Short answer: Converter scrap values follow platinum, palladium and rhodium, and all three are well below their 2026 peaks. Spot platinum touched a record $2,918.80 an ounce on January 26, 2026. Kitco quoted it at $1,712 on October 5, about 41% lower. Palladium has fallen even more. What a buyer pays for your converter depends on its code and how much metal is inside, not on what the car is worth.
Last checked: October 5, 2026. Metal prices are from Kitco, including a Reuters report it carried on January 26. Converter prices are from Rockaway Recycling's posted list. The palladium case is from trade.gov and the Federal Register. Theft figures are CARFAX data reported by Carrier Management. Sale rules are from the California Legislature, the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes and the Ohio House.
How far have converter metals fallen in 2026?
| Metal | Earlier in 2026 | October 5, 2026 (Kitco bid) |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | $2,918.80 record, January 26 | $1,712, about 41% lower |
| Palladium | $2,099.50, January 26 | $1,156, about 45% lower |
| Rhodium | About $11,000 in March, per CARFAX | $8,400 bid, $9,400 ask |
The January figures come from a Reuters report carried by Kitco that day. Current prices are on Kitco's precious metals page. Rhodium's $1,000 gap between bid and ask is a sign of how thin that market is.
A converter holds a few grams of these metals, so a 40% fall in the metal does not move every converter by the same dollar amount. It hits the high-value units hardest. If someone quoted you a price in the winter, expect a lower number now.
Did the Russian palladium duties take effect?
No. The Commerce Department found that unwrought palladium from Russia was dumped and subsidized. It announced a 132.83% antidumping margin on April 28, 2026 and a 109.10% countervailing duty rate on May 20.
Duties also needed a finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission that American producers were harmed. On June 15, 2026, the commission found that they were not, and the determination was published in the Federal Register on June 18. Without that finding, no duties apply. For converter sellers, that means the case did not add a tariff to Russian palladium.
Why does one converter bring $20 and another $700?
Because the metal loading differs from one converter to the next, even among converters of the same size. Buyers identify a converter by the code stamped on its shell and price it from what that model is known to contain. A converter from an old, nearly worthless car can be worth more than one from a newer car.
Rockaway Recycling in New Jersey shows how wide the range is. These are some of its posted converter prices at 8 AM on October 5, 2026.
| Rockaway's category | Posted range, each |
|---|---|
| Small GM converter | $18 to $770 |
| DPF from a diesel | $30 to $801 |
| High-grade domestic | $68 to $618 |
| Large foreign | $90 to $454 |
| Regular domestic | $20 to $133 |
| Aftermarket | $5 |
The yard asks for a quote on each one. An aftermarket replacement, often marked with a silver plate, is worth almost nothing because it holds little metal.
CARFAX data reported by Carrier Management on June 11, 2026 put the theft price of a standard converter at $25 to $300, and a hybrid's at up to $1,400 because hybrids carry more metal. CARFAX counted more than 137,000 converters stolen in 2025. Our page on the most valuable converters by vehicle lists the models that bring the most.
How do you sell a converter legally?
With paperwork that ties the converter to a car you own. California's Business and Professions Code section 21610 asks an individual seller for a driver's license, the year, make, model and VIN of the car, a copy of the title showing that the VIN matches the number marked on the converter, photographs, and a written statement of how you got it.
Minnesota's scrap metal statute expects a detached converter to be marked with the date it was removed and the VIN, or a number that police can link to the VIN.
Ohio's House Bill 210, on the sale of used catalytic converters, takes effect on October 6, 2026. Our summary of catalytic converter laws by state covers the rest, and selling a converter to a junkyard walks through the visit.
A recap of the 2025 converter market and an outlook for 2026 from the iScrap App channel, published December 2025. It was made before the 2026 price fall.
