Many people are aware that vehicles are manufactured using a variety of common ferrous and non-ferrous metals, like steel, iron, and aluminum. But did you know that vehicles, like your everyday car or truck, may also contain valuable precious metals? Not only does this mean that your junk car is worth more than you think, it means that you can sell it to any local scrap metal buyer or junk car yard for cash on the spot!
Continue reading to learn which precious metals might be found in your average vehicle, and where to sell a junk car for the best price around!
Precious Metals
Precious metals are rare, naturally-occurring metals with high economic value. Common examples include gold, silver, platinum, and zirconium. Others include cobalt, titanium, palladium, osmium, ruthenium, iridium, and tungsten. Precious metals retain unique and advantageous qualities and characteristics. Ordinarily, precious metals are admired and desired for their high melting points, resistance to corrosion, and density levels. Many of them are sought-after for their reflective qualities, catalytic applications, and conductivity properties as well.
These metals are used in the industrial manufacturing, jewelry industry, electrical engineering, and even the automotive industry. In fact, there are several valuable metals inside a car; and these metals remain valuable since they can be recycled and reused over and over again. In addition to ferrous and non-ferrous metal, cars and trucks can also contain two valuable precious metals: gold and platinum.
Gold and Platinum
Cars that contain computers also contain circuit boards, which commonly contain gold-plated contact “fingers” at the edges where the connectors slide on. Common automotive computers like the powertrain control module (PCM) and the engine control unit (ECU) regulate things like mission controls, antilock brakes (ABS), transmission shifting, ignition timing, fuel injection, turbocharger boosts, and additional engine jobs.
The gold in these circuit boards can be extracted, recycled, and repurposed, over and over again, while never losing its value. Although the current market values for metal dictate how much you can sell a particular type of metal for, gold is always valuable. Regardless of age or condition, a car with a computer circuit board likely contains valuable amounts of gold metal.
Platinum is another valuable precious metal found in virtually all vehicles. Where can it be found? The answer is the catalytic converter. If you have ever had to replace a catalytic converter on your vehicle, you already know that it was not a cheap part. That is because it is made of a rare and highly-valuable metal we call “platinum.”