The business, honestly
Buying junk cars and catalytic converters is a good business run by people who work hard and don't have time to sit at a computer. You're on the phone, you're driving, you're standing at cars, you're paying cash, you're sorting cats, you're dealing with tow trucks and no-shows and lowballers. The money is real — but so are the ways to lose it: paying too much, missing the cat value, buying cars that cost more than they make, and paperwork that bites you later.
Most of the tools out there were built for someone sitting at a desk. This one was built for the person standing at the car. Here's how to use it to run tighter and make more on every deal.
Your day, with the system
Morning — the phone rings.
A seller describes a car. Before you commit to driving out, run Pickup Value — enter what they told you, see roughly what it's worth. Worth the trip? Go. Not worth it? You just saved an hour and a tank of gas.
At the car — the moment that matters.
Open the app on your phone. Scan the VIN. Walk around the car and tap what you see — runs or not, title, wheels, battery, converter, damage. The value updates as you go. You see the scrap, the cat, and the total it's worth to you. You enter what you'd pay and see your profit. You decide with numbers, not your gut.
Agree on a price. Take photos — the car, the damage, the title. The seller signs the bill of sale on your phone. Done. The deal's in your system before you've pulled out of the driveway. That's Value & Buy.
The converter — where the margin hides.
The cat is often the most valuable thing on the car, and its value is in metals that move every day. Cat Value prices it off today's platinum, palladium, and rhodium — so you're never paying last year's number or guessing. When a shop walks in with a box of converters, you price them in minutes.
The paperwork — handled as you go.
Every buy records who you bought from, the VIN, the price, and a bill of sale. Loose converters get the seller ID and VIN tie the law expects. When someone asks for records, you pull them up in one click. No shoebox. No "I think I have it somewhere." That's Compliance.
Back at the yard — the record's already there.
No re-typing deals into a computer at night. Every car you bought in the field is already in your dashboard — scheduled, recorded, with photos and paperwork attached. You spend your evening running your business, not doing data entry.
Who it's for, and how to run it
The solo owner-driver.
You are the buyer and the driver. Install the app on your phone, give yourself full access, and run your whole operation from it — value, buy, pay, paperwork, all in your pocket. This is the leanest way to run a buying business.
The multi-truck operation.
You've got drivers in the field. Set your prices once and your drivers buy with your numbers, with everything flowing back to your dashboard. You run the business; they run the routes.
The cat-focused buyer.
You're buying converters more than whole cars. Cat Value plus Compliance is your core: price every cat to today's metals, capture the seller ID and bill of sale the law requires, and keep records that stand up to an audit.
Why these features, why now
- Metal prices move and theft laws are tightening. The buyers who know their real cat value and keep clean records are the ones who'll still be standing.
- The big processors have the data and the tools. This levels the field — the valuation, the records, and the workflow, in your pocket.
- Speed wins deals. The faster and more confidently you can decide at a car, the more good cars you buy and the fewer bad ones.
What's coming
We're building this with buyers and recyclers, not in a vacuum. On the way:
- A buyer network — connect with trusted cat buyers and sell directly
- More states' and provinces' compliance requirements built in
- Deeper assay-backed converter pricing data
- More reports and tools based on what buyers ask for
We want to hear from you
This system gets better because the people using it tell us what they need. If there's something that would make your day easier or your business stronger — a report, a workflow, a number you wish you had at the car — tell us. The features that matter most are the ones you ask for.