Catalytic converters are worth a lot of money. These components are some of the most expensive car parts: luckily, you don’t have to replace them too often.
They’re so valuable in fact, that they’re often targeted by thieves. When you scrap or sell your car, you should always make sure that you recycle your catalytic converter for cash.
In this guide to catalytic converter recycling, we’ll look at why these components are so valuable and how to recycle them. Ready to find out more and make some extra cash when scrapping your car? Then read on!
Table of Contents
Why Are Catalytic Converters So Valuable?
A catalytic converter is a very valuable car part not because of what it does, they’re pretty standard parts, but because of what it contains. So, what’s inside a catalytic converter?
Inside, you’ll find a range of precious metals and other catalysts that help to remove harmful pollutants from your exhaust. These metals are arranged in a honeycomb that offers a huge surface area.
Let’s take a look at the metals inside a catalytic converter.
Platinum and Gold
Two of the most expensive metals on Earth can be found in relative abundance inside your exhaust system. These metals are brushed onto the honeycomb at the plant and can be removed when it’s recycled.
Palladium
Another precious metal, this part helps to remove pollutants from gasoline-fed engines and is very common across all catalytic converters.
A Range of Non-Precious Metals
While there are a lot of precious metals in catalytic converters, they aren’t all that’s in there. You can also find a lot of copper, nickel, manganese, iron, and cerium.
All of these metals are worth something on the scrap market, which means scrapping your car without selling this component is a huge waste of money!
Catalytic Converter Recycling: How to Do it
So you know that there’s a lot of money in these parts: how can you exchange it for cold hard cash? Your best bet will be to take your car to a scrap metal dealer or a service that advertises itself by saying something like “we buy junk cars.“
These people won’t care what condition your car is in or even what condition the catalytic converter is in. If there’s any value to be had from it, they will pass on a portion of it to you.
You might be wondering whether you could remove the catalytic converter and sell it yourself. You might even be tempted to remove the metals from it and sell them on.
The problem is, removing these metals is very complicated and can be dangerous if you don’t do it properly. Don’t risk it: take it to a professional and let them take it off your hands.
A Quick Way to Make Extra Cash
Selling your car’s catalytic converter when scrapping it is a great way to make some extra cash. Don’t forget to do it next time you sell or scrap a car!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our guide to catalytic converter recycling. For more interesting articles like this, check out the rest of our blog.