. Let's talk about it.

So, you will basically have four options:

1. A new OEM catalytic converter. This is a really good thing that will clean the exhaust gasses and will work for a lot of years and miles. But one problem should be considered - the price is around $2000. Also, finding this part is not that easy.
2. A used cat converter, also OEM. For example, you can find a company that takes apart salvage trucks and cars and sells used parts. The price is much better but the lifespan of such a converter is hard to predict.
3. A new aftermarket catalytic converter from a cheap niche. These cats may cost you $200 or even less. But they all have one problem - they don't work and don't last even a month.
4. A new aftermarket catalytic converter from an expensive niche. This is a better choice, but you will have to spend around $1000. And then you will pay some money to install the cat.

As you see, the options where you pay less money are not that good. You will get an unpredictable lifespan or just a poorly working converter that doesn't help you pass the fog test, anyway.

We would choose the high-priced aftermarket cat - this is the most popular option. But sometimes you can find an original cat converter made by Ford with a big discount and it will cost you just a little more than an aftermarket car. If it happens, then choose the original part, it will work much longer.

How long do the Ford F450 converters last?

The F450 truck is used for towing heavy trailers and for different heavy tasks. So, they have big and powerful engines. This means that a lot of exhaust gasses will be formed when the engine works. So, the converter will clog much faster than on a Ford Focus, let's say. This means that the cat will have to be replaced more often.

Here's what we can say about the cat converter longevity:

• OEM cats will last for about 120 000 miles;
• aftermarket cats live less, they will only work for 60 000 miles;
• used cats have an unstated lifespan that depends on the mileage of the car they were taken from;
• cheap aftermarket cats can work for 10 000 miles or 20 000 miles depending on your luck.

Unfortunately, most converters will die up until your truck hits the 120 000-mile mark. You can do nothing with this. Converters are just getting clogged, being destroyed by heat, are getting damaged and then they start malfunctioning. That's why you may need a new converter for your pickup truck sooner or later.

Final words

We don't know if you are glad about the news that you can sell your old Ford F450 catalytic converter for $200 to $300. But this is the maximum price someone can offer to you. We know that there are legends on the internet that some companies pay $500 or more for a bog Ford torpedo cat. But we also know how much it costs to get those precious metals out of the converter, so we can presume it's not true.