Who Buys Cadillac Converters? Our Short Guide on Selling OEM Converters

Catalytic converters have a certain lifespan and they often fail much earlier than other units of your Cadillac car. This means you will have to replace the converter with a new OEM or aftermarket part and then you will have the broken or clogged original cat converter in your hands.

Of course, you don't need this converter and want to get rid of it. You even consider giving it away to some scrapyard but suddenly some car forum tells you that these cat converters cost some money. After a quick investigation, you understand that your OEM Cadillac converter still may cost $200 to $500 depending on its model and serial number. But where can you sell it?

Today, we'll tell you who buys Cadillac catalytic converters, how middlemen earn on your cat converters and what are the best ways to sell this part even if it's clogged and broken. Also, we'll tell you why different people and companies are ready to pay that much money for a piece of rusty metal that used to filter exhaust gases in your car for so many years.

Let's get started!

Who buys catalytic converters from Cadillac in the US?

A lot of people and companies will offer you some money in exchange for your old catalytic converters. Not all parts can be sold and not all companies will offer good money, but let's do it step by step.

So, here are the potential buyers of a Cadillac catalytic converter:

• eBay buyers - they are often private buyers and Cadillac car owners who want to have a cheap replacement part for their converter to pass the fog test;
• exhaust shops - those may want these converters for cleaning them and then selling to their clients as used but working parts;
• middlemen and resellers - these are usually private buyers who buy catalytic converters of different brands and then resell them to other companies earning some cash;
• scrapyards - it's not a surprise that scrapyards buy used parts from cars to then resell them and earn some profit;
• recycling companies - these are the specialized businesses that recycle old catalytic converters and then sell metals that they can get in the process.

Now you know that there are lots of people and companies that really want to buy your old and non-working catalytic converter. If it still can pass the fog test if installed into some Cadillac, it's always better to sell it as a working part. But in most cases, you will want to sell it as a clogged or non-working converter that should be recycled.

Why do people and businesses buy old and damaged cat converters?

Your OEM Cadillac converter is made of different metals and ceramic filter. While the ceramic element is not precious at all and the iron shell of the converter will cost a dollar or two, some precious metals that are found inside your Cadillac converter may cost hundreds of dollars.

For example, most OEM converters contain platinum and palladium which help the system to catalyze some harmful elements. Also, these converters may contain rhodium which is a very expensive metal. Although it's only several grams of each metal in one cat converter, overall, their price may reach $1,500 or even more in some old models.

It means that when a recycling company gets such a converter and uses efficient recycling methods, the company can get good revenue after selling all the metals it can get out of the converter.

Also, some other buyers will buy your converter because they want to restore it and use it in a Cadillac car or sell it as a working used converter twice as expensive as they bought it.

Are all Cadillac converters really that precious?

No, not all Cadillac catalytic converters will cost a lot of money. Every cat converter has a serial number on it which determines the weight of precious metals inside it. Using this serial number, recycling companies and other professional buyers can figure out how much they can earn. So, one Cadillac converter may cost $90 while some other cat will cost $500.

This depends on the type of engine, its displacement, model year, etc. Bigger engines usually have bigger converters while more modern turbo engines have smaller catalytic converters which are usually sold cheaper when clogged or damaged.

Also, you should keep in mind that only OEM Cadillac catalytic converters are so wanted by recycling companies and other buyers. Aftermarket cat converters are not precious at all and can be sold to scrapyards for $20-30 if you are lucky to find a good buyer.

Can you get precious metals out of a Cadillac converter by yourself?

Many Cadillac owners ask if they can take those platinum, palladium, and rhodium out of catalytic converters. The answer is clear - no, they can't. For this, you will need to have special equipment that costs a fortune. For example, to get some metals out of the ceramic honeycomb, you will need to melt everything under an enormously high temperature in a special furnace. Also, you will need equipment to gather and split different metals.

One more problem - how can you sell a couple of grams of platinum? No business will want to buy 2 grams of rhodium and 7 grams of platinum. They want to buy kilograms of these metals. That's why recycling companies need to buy hundreds of converters and also use other methods to recycle these precious metals.

So, it's impossible to recycle a catalytic converter in your garage. And you will obviously want to sell such a thing if you have it in your hands.

How can you sell an old Cadillac catalytic converter?

Now you know that there are dozens of buyers who will be glad to pay some money for your old cat converter. But how can you understand who will pay you more money?

You should start by answering this question: does your converter still work? If yes, you can sell it as a used catalytic converter for a certain Cadillac model via eBay. Just look at how much other sellers want for their converters and offer it at the same price or a little cheaper to sell it faster.

If the converter is clogged or broken, you should concentrate on recycling companies. These businesses will pay more than scrapyards or private resellers. But there is one way you can get even more money.

Here's what you should do:

• first of all, take pictures of your catalytic converter;
• make sure you can see the serial number and the condition of the cat on those pics;
• after that go online and find as many websites of recycling companies as you can;
• find e-mails or contact pages on those websites and send them pics of your converter;
• attach some information about the cat - the model, year, size, weight, etc.;
• wait until all companies answer you back with their price offers;
• see which buyer offers you more money;
• also, pay attention to shipping costs - some buyers will pay for shipping;
• choose the best offer and eventually sell your converter at the best possible price.

You will spend about an hour or two on all these preparations, but in the end, you will get the best offer and no one will give you more money for the converter.

Of course, you may still try other options like eBay and scrapyards, but we are almost sure you will only waste your time.

Why scrapyards are a bad option?

We tend to think that scrapyards recycle old parts or sell them to other people who need these used parts to get their cars back on the road. But actually, scrapyards only think about their pockets. What they like doing is buying your converters for a few bucks and then selling them at full price to recycling companies.

Scrapyards never recycle catalytic converters because they would need an expensive set of equipment and also a special license for that. They just find the most generous recycling company - just like we've described earlier in this article and just like you would do that. So, we don't see any reason why you should sell your converter to them unless it's an aftermarket or completely destroyed part.

Final thoughts

Selling your old catalytic converters to a recycling company or to another car owner would be two of the best choices. This way, the converter will not get to the trash and will not contaminate the environment. It will be recycled properly by a licensed company or reused as a replacement converter in a car like yours.

To get an idea of the price of your catalytic converter from an old Cadillac car, you can use the guidelines that we've given above in this article. Also, you can find your way to sell a catalytic converter. Just remember that OEM converters contain precious metals and shouldn't be sold for little money. Find a person or a company that will pay you a decent price for the old Cadillac converter.