Ford Mustang Catalytic Converter Scrap Value – Where To Sell It?

The engines of our cars burn gasoline in the presence of oxygen to create enough energy to run the cars. But the engines are never 100% efficient. Some gases are also produced in the process that is harmful to our health and environment. To tackle this situation, Ford company installs catalytic converters in their cars. 

Catalytic converters are an expensive part of any car. Not just new cats, these can also be sold at a high price for scrap. But how much and why? Let's get into the details of Catalytic converters.

What is a Catalytic Converter?

A catalytic converter is a device that converts more harmful gases produced by the engine into less harmful gases. It looks pretty simple exhaust-like structure from the outside, but the inside honeycomb mesh-like structure makes it exceptional. The gases pass through this mesh and get filtered before exhausting outside.

Catalytic converters are not only used in the exhaust system of cars. They are also used in motorcycles, locomotives, buses, trucks, electrical generators, ships, and even wood stoves to reduce harmful emissions.

Types of Catalytic Converter

There are two types of catalytic converters. One is a Two-way catalytic converter, and the other is a three-way catalytic converter. The names present the number of functions these converters perform.

The two-way catalytic converter split carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and oxygen. Secondly, it breaks harmful hydrocarbon gases into carbon dioxide and water.

The three-way catalytic converter reduces nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and oxygen, converts carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide, and thirdly hydrocarbons into water and carbon dioxide.

For in-depth details about catalytic converters, you can consult the Catalytic Converters Wikipedia link.

Where is it Located?

The catalyst converter must be located somewhere before the muffler. The exact location can vary from model to model. Still, you can trace it underneath the car between the tail-pipe and the exhaust system.

Scrap Value of Ford Mustang Catalytic Converters

Ford uses high-quality material in catalytic converters. The catalytic converters of the Ford Mustang are worth up to $1800. Since it contains precious metals that can be used as expensive commodities, the average scrap price for Mustang's catalytic converters is $90. It can be sold for up to $250.

What Metals Ford Mustang has in Catalytic Converters?

Catalytic converters are so expensive for scrap because of the precious and expensive metals used in these converters. Most of the metals are recoverable and can be sold at higher current prices than their initial prices. 

Platinum

Platinum is the core metal used in catalytic converters. Platinum plays a major role in filtering out harmful gases before releasing them into the atmosphere. Platinum oxidizes and negates carbon monoxide, which you may know as the gas affecting our ozone layer.

The current price of platinum metal is 30.8 USD/gram. The price of platinum goes up and down, but the overall price graph has increased a lot. Although the quantity of platinum in catalytic converters varies from car to car, it ranges between 3 to 7 grams in most of them.

Palladium

Palladium is another precious metal you can find inside a catalytic converter. Like platinum, it filters harmful gases like hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide by removing the harmful components of these gases. 

Palladium is a more precious and expensive metal than platinum. It is more of a luxury item that you may only find in expensive luxury cars. The current price of palladium is $60.60/ gram. Its price goes up and down, but the overall price in the past 5 to 10 years has increased significantly.

Rhodium

The third expensive metal used in the catalytic converter is rhodium. It also controls the emitting gases and filters them out by catalyzing the harmful substances in these gases. Rhodium is also recoverable like the other two metals and can be sold at a high price. 

The current price of rhodium is 366.52 USD/gram, which makes it the most expensive metal in the catalytic converter. This price was stable for the last decade but has increased rapidly in the last two years. In Ford car models, the quantity of this metal is about 1 gram. 

Metal Foil or Ceramic Foil

The foil is a roll-like outer structure that you can see, and it contains the above-mentioned precious metals. Metal foils are made of stainless steel, and it is an efficient material to use in the converters. 

Ceramic foil is another type of foil used in these converters. Other metals are mixed up with the ceramic in this type of catalytic converter. These two materials are worth less than the other metals but still good enough to profit from scrap.

Average Lifespan of Catalytic Converters

The average lifespan of the catalytic converters is up to 200,000 Miles. The newly manufactured catalytic converters are worth more than the used ones because they can go on much longer. However, even the used ones are perfect for scrap because of the presence of recoverable metals.

If you care to replace your catalytic converter, the 200,000 Miles is the threshold. You can replace your converter after your car has hit these numbers.

Most Expensive Catalytic Converters

Ford Mustang has high-quality catalytic converters and is worth up to $1800, as we discussed earlier. This price sounds reasonable when we talk about the most expensive catalytic converters. There are four catalytic converters above the Ford Mustang's price. 

Ferrari F430 

Ferrari F430 has the most expensive catalytic converters. The converters used in Ferrari F430 have a price of $3770. But Ferrari needs two of them, so it has a total worth of $7000+. The platinum metal is used in high quantity in Ferrari Cats. For this reason, its scrap value is also much higher than Ford Mustang's.

Ram 2500

Ram 2500 holds the second position in the most expensive converters list. Its Catalytic converters come at the price of $3460. The amount of platinum and other precious metals is also high in Ram 2500, making it worthy for scrap.

Lamborghini Aventador

Catalytic converters of Lamborgini Aventador are priced at $3120, making it the third expensive converters. Like Ferrari F420, this car also needs two catalytic converters priced at $6240. We can place Lamborghini in the second position for this reason.

Ford F-250

At the fourth most expensive position of catalytic converters is Ford itself with the car model of Ford F-250. Its catalytic converters are priced at $2800, almost a thousand dollars more than Ford Mustang's converters.

The only catalysts used to control harmful emissions are expensive rare metals, and there is no other substitute. These metals are not going down in prices any time soon because of the high demand for converters.

Where to Sell the Catalytic Converter for Scrap?

If you have an old car with a catalytic converter, selling it for scrap is the best option to profit from an old worthless vehicle. Now, you may want to know the best place to sell your catalytic converter for scrap. 

Well, be careful while selling them to any private buyers. The buyers may not give you the right price due to a lack of knowledge or expertise. 

The best place to sell your catalytic converters is a scrapyard.  The workers there have better knowledge of catalytic converters and the metals used in them. But beware of who you sell these. 

The serial number written on catalytic converters is the best way to find out about the actual price of your catalytic converters. Sometimes the serial number of Ford cars is hidden under the shield of catalytic converters. It would be best if you cut through the shield to get the complete serial number.

Sometimes, the serial number gets hidden under the corrosion, so make sure to remove the corrosion to get your serial number. If there is no serial number, find a professional who will identify the real worth of your converter.

Whoever you sell to must have enough resources to grade your converter to find its real worth properly.