Toyota Prius Catalytic Converter Scrap Price. Does Prius Have Expensive Cats?

If you are concerned about nature, the environment, global warming, and all these things, you probably own a Toyota Prius. People will say that Teslas are much more eco-friendly, but hybrid cars are still very good in terms of range, performance, reliability, and also ecological features. The thing is that they burn twice or three times less gasoline than vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines, and this ensures their efficiency for ecology.

Toyota Prius is not just a hybrid, it's a legendary vehicle that is long-lasting, pretty economical, and also technological. But it still has a 1.8-liter gasoline engine, so it will have a catalytic converter to reduce the CO2 emissions and other emissions created in your engine when the gasoline burns.

Today, we'll be talking about the following:

1. What kind of catalytic converter is used in the Prius?
2. Can you sell your old cat converter from a Toyota Prius?
3. How much is the old cat from your Prius?
4. How can you sell the catalytic converter from the Prius at a higher price?

Let's get started!

Toyota Prius cat converter - where is it and what does it look like?

Toyota Prius was initially made as an eco-friendly vehicle, so the company introduced a new powerful system to clean the exhaust gasses. The system consists of two big converters that are filled with wonderful and efficient catalysts. These catalysts cost a lot, so the scrap price of the converters is pretty good.

So, the Prius catalytic converters are placed between the exhaust manifold and the muffler. You will easily locate the converters because they are covered by a special heat shield. The converters get pretty hot when they operate, so the covers help to avoid damages and heat problems.

Here's what you should know about the converters:

• they are placed in a good location, so finding them is not a problem at all;
• but you will have to cut and weld some parts when replacing the converter;
• the two converters are placed consequently after each other, they look pretty much the same;
• the converters are joined by the exhaust pipe, you will have to cut it to get them;
• the converters are made of special metal which does not rust and doesn't need any care.

Well, now you know how to see your converters. If you know for sure that they have already started malfunctioning, you will need to replace them. You may buy an aftermarket or an original converter set and you will need to take off the old cats.

As you understand, this procedure will cost you a lot of money. But we know a method that will help you compensate some dollars. We are talking about the scrap price of the catalytic converters, and for some Priuses, this scrap price is very positive.

How much is a catalytic converter from your Prius?

The most interesting generation is the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius. This generation has converters that are packed with precious metals. It's not a surprise that Prius cars are always on the top line of car thieves' targets. These vehicles have probably the most expensive cat converters that you may easily sell online or to a middleman.

This catalytic converter set may cost up to $1050, according to some well-known companies that buy cat converters as scrap online.

For other generations, things are a little worse. One scrap cat may be sold for approximately $200. But if you own a 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, you have a good chance of selling your old converter for decent money. We know people who managed to sell their cats for more than $1000 (for a set of two).

But how did they do it? Your local scrapyard will probably offer $50 for an old cat without even looking at its serial number. Now we'll tell you how to sell your Toyota Prius old cat at a higher price.

What are the ways of selling your scrap converter?

Here, we'll outline some ways of how you can sell the converters that you have taken from your Toyota Prius for some reason. First, you will have to see if the ceramic honeycomb is there inside each converter and it doesn't look damaged. Then, you will need to take some pictures of the converters including the picture of a serial number of the old cat. The serial number should be seen well.

Then, you will have a couple of choices:

1. Local scrapyard or some auto repair shop. You may go there and get just $50 to $100 for your converters. This is the second-worst option you can find (after just throwing your converters away).
2. Middlemen. These people buy old converters after checking their market prices. They will offer you approximately twice less than your converter actually costs. Middlemen are not the best friends for you when you are selling the old converter. They just want to make money by easily reselling something that belongs to you.
3. Private buyers. You can advertise your converter for sale in different forums and internet sites like eBay. This option will bring you much more money and you can actually ask the market price for your old cat. But you may spend months before someone will want to buy the cat converter taken from the Prius.
4. The specialized websites that belong to recycling companies. These businesses buy converters and then recycle them to get rhodium, palladium, and platinum out of the old cats. After that, they sell the precious metals and make some money.

The last option is actually the best for you and your budget. Firstly, you get your offer quickly. Secondly, you can get the best price for your converter. These buyers know pretty well that Prius converters cost a lot. So they will offer you better prices trying to buy your cat converter and win the competition. Your task is to find as many companies that buy catalytic converters as you can.

How to get the best price offer for the Prius scrap converter?

The scrap converter from your Prius may cost from $200 to $1000 and even more depending on the year, the engine, and the condition of the part. But not all companies will be glad to offer you that price. Some of them will hope that you don't know this and they will offer just $150 or something like that.

Here's how you should sell your Prius converter online:

1. Take pictures. You will have to clean your cat converter a little in order you could see the serial number. Then take pictures of different sides including the pictures of the honeycomb inside.
2. After that, find as many websites that buy catalytic converters take from Prius cars as you can. The more sites you find, the better chances for great price offers you get.
3. Send quotes at all websites that you managed to find. This will help you get their offers and understand how much they are ready to pay you for the old converters.
4. Compare the offers and choose two companies that offered the highest prices. Then contact them and learn more about the conditions of selling your old cat.
5. The last phase of the operation is to ship your old converter and to get the money.

The most popular mistake is to sell your catalytic converter to a company that offers not so much money. You should find more companies and check whether they can pay more. Otherwise, you will just lose your money and someone else will earn some bucks using your converters.

Why are the Toyota Prius converters so expensive?

The scrap price of a catalytic converter is determined by the amount of rhodium in it. Some companies use only 1 gram of rhodium while others use up to 3 grams and even more. Rhodium costs over $600 and the price keeps on growing.

Also, the Prius catalytic converters contain a lot of platinum and palladium which can be sold, too. These metals add to the total scrap price of the converters that you take off your Prius. These parts are really precious, and this is the only reason why Prius theft is usually committed for the sake of its converters.

Final words

You should know that an old cat converter in your Toyota Prius may cost up to $1000 and sometimes even more. The most expensive converters were used in the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius generation. But other models also have precious converters with a lot of expensive metals inside. So you can easily sell the converter using special companies that offer online quotes and send you offers before making the deal.

If you want to sell your Toyota Prius catalytic converters, never agree with a low-price offer. Once you do it, someone else will easily earn money on your converter. The Prius catalytic converters are pretty expensive, so make sure you get the most out of them when you sell them as scrap parts.