Biodiesel has attracted great attention as an alternative renewable energy source for the replacement of petroleumbased diesel fuel, yet its high production cost due to expensive oil feedstock remainsas the major economical obstacle. In this study, we investigated catalysts and reaction conditions for the acid catalyzed pre-conversion of free fatty acid (FFA) to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) in cheap low-grade oils of high acid value. The NaOH base catalyzed reaction of vegetable oil of the initial acid value of 2 mg KOH/g led to a high FAME conversion above 95.4%, but the conversion abruptly decreased at higher initial acid values. This base catalyzed reaction was practically ineffective displaying the FAME conversion below 15% even at the initial acid value of 10 mg KOH/g by the severe saponification side reaction. Among the various catalysts studied for the pre-conversion of FFA to FAME, Amberlyst-15 was the most effective in reducing the acid value, and the optimum reaction condition identified was $65^{circ}C$ with oil to methanol ratio of 1:3 and catalyst concentration of 15% (w/w). As the results, great enhancements in the overall biodiesel conversion were achievable via a consecutive reaction of the acid catalyzed FFA pre-conversion to FAME under the optimal condition obtained with Amberlyst-15 followed by the NaOH base catalyzed reaction, far above the extent which was obtainable by the single NaOH catalyzed reaction.