Toyota Avalon Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – Selling Good?

Scrap cats are usually sent to the top shelf in our garages and lie there until we have some time to decide what to do with them. Very often, people just sell their converters to one of the local scrapyards and lose their money because the price offers there are just low. Can you sell a Toyota cat converter at a better price? Yes! If you read this article carefully.

Today, we'll be talking about the Toyota Avalon catalytic converter price. A scrap Toyota cat can actually cost much more than you think and it can bring you some money. The key task is to find a company or a person ready to pay more for the converter. This task may seem hard, but you will be able to complete it easily once you finish reading.

Here's what we are going to discuss today:

1. Toyota Avalon cat converters in different generations - location and type.
2. What's the optimal average scrap price for the Avalon catalytic converter?
3. How should you sell the Toyota cat converter?
4. Cat converter replacement cost for the Toyota Avalon.

Let's get started!

Catalytic converter types in Toyota Avalon - what should you know?

The only important thing you should know is that your cat converter should be original to get some money for it. Unfortunately, a lot of Avalons will already have aftermarket converters because the OEM ones were cut out and replaced due to clogging or damage. This means that a lot of vehicles will not have valuable converters in their systems.

The Avalon has been manufactured and sold since 1994. It has already changed five generations. Yes, this is not the most popular vehicle made by Toyota, but it's an exclusive sedan with marvelous comfort and great space for passengers. So, this vehicle is not for everyone. If you own an Avalon, you have the opportunity to sell the converter once it starts malfunctioning.

Here are some things you should know:

• the Avalon has always used big V6 engines (3.0 in first generations, 3.5 in recent years) and 2.5-liter 4-cylinder for a hybrid version;
• the type and the number of cat converters depend on the model and year of your vehicle;
• there can be two or three catalytic converters in the system of the Avalon, all converters are pretty valuable;
• pre-cats are smaller, they are usually located right near the exhaust manifold in the engine compartment;
• main catalytic converters are a little bigger in size, they are more expensive as scrap parts;
• all converters contain platinum and palladium, and some of them contain a small amount of rhodium.

The OEM Toyota converters may or may not have the serial number on them. In Japan, manufacturers usually don't care much about marking their catalytic converters and putting their logos on them because recycling in Japan is a little different. Though the majority of the converters have the serial numbers and you can find them on the bodies.

Knowing the serial number and being sure that the cat converter you are holding in your hands is Toyota original are the most important factors. But let's look at possible variations of cost estimates in different cases.

Price of catalytic converters from your Toyota Avalon

So, the price shouldn't be very low because all Toyota converters contain some precious metals. It's pretty important to remember that an original converter shouldn't cost $40 unless it's in a very bad condition.

The average scrap price of the Toyota Avalon catalytic converter should be from $100 to $180 depending on the type and size of the cat. This is the price for one single catalytic converter, not for the whole assembly.

On the one hand, it's cool when you have 3 cats and can earn up to $500 by selling them all. But on the other hand, you will spend a fortune on replacing the catalytic converters.

So, here's what you should know about the scrap price of your Avalon cats:

• the prices depend much on the year and the serial number (defining the type) of the catalytic converter you have in your hands;
• the condition will also be an important thing in deciding what the price should be for your converter;
• sometimes, cats may sell much cheaper just because the market prices for precious metals are falling;
• recycling companies may change buyout prices for cats because of any new laws, new taxes, or changes in the price of recycling;
• also, different companies and private buyers will offer different prices and your task is to find the best offer.

Well, what you can control is the company you are selling your cat to. You may try different options but be careful - it's not uncommon for Americans to be the victims of fraud when they ship their converters and don't get any money.

We recommend only official and licensed companies that impose no risks at all. Searching for a better price may sometimes lead to bad consequences. But we'll tell you how to find the best price and why you should sell your cats to one specific type of company.

Who should you sell your Toyota Avalon cat to?

Finding a proper company to sell your Toyota Avalon catalytic converter to is important. You may sell it to a person via any online platform like eBay but remember about fraud risks and also about time you will need to spend on this. Sometimes, waiting for a proper buyer will take months which is not appropriate for most sellers.

We recommend recycling companies. They are pretty fair with clients because they compete with each other. If they offer bad prices, you can always choose one of their counterparts and sell the converter to another company. And they know about it.

So, the process of selling is the following:

• you take off the converter from your Avalon - better let a specialist do that to not damage the cat;
• then, you just take some pictures of the cat and send these pictures to some companies that recycle cats;
• sending pictures is possible at their official websites - just find them inline and quote;
• after you quote, they will take one or two days to offer you a certain price;
• after that, you will be able to compare the price offers and choose one of the best ones among them;
• usually, companies pay for shipping, so you shouldn't care where the chosen recycling company is located.

Well, you may say it's so complicated - wouldn't it be better to just go to one of the scrapyards and sell your Toyota Avalon cat converter there? Yes, you may do this. But the problem is that you won't even get close to the fair price. Scrapyards, although they are the most popular places to sell old cat converters, don't offer good prices.

You will get about $40-50 for an original Toyota cat in a scrapyard. You may take three times more money if you try and sell the cat to a recycling company. Sounds good, especially if you have a couple of converters for sale.

What's the cat converter replacement cost for Toyota Avalon?

The prices for original catalytic converters for your Toyota Avalon will be anywhere between $400 and $1500 for a single cat converter. This means you are going to spend a huge amount of money if you want everything in your car to be OEM.

But most of the owners will still choose some cheaper options. We can think of two variants: the cheaper aftermarket prices and also used and remanufactured catalytic converters. We would recommend looking at the aftermarket parts but not the cheapest ones. The proper Toyota Avalon catalytic converter should cost about $250-400 depending on the type. The whole assembly will cost about $1000. In this case, the cats may have proper longevity.

Anyway, aftermarket cats will die sooner than the OEM. So if you are going to drive your Avalon for another 100,000 miles, you should think about OEM parts. Maybe, your state allows driving the vehicle without cats (no strict fog test rules) and you can just install metal pipes instead. This will be much cheaper.

Still, you need to count up the labor costs. Installing one catalytic converter with welding will cost about $150 or $200 depending on the shop you choose. If a specialist just needs to fix the new cat with bolts, it shouldn't cost more than $50-$70.

Final words

Driving a Toyota Avalon is a very good experience that you should get if you want to see real Japanese comfort. But maintaining this car and keeping it on the go is not that cheap. When it comes to catalytic converter clogging, damaging, or theft, the repair prices are going to be huge.

If you still have the old catalytic converters, you can compensate for some expenses just by selling them to one of the recycling companies. We've given you small instructions on how you can deal with the cat converter in order to get more money. And we hope it helps you avoid losing your possible revenues.