A catalytic converter buyer is a business that pays for a spent converter based on its platinum, palladium and rhodium content, either as a flat rate or as an assayed payout. The two pricing methods, and the charges and rules that separate a good offer from a poor one, are compared below.
Who Buys Catalytic Converters?#
Catalytic converters are bought by two kinds of business: national buyer networks and local scrap yards, and each sits at a different point in the chain that turns scrap platinum, palladium and rhodium back into refined metal. A converter can also be sold refiner-direct through toll refining, a third route with its own pricing method and minimum lot size. Choosing between them is mostly a choice between speed and the fraction of the metal's value the seller actually receives.
National Buyer Networks vs Local Scrap Yards#
National buyer networks assay every lot and pay on contained metal, while many local scrap yards pay a flat rate per converter without assay. A flat-rate yard prices the converter type from a code or a visual match to a database average, settles the same day and takes on the risk that the actual content differs from that average. An assay-based network instead screens the lot, prices it against measured platinum, palladium and rhodium content, and settles once that assay clears, in exchange for a wait of one to three weeks. The table below compares the three routes a seller can use.
| Buyer type | Pricing method | Typical turnaround | Assay disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| National buyer network | Assayed payout on contained metal | 1 to 3 weeks | Discloses payable percentages and charges |
| Local scrap yard | Flat rate per converter, no assay | Same day | Rarely discloses a payable percentage |
| Refiner-direct (toll refining) | Assayed payout, lot minimum applies | 13 to 15 working days for assay, plus 2 working days to pay | Full assay report with payables and charges itemized |
Where a Buyer Sits in the Recycling Chain#
A converter passes through up to six steps before it becomes refined metal: scrapyard, aggregator, decanner, sampler, smelter and refiner, each run by a different specialist business.
- Scrapyard or dismantler: where the converter leaves the vehicle.
- Aggregator or collector: buys from scrapyards, sorts by substrate.
- Decanner: strips the housing to reach the PGM-bearing substrate.
- Sampler or processor: crushes and homogenizes it for assay.
- Smelter: separates metallic from non-metallic material above 1,200°C.
- Refiner: completes separation into metal identical to newly mined metal.
A direct sale to a network or refiner skips the scrapyard-to-aggregator markup. The full chain is on catalytic converter recycling; typical unit content is on how much platinum is in a catalytic converter.
How Converter Buyers Price an Offer#
A converter buyer's offer is set by the metal content, the payable percentage and the charges deducted before payment, not by the converter's outward appearance. Two converters that look identical can be priced differently once these three factors are applied, and a buyer who will not name any of the three is not pricing on content at all.
Flat-Rate Offers vs Assayed Payouts#
A flat-rate offer is faster but pays less on average than an assayed payout, because it prices the converter type rather than its actual measured content. The flat rate is built from a database average for that code or model, so a unit assaying above average loses the difference to the buyer, and buyers set flat rates conservatively to avoid the reverse case. An assayed payout removes that guesswork by measuring the actual metal in the specific lot, at the cost of the settlement time shown above. Sellers with a diesel or hybrid converter, typically the highest-value units, generally net more from an assay-based buyer; see what your converter could pay first. A network with its own toll-refining terms can also quote closer to full assayed value than one reselling to a third party, a relationship how to choose a PGM refiner explains further.
Payable Percentages by Metal#
Refiners typically pay 96 to 98% of assayed platinum and palladium content but only 88 to 93% of rhodium content, because rhodium is the hardest of the three to separate cleanly (Ecotrade; Recohub). These figures are toll-refining terms from two independent trade sources, and the two ranges are never averaged into one number because they describe different commercial terms. The table below lists both.
| Metal | Ecotrade typical range | Recohub typical |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | 96% to 98% | 98% |
| Palladium | 96% to 98% | 98% |
| Rhodium | 88% to 93% | 94% to 95% |
Ecotrade's range and Recohub's figure both put rhodium 3 to 10 percentage points below platinum and palladium, which Recohub attributes to "chemistry and process specifics" rather than lower recovery: SFA (Oxford) and WPIC both report technical PGM recovery above 95% including rhodium, so the payable is the recovery rate minus the refiner's margin, not what is physically recoverable. Since rhodium can be the largest single contributor to a gasoline converter's value, its payable is worth checking as closely as the headline rate. Dated scrap prices built from these payables are on catalytic converter scrap prices.
The metal priced against these payables is platinum (Pt, element 78, CAS 7440-06-4), palladium (Pd, element 46, CAS 7440-05-3) and rhodium (Rh, element 45), per PubChem's element records, the only platinum group metals present in meaningful quantity in an autocatalyst.
Charges That Reduce the Payout#
A converter lot carries a treatment charge of US$200 to $500 per lot plus a refining charge of US$5 to $25 per troy ounce recovered, deducted before the seller is paid, per Ecotrade's 2026 toll-refining terms. The treatment charge is fixed per lot regardless of size, so it falls hardest on small lots; the refining charge scales with the ounces recovered. Correctly converted, US$5 to $25 per troy ounce is US$161 to $805 per kilogram, at the exact 31.1034768 grams in a troy ounce.
| Charge type | Basis | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment charge | Fixed, per lot | US$200 to $500 per lot |
| Refining charge | Per troy ounce of metal recovered | US$5 to $25 per troy ounce (US$161 to $805 per kilogram) |
| Small-lot fee | Applied when a lot misses the minimum volume | Charged; amount not published |
| Umpire assay | Independent re-check of a disputed result | Split between buyer and seller, or assigned by the outcome |
A buyer that will not itemize these charges separately from its quoted payable percentage is not disclosing the full basis of its offer.
