Mercedes-Benz Catalytic Converter Scrap Price. Are German Cats Expensive?

Used catalytic converters that started malfunctioning may still be a precious thing that you may even sell. Mercedes-Benz vehicles usually have great converters. These are luxurious cars and the company has never tried to reduce its expenses by making cheaper converters. This is why some of the Mercedes converters can live up to 200 000 miles. But the majority of them need replacement somewhere near 150 000 miles.

If you have an old Mercedes-Benz converter, you will be interested in our today's article. We are going to tell you about scrap prices for your old cat converter and also about how to sell this part. If you are about to sell the converter for $30, wait a little with this decision until you read our article to the end. We hope you can make much more money.

Here's what we'll discuss today:

1. The cat converter scrap price question - what's with Mercedes cats?
2. Can you take a lot of precious metals out of the German converter?
3. How to distinguish between a real OEM converter and an aftermarket one?
4. Selling your Mercedes-Benz cat converter at a good price.

Let's get started!

So, how much is the converter from your Mercedes-Benz?

The converter price is not stable. The price offers from different companies and private buyers will depend on many factors, so please check if the information in this article is still true. The factors of the optimal price for your converter depend much on the market price for precious metals and also on the number of converters available for sale.

The Mercedes-Benz catalytic converters are quite valuable. The average price should be about $150. But a big converter from the Mercedes ML or GL will cost twice as much. Whereas the small converters from hybrid engines will cost less than that.

Here's what you should consider when thinking about the price:

• the model of your vehicle and the engine type - bigger engines usually have bigger and heavier converters that cost more money;
• the producer of the converter - if you have already replaced the original part, your aftermarket converter doesn't cost much;
• the condition of the cat - if the honeycomb is damaged or not present inside, the converter will not be bought at full price;
• the market price for rhodium, palladium, and platinum - these are the three most precious elements in Mercedes-Benz converters.

Also, the demand for these metals will influence the price. We could say that the scrap value of a used catalytic converter that was taken from your Mercedes-Benz is from $100 to $400. The most expensive converters were installed in big SUVs. Some engines had two converters. You will need to locate them and to see if they are original (OEM) or not. This is the first thing you should do before you decide to sell your cat converter.

OEM and aftermarket Mercedes-Benz converters - what's the difference?

If you have an aftermarket converter in your Mercedes-Benz, you will not be able to sell it at a good price. These converters contain no precious metals at all or a very small amount of them. They will cost $10 or something. But the OEM converters contain up to 7 grams of platinum, 7 grams of palladium, and over 1 gram of rhodium. These are the most important materials in a Mercedes-Benz cat converter.

Here's how you can distinguish between an original and aftermarket converter:

• original exhaust system comes as one piece, no welding lines should be seen around the converter;
• the original converter should be heavy - this is because it usually has a couple of cores inside, not just one;
• also, these converters are often bigger than aftermarket ones, they are big enough to clean more gasses;
• the body should contain a serial number, also there should be a Mercedes-Benz logo on the converter's body.

Mercedes-Benz owners will be sure that they hold an original converter in their hands. First of all, the materials are of high quality, so they don't rust much and there are no damages to the body. Also, the converter contains a serial number which is very important for understanding the price of the cat.

You can find a couple of online services that help to reveal the approximate price of your converter by entering the serial number. Don't believe these websites much, they are not precise at all.

How do they take those precious metals out?

For getting platinum, palladium, and rhodium out of the converter, you should have some special equipment. Usually, the recycling companies would use furnaces to heat up the old converter and to melt all parts but the precious metals that melt under extremely high temperatures. Then they gather some alloy of the metals and separate the materials in order to sell them.

Industrial companies usually buy these metals because they are really rare in nature and are expensive. Such a recycling process helps to save nature from taking too much out of it. Thanks to catalytic converters recycling, a lot of mining companies mine less because some part of the required materials is already there on the market.

Unfortunately, taking these precious metals out of the converter without any special equipment is impossible. The metals are all melted in a thin film and spread through all the honeycomb. They catalyze gasses that are formed by the internal combustion engine in a car and reduce emissions.

Selling a Mercedes-Benz converter - what way to choose?

The first idea that may come into your head is probably a scrapyard. These companies aren't very concerned about your income so they will try to offer you the smallest possible price and will persuade you to sell the converter. But this is the second-worst option after just throwing the converter away.

Stolen catalytic converters from Mercedes-Benz cars are usually sold to black scrapyards. Actually, catalytic converter theft is a bad factor and many legal companies will verify you as a seller before they give you some money.

Here are some other ways to sell the converter:

• you can find a person who buys these converters - they are middlemen between you and recycling companies;
• you can offer your cat for sale in a local car shop or repair station, though, they won't give you a good price;
• you can sell it online at eBay or any forum - just advertise it for sale and wait for your buyer, but you may wait for a long time;
• you can sell your converter to a recycling company - now it's possible, you will only need to find a couple of them online.

Selling your catalytic converter to a middleman or to a scrapyard near you is not the best idea. They will offer just $30-$50 or even less for an original Mercedes-Benz catalytic converter. And we can say for sure that this cat should cost more than that. You may think that selling a cat directly to a recycling company is not an easy thing to do, but you will just need to follow simple instructions.

How to sell your Mercedes cat converter to a recycling company?

You should remember a couple of rules when you are selling your old cat converter that started malfunctioning. The first rule - get to know the price. If you don't know the fair price for your converter, you will not be able to pick a good offer and agree with a buyer. And the second rule - always try to find a better offer before you agree with a buyer.

Here's what you should do to sell the Mercedes-Benz converter at a better price:

• take pictures of the converter, one of the pictures should show the serial number and the Mercedes logo;
• after that, find a couple of websites that belong to recycling companies buying catalytic converters;
• then, you should inquire about the price offers for your cat, also include pictures to all your inquiries;
• wait until they answer your inquiries and see what kinds of offers they have for you;
• choose the best recycling company and send your converter to them, get the money.

The last thing you should do is to spend the money wisely. Of course, the more companies you find, the more money you can get. We saw cases when five companies offered bad prices for Mercedes cats while the sixth recycling company approved a very good price. So never sell your original Mercedes-Benz catalytic converter for just $30 or $40.

Final words

You may know that old converters cost some money. After reading this article, you also know that you will have to work a little to sell the converters at a good price. Many people on the market will want to buy your scrap cat for $10 or something to just earn more money. Always double-check everything to make sure that you are getting the best offer. Also, sell your converter directly to recycling companies, never sell the old cats to middlemen because this way you just lose your money.