Toyota Camry Catalytic Converter Scrap Price And Ways To Sell It

If you have a Toyota, you are most likely to be satisfied with your vehicle and with what it delivers. These cars are really reliable, durable, and fun to drive. Especially, this is true if we are talking about the newer Toyota vehicles. But there is one part in Toyota that will start malfunctioning exactly at the same time or mileage as in other cars. This is a catalytic converter.

The converter is a part that helps reduce exhaust toxicity and clean the gasses that the engine produces when working. This is achieved with the help of catalysts that are included in every converter. For an OEM Toyota converter, the catalysts are platinum, palladium, and rhodium. These metals are extremely rare and very expensive. So, you shouldn't just throw away your old malfunctioning converter. You may sell it.

And here's what we are going to talk about today:

1. Cat converter life expectancy in a Toyota Camry.
2. What kind of cats are installed in Camrys?
3. What's the optimal scrap price for a Toyota Camry converter?
4. How to sell your Toyota cat at a better price?

Let's get started!

Catalytic converters in a Camry - are they different?

Every Toyota engine has a certain type of converter. We've seen a lot of tables that show the prices for every single serial number of an OEM catalytic converter made by Toyota. So, every type is actually different, and the prices may vary from $50 to $300 or even more. But the best prices are not for a Camry converter, the most expensive cats are installed on big SUVs and vans.

Camry converters will be placed anywhere in the middle of this price range. We would say, that the original Toyota Camry converters cost between $100 and $200 depending on their condition, engine type, and also on the place you are selling your converter.

Here are some explanations of the price factors:

1. Engine type. Bigger engines blow more exhaust gasses and they need more catalysts to deal with this contamination. So, these engines will have bigger and more expensive converters.
2. Year of production. This factor includes two reasons. The first one is the age of the converter. The older the cat, the more chances it's broken or damaged. The second factor is the series of a converter that defines the potential weight of precious metals inside.
3. Condition. If a converter has a hole in its body, or if it's damaged, you can't sell it at a full price. Recycling companies or other buyers will not pay a lot for such a piece of scrap metal.
4. Buyer. Your buyer may be a local scrapyard that will want to pay you $20 for the cat. If you find a better buyer (we will show you how to do it later), you may get 5 or 10 times more than that.
5. Origin. Aftermarket catalytic converters cost $10 to $20 because they don't contain a lot of precious materials. We are talking mainly about OEM converters made by Toyota.

You can't control all of these factors, but you can at least partially control two of them. The condition of your converter and the place you sell it. Choosing a buyer is a more obvious thing, but how can you control the condition of a Toyota Camry catalytic converter? It's easy - you will need to show that the internal parts of the converter are not damaged.

As you see, it's not that easy to determine some precise price of the cat converter. You will only have to quote for the price because nearly all automated online instruments are fakes. They will offer you a low price and you will be ready to sell a cat for $20 or something.

How long does a converter in a Toyota Camry last?

We should say that you have to look at two main factors when you are talking about the longevity of a converter.

The first factor is time. Rust and damages will reduce the lifespan of your converter and eventually it will clog or start malfunction in 10 years even if you only drive your vehicle for 5 000 miles a year.

If the yearly mileage of your Camry is closer to average, you will probably use the OEM converter for 150 000 miles or a little less. After that, you will have to replace it.

The big question is whether you should buy an OEM or an aftermarket catalytic converter. Original Japanese converters are pretty good for selling while aftermarket ones will not give you much money at all.

How to understand you have an original Toyota converter?

Toyota company loves its logo and these guys put this logo everywhere. Including catalytic converters. You will find a small logo and then a serial number after the logo. The serial number may only consist of three symbols. Bear in mind that a logo can be covered with rust and not visible so easily.

If you don't have a serial number on a converter, it's very rusty, extremely light, rattling, and small, you have an aftermarket converter. This thing cannot be sold at a decent price, so just sell it in the nearest scrapyard. But the original converters shouldn't be sold in scrapyards, you have to find better options.

How to sell the catalytic converter from your Camry?

So, you may just sell the converter to your mechanic who has helped you with replacing it. These guys often buy converters but they give just a little money. Then they will resell your converter and earn some cash.

Then, you can also sell the cat to a middleman or to a scrapyard. The price will be better than in the case with your mechanic, but still not so good. The main goal of these guys is to buy your converter at a cheaper price to resell them and earn some cash.

Finally, you can sell your converter to a recycling company. Here's how:

1. Find as many websites of recycling companies as you can. It's important to find specialized companies that recycle catalytic converters.
2. After that, take some pictures of your converter. This will help these companies estimate the price of your converter remotely.
3. Then, use the pictures and quote for prices of the converter. You can send inquiries to all companies you have found.
4. Wait until they answer and just choose the best option you have. Usually, it takes up to one or two working days.
5. Organize the shipping of your cat converter. For this, you may need to contact the company managers, to get some information on shipping rules.

Pay attention to shipping. If you choose a company that is located thousands of miles away from your home, the shipping price may not be very pleasant. So, you better find a company that pays for shipping.

This is the easiest method to sell your catalytic converter at a good price. There is one more method available - you may try private sales online. Advertising your cat converter online is a very good idea but you will need to know the price before. So, quoting online is still a good idea to get at least the average price.

How much platinum and other metals do Camry converters contain?

Toyota Camry offers very effective converters that last long. This allows us to presume that these converters are of very high quality. Thus, we can say that they contain a decent amount of precious materials. Though, Toyota converters are not the most expensive on the market. They take an average place in the rating of the most valuable types of cat converters.

Here's what they actually contain:

• platinum - around 5 or 7 grams, this is the most popular precious metal in cat converters;
• palladium - up to 4-5 grams, this metal brings more money than platinum, but it's harder to get out of the cat;
• rhodium - around 1 gram, this metal is extremely hard to get because it is presented as an alloy with other metals.

These three materials are actually the main metals that can earn money if you recycle a converter. If you look at the market prices of these materials, you will count that a recycling company may get at least $1000 selling all these materials. It's true, but you should also think about the expenses like heat energy, taxes, license payments, salaries, etc.

Final words

You shouldn't sell your Toyota Camry catalytic converter at a bad price that is offered by scrapyards, middlemen, or car shops. Better find a specialized recycling company and figure out how much your converter should cost. Then you may just sell your old cat to one of these companies, or you may sell it privately through internet ads at eBay or whatever.

Your Camry cat should cost over $100 and up to $200. This price range may differ in accordance with the factors that we've already described above. Always try to get more money when you sell your old OEM Toyota cat converter.