How a Buyer Settles Your Converter#
A converter buyer settles a lot through a fixed sequence: weighing, decanning, milling, sampling, moisture correction and assay, before price is fixed. Every step exists to turn a physically inconsistent whole converter into a single representative number the buyer and seller can both trust.
The Settlement Sequence: Weighing to Payment#
Buyers grade a converter through a preliminary XRF screen, typically 3 to 5 working days, followed by a settlement-grade ICP or fire assay within 10 further working days (Ecotrade). Payment then follows within 2 working days of the seller's approval of the final result, so the full cycle from receipt to cash runs roughly 13 to 15 working days unless the seller pre-fixes the metal price earlier in the process. The table below lists each stage in order.
| Settlement step | Method | Typical turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary screening | XRF | 3 to 5 working days |
| Settlement-grade assay | ICP or fire assay | Within 10 further working days |
| Payment after approval | Wire or check | Within 2 working days |
Moisture is corrected before grade is calculated, since dry weight, not wet weight, is what the assay applies to; a lot at 5% moisture loses 5% of its payable grams before any percentage or charge applies. Grading categories are detailed on catalytic converter grades, and the XRF, ICP and fire-assay methods on catalytic converter assay.
Why the Same Converter Gets Different Offers#
Two identical-looking converters yield different offers because loading varies by vehicle and region, and palladium typically outweighs platinum roughly three to one in an average gasoline converter (WPIC). A diesel converter reverses that ratio, carrying platinum as its dominant metal instead of palladium, so how much platinum is in a catalytic converter depends heavily on which fuel type built the unit. Regional build differences compound the effect: a 2010 model-year North American converter averages 5.8 grams of total platinum group metal against 5.4 grams in Europe and 2.2 grams in China, according to WPIC. A buyer offering a single flat price regardless of a converter's likely region and substrate is pricing on an average that these underlying differences will often miss.
Choosing and Working With a Buyer#
Choosing a converter buyer means checking how it prices (flat rate or assay), what it deducts, and whether it follows state ID and record rules. The sections below cover legal requirements, regional availability, DailyPlatinum's own quote route and where to read further.
Red Flags and State Legal Requirements#
Most US states now require a converter buyer to verify the seller's identity, record the vehicle or part source, and in some states pay only by non-cash instrument, following a wave of legislation tracked since 2022. The National Insurance Crime Bureau counted 163 bills across 37 states in 2022 alone, with 31 enacted, and a further 94 bills across 39 states tracked by 10 May 2023, with 12 already enacted that year. Typical provisions restrict sale to a licensed dealer or verified owner, require photo ID and record retention, and in some states ban cash payment outright. A buyer that skips ID verification or pays cash with no paperwork in a state requiring otherwise is operating outside these rules, and the same conditions that make a converter cheap to fence make it a target for catalytic converter theft.
Buyer Availability by Region#
Contained metal value per converter differs sharply by region: US$250 in North America, $211 in Europe and $84 in China on 2024 average prices (WPIC), which is why buyer density and payout levels differ by market even before local competition is counted. A higher-value market supports more competing buyers and thinner margins, while a low-value market like China's leaves less room for an aggregator's fixed processing costs, which WPIC estimates at US$90 to $200 per converter regardless of metal content. A seller in a lower-value market has more reason to seek an assay-based buyer, since fixed costs consume a larger share of a smaller contained value.
Get a Quote#
DailyPlatinum's scrap quote form routes a request to assay-based buyers, not flat-rate ones. Sellers who want an estimate first can run the catalytic converter PGM value calculator before requesting an offer.
Related Converter Scrap Pages#
Related pages cover converter value, content, assay, grading, identification and theft in depth.
- Value and content: how much a catalytic converter is worth, how much platinum is in a catalytic converter.
- Grading and assay: catalytic converter grades, catalytic converter assay, catalytic converter ceramic monolith.
- Identification and selling: catalytic converter codes, how to identify a catalytic converter, where to sell a catalytic converter, most valuable catalytic converters, diesel catalytic converter scrap value.
- Risk: catalytic converter theft.
Catalytic Converter Buyers FAQ#
Who pays the most for a catalytic converter?#
No single buyer pays the most for every converter; the buyer paying closest to full assayed value, including the 88 to 93% rhodium payable, generally nets the seller more than a flat-rate buyer. A national network's headline price means little without its charges; comparing the payable percentages and charges in the table above is a better test than comparing quoted dollar figures alone, and how much a catalytic converter is worth walks through a full worked estimate.
Is it worth it to scrap a catalytic converter?#
Scrapping a converter is worth it whenever the metal's assayed value exceeds the buyer's charges and the seller's own time cost; WPIC's 2024 US basis put that break-even at roughly US$34 per average converter. That break-even moves with metal prices, since dated catalytic converter scrap prices at 2021 peak levels implied a break-even offer of roughly US$402 for the same North American average converter, a more than tenfold swing driven almost entirely by the price of rhodium and palladium.
What car has the highest catalytic converter scrap value?#
Converters with the highest scrap value carry the highest combined platinum, palladium and rhodium loading, a figure that varies far more by vehicle type, engine size and diesel-versus-gasoline design than by brand alone. The vehicles and loadings behind that ranking are detailed on the linked most valuable catalytic converters page.
Where is the best place to sell my catalytic converter?#
The best place to sell a converter is whichever buyer discloses its payable percentages and charges before you ship, not necessarily the one quoting the highest flat price. A buyer willing to itemize the rhodium payable and its charges in advance is pricing the way a refiner does. Where to sell a catalytic converter covers the full comparison.