Volkswagen Passat Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – How Much Can You Get?

A Volkswagen Passat is not just a popular car. This is a legendary sedan that was sold in America for a dozen years. In Europe, this is a legend and it has already changed eight generations with extremely successful sales. But you should know that the Passat for America is a completely different vehicle.

It's called Passat NMS (New Mid-sized Sedan or North-American Market Special). But today we'll not be speaking about the difference between European and American Passat models. We'll look at converters. Mainly, we'll talk about the possibility to sell your old cat converter from a Passat. How much money can you get for this scrap part?

Here's what we'll be talking about:

1. Where is the cat converter located in your Passat?
2. Is there a lot of precious metal in German cat converters?
3. How much can you get for a scrap converter from the Passat?
4. Where to sell your Passat catalytic converter?
5. Why are some converters worth $10 while some others $200?

Let's get started!

Where can you find the cat converters in your Passat?

The usual location of the cat converter for a Passat is just under the vehicle - these parts are integrated into the exhaust system. You should find the exhaust manifold and then look down the pipe. The next object on the way should be a cat converter. After that, you will see a muffler.

Also, some systems will have two catalytic converters - one pre-cat and also one main cat. You can sell both, by the way, but pre-cats are usually quite cheap. In this case, the muffler will be a little further, after the second catalytic converter.

Here are some factors you can use for analyzing your cat:

• if it's an original Volkswagen catalytic converter, it should have a VW logo on it, but sometimes there is no logo;
• also, you should be able to see the serial number on the converter, this will help you to understand its actual price;
• also, the converter shouldn't be welded into the pipe - original cats come integrated into the pipe with no welding lines and tracks;
• usually, original converters aren't very rusty, though they may have some rust on them, you can clean them easily;
• when you cut the converter out of the pipe, you should see a ceramic honeycomb inside - this is the most precious part of the cat;
• original Volkswagen cat converters are of high quality, they are pretty heavy and don't rattle when you shake them.

Once you know that you have already found your cat converter, you can cut it out and see whether it hasn't been damaged much. A damaged converter with holes or a rattling catalytic converter is not going to cost a lot.

Also, pay attention to the type of catalytic converter you have. In diesel engines (TDI), they are smaller while in gasoline engines without any turbochargers, these cats are much bigger. The turbocharged engines have smaller cat converters that are going to cost less than the cat from the 2.5-liter V6, for example.

Can you get a lot of precious metals from your VW Passat converter?

A typical catalytic converter from a Volkswagen Passat contains 3-7 grams of palladium, 5-7 grams of platinum, and also up to 1.5 grams of rhodium.

The most expensive metal is rhodium, it's about $600 per gram. But it's extremely hard and expensive to get it out and clean from all contaminants. Other metals cost $35-70 per gram.

The bigger the converter, the more precious metals you can get from it. But anyway, the process of recycling is very complicated and can't be organized in your garage. You will need a lot of professional equipment.

So, you will need to sell your cat converter to someone who knows what to do with it. And this is an important part - better sell it to someone who is ready to give more money.

How much money can you get for a scrap cat converter from a Passat?

So, the Volkswagen Passat cat converter scrap price is from $70 to $180. You may ask why the range is so wide. The eventual price depends on many factors. For taking more money from that deal, you should know where and when it's better to sell your old catalytic converter from a Volkswagen Passat.

We want to give you some of the most important factors that influence the price:

• the size of the catalytic converter which depends on the model and year of your Passat;
• the serial number which is also important to determine the potential weight of precious metals;
• the condition of the cat converter - shabby and rusty cats won't cost much at all;
• the prices for precious metals currently on the market - something you can't control;
• the buyer of your cat converter - one can offer $10 while some others will be glad to give $200.

A very interesting thing is that you can control only one factor - the buyer. All other things will just depend on the type of your vehicle. It's important to remember that not all buyers will give you good money for a cat converter just because some of them are middlemen that want to earn money by reselling your catalytic converter.

Where should you sell your catalytic converter?

We have a couple of options. We've sold our old cats from Volkswagen vehicles to many different companies and private buyers. And we know for sure that some of them are going to give you more money than others. And sometimes the place to sell your old VW Passat cat converter for better money is not that obvious.

We can say that you will have to investigate online. Maybe, one year after this article is written something will change (but we doubt it).

So, here are all ways to sell your Passat scrap catalytic converter:

1. Private sale through eBay or something like that (even a flea market). It's good - you can decide the price by yourself. But it's very long and not convenient at all.
2. Local scrap yards, car shops, repair stations, mechanics. All these people and companies may buy your converter. But be prepared to get about $20-40 for the original VW cat which is extremely bad.
3. Middlemen. These are private buyers who buy your cats and then resell them to different recycling companies and other buyers. So, they basically take half of the possible converter price from you which is not good at all.
4. Recycling companies. These are the companies that recycle cats. And usually, all scrap cat converters come here at the end of their lives. These companies are going to pay you more than any others, so why should you lose your money?

Finding these companies is not hard at all. We can't give any links because you will consider this advertisement and will not believe it. So, you better do it by yourself. Just google some recycling companies that buy cat converters and contact them to see what they are going to give you.

Usually, it takes you up to two hours to contact 5 or 6 companies and get feedback from them. Then you'll be able to choose the company that offers more money than all other potential buyers.

Why are prices for cat converters so different?

You may wonder why one cat converter may cost $10 while some other will be worth $200. Volkswagen Passat may be equipped with pre-cats that are not expensive. Also, you may have an aftermarket catalytic converter that is not worth more than $20. One more thing is that catalytic converters can be damaged and their honeycomb may be broken.

The final price depends on many factors. But usually, this huge difference is connected to the origin of your catalytic converter. If it is an original Volkswagen cat, it will cost more. But aftermarket catalytic converters aren't going to earn a lot of money for you.

If you have an aftermarket cat, just bring it to a local scrapyard. But the original converter should be sold to a recycling company. We've told you about all the ways to sell your cat and you should know that recycling companies are your best friends when you are going to sell an original German catalytic converter.

Final words

Unfortunately, Passat vehicles don't have extremely expensive and precious catalytic converters. Their average price is going to be about $120. Some models will have more expensive cats while some other models are going to have just some ordinary small catalytic converters. We think you should know that selling these cat converters is not a very hard task and you should always check the prices in recycling companies first.

The cat converter market is not easy to understand. It works under some strange rules and is changed constantly. But selling your cat converters to a recycling company has always been a good choice and it's going to be the best option in the nearest future.