Super Sandy Kills a Quarter Million Cars

The Truth About Cars ^ | 11/8/2012 | Bertel Schmitt

[nascarnation]

Superstorm Sandy left about a quarter million dead cars in its path, Reuters figures. It mioght even drive up cars sales.

There is no official number yet on how many cars have been destroyed in the storm. “We believe that between 100,000 and 250,000 vehicles currently in operation could be removed from used vehicle supply once all is said and done,” said Laurence E. Dixon III, senior analyst with the National Automobile Dealers Association. Reuters think it is at least 266,000 vehicles.

Some consumers with damaged vehicles may need to replace them with a new car, said Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.

[nascarnation]

Pretty big number, surprising to me how big. As a comparison, the US scraps about 12 million cars per year on average.

[2banana]

Alot of people are going to discover that car insurance does not get you a “new car” or even an “equal car” to what you had...

[nascarnation]

Capitalist alert:

bull market for good used cars in NY/NJ this winter

[Reverend Wright]

all these flood cars are going to end up being for sale here in Canada, too many canucks are cheap and can’t resist a “bargain” (especially quebec )

[Third Person]

The storm that saved Obama and GM. FEMA to give away Volts to all storm victims!

[Carriage Hill]

I’m sure Gov’t Motors has plenty of Chevy Volts ready-to-go, as replacements.

[Greysard]

Looks like a good business opportunity for private mechanics and shops. It is difficult to repair one car that was flooded. However with so many cars there is a chance that replacement parts can be ordered in quantities that make the repairs financially acceptable.

One scenario would be that the car owner gives the flooded car to the insurance company, gets the money, and buys a new vehicle. The insurance company then has the vehicles restored and sold as used. This is doubly important because the "cash for clunkers" destroyed too many cheap cars, thus denying the less financially capable people a chance to buy a car.

If the insurance company doesn't want to deal with all that, a separate business can be formed that only deals with restoration of these cars. Very little startup funds are required because the cars can be taken from insurance companies on commission. There will be also less waste.

There is a big catch, though. Workers will be needed. I am not sure if there is anyone willing to work in those blue states... 63% of voters in New York wanted Obama.

[Average Al]

"The storm that saved Obama and GM. FEMA to give away Volts to all storm victims!"

To plug in to what? They already have a car that doesn't run. ;-)

[count-your-change]

Drive your old thumper or that potential repo to NY. Lost to Sandy will explain it all.

[nascarnation]

You may be right, I don’t know.
Cars flooded with salt water but not immediately repaired will require a huge amount of parts + labor to replace electrical / electronics.
Don’t think that’s financially viable.

[Average Al]

"If the insurance company doesn't want to deal with all that, a separate business can be formed that only deals with restoration of these cars. Very little startup funds are required because the cars can be taken from insurance companies on commission. There will be also less waste."

Is this really practical now with all of the electronics in modern cars?

[lurk]

In a month they’ll be on ebay. Caveat emptor

[MrKatykelly]

Most states require flood cars to get a salvage title meaning they can’t return to the road or the market.

[CGASMIA68]

After Kartina hundreds of cars were totaled by the insurance companies due to being under water.
The were scarfed up refurbished(dried out) and moved to other parts of the country where they were put on the market.
My mechanic up here in the NE said buyer beware,look under the mats pull up the trunk liners,be carefull because water damage is easy to hide and impossible to rectify,especially salt water intrusion and its caustic affect on aluminum and electrical components.

These NY,NJ Sandy cars/trucks will be showing up some where and soon..Buyer beware.

[stuartcr]

It’s all part of obamas weather manipulations.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

**all these flood cars are going to end up being for sale here in Canada,***

Standard procedure is to ship totaled autos to the salvage places in Missouri