School Bus Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – Don’t Risk Stealing It

Nearly all vehicles have catalytic converters. These are devices that filter the exhaust gasses and help reduce the toxicity of your vehicle's exhaust. They split harmful elements into less dangerous components before emitting them into the air. Catalytic converters contain catalysts such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium. These metals are very expensive, so the converters are wanted by many recycling companies.

You may wonder how much a school bus converter may cost. If a small car has an average scrap converter price of $100-$150 and more, a school bus should have a very expensive converter. But it's not always true. First of all, bus manufacturers know about stealing risks, so they don't include incredibly expensive parts that can easily be stolen.

Here's what we are going to talk about:

1. Why would you want to know the price of a school bus catalytic converter?
2. How much could a school bus cat converter cost?
3. Where should you sell such a converter if you have one?
4. Any problems with taking precious metals out of the cat?

Let's get started!

Theft warning - don't even try!

Unfortunately, some people want to know the scrap price of a catalytic converter to prepare for its theft and then sell it. Please, never do this because you may get to prison. Even if you are extremely lucky, you will sell the stolen cat for $100. But in most cases, stolen cats are bough by half-legal scrapyards only and they can cost $20 or less.

Don't risk your life and your freedom for $20 - it isn't worth it! Your main problem is that you will not be able to sell the school bus cat converter to a recycling company to get decent money. These companies ask you to show some documents that prove that the bus belongs to you or at least to a company you work for.

What's the scrap price of a school bus catalytic converter?

Unfortunately, the size of the vehicle doesn't decide the price of its catalytic converter. School buses have different types of engines, numerous types of exhaust constructions, and so on. We know many factors that will influence the type and size of the cat converter in such vehicles, but for our article, these factors will not be relevant. We only want to tell you about the prices.

So, the average price of a school bus cat converter that you sell legally should be anywhere between $250 and $550. It depends on the size, type, weight, brand, and also other factors. It's important to have a document proving that the converter wasn't stolen.

Here are some important things to remember:

• to get more money for a converter, you should make sure it's in good condition - we mean it's not damaged;
• only OEM catalytic converters can bring you more money, aftermarket parts will probably cost $10 or $20;
• if a converter has signs it has been stolen, no recycling company will buy it, you will have to sell it at a low price;
• different models of converters have different prices, you will have to provide a serial number of the cat for estimation;
• the current price for the precious metals (platinum, palladium, and rhodium) will influence the price of the cat;
• the prices may vary depending on which company you choose for selling your cat converter to.

Bear in mind that sometimes cat converters get cheaper just because the market prices for precious metals fall. In such cases, recycling companies take more risks and they will not pay you a lot of money for your cat. Also, many different factors will influence the eventual price of your old cat converter.

But you may see that only one factor depends on you. This is the company that you sell your converter to. We've already told you that the average price of the school bus cat converter should be anywhere between $250 and $550, but this price will only be possible if you are selling your cat to a special company that is ready to pay that much.

Who should you sell your school bus cat converter to?

One of the most important questions is a company or a person to sell your big cat converter to. We have two good options and a lot of other ways.

Among these "other" ways, we may think of selling a converter to s local scrapyard or using eBay for selling it to a private owner. Or you can sell a cat converter to a mechanic who specializes in replacing catalytic converters and repairing exhaust systems. But all these methods will be bad in terms of how much money you can get.

Then, we have two good options that you should choose from:

1. A reseller or a middleman. This is a person or a small company that buys out cat converters in your area. As a rule, these people will come to you, tell you the precise price they are ready to pay, and take the converter right there and then. You will get cash which is not bad at all. We see two drawbacks: the prices are not so good ($100-$300) and you may not find a decent middleman in your area.
2. Recycling companies. Actually, all resellers will then resell your cat converter to a recycling company. So, you may try doing it by yourself. Just find some companies and ask them how much they are ready to pay for your cat converter. You will have the chance to get s couple of price offers and to choose from them.

Recycling companies usually have their own websites and they are ready to offer you online quotes or inquiries. It means you can just take pictures of your school bus cat converter and send these pictures to them using special forms on their websites. This will help you get to know which company offers the best price.

Usually, these recycling companies compete with each other for the opportunity to buy your converter, so they will offer good prices. Also, most of them will offer free shipping and other advantages. Just take the calculator and count up all the offers to choose the best one.

Why are school bus cat converters so expensive?

Actually, we've seen two kinds of people when we were saying about the prices for school bus cat converters. One type usually says that these cats are surprisingly cheap while the other type says that the cats are very expensive.

Right, the catalytic converters from a school bus are big and they seem to be much more valuable than the catalytic converters from cars or SUVs. But in the end, recycling companies can take out approximately the same amount of precious materials from these kinds of cat converters.

Here's why:

• manufacturers don't add more precious metals than needed for catalyzing exhaust gasses and filtering bad elements in them;
• usually, it's all about 10 grams of palladium, 10 grams of platinum, and up to 2 grams of rhodium;
• recycling companies don't want to risk because very often they get damaged cats and can't take even half of what they were hoping for;
• the process of recycling big converters is not simple at all and it needs a lot of energy, a lot of work;
• these cat converters are expensive to ship because they are usually very big and heavy, so you will have to include these expenses into your price offer if you are a recycling company owner;
• these companies are official, so they pay all taxes, salaries, etc., and have other expenses before they can sell the precious metals.

It's hard to say if you can sell a catalytic converter at a better price than a recycling company offers to you. You can try eBay or something like that, but in most cases, it will not be a good idea. The problem with eBay is that you will have to wait for a long time. Sometimes, you will have to wait for months until you get an optimal price offer.

So, we would still choose a recycling company. We aren't sure that you can find a better option to sell a cat converter. But before quoting please make sure that this cat converter is not stolen and you have a document that proves you are the legal owner of the converter or you are acting on behalf of the company that is a legal owner of the cat.

Final words

Unfortunately, we see that the cat converter theft is now on the rise. We want to stop that, so we are just saying to you now that you will not be able to sell your catalytic converter that has been stolen at a good price. It's only about $20 which is not enough to justify your risks. Never steal cat converters because you are putting yourself at the risk of arrest.

If you are selling your own cat converter that has been replaced by a new one, then just find a recycling company ready to buy one from you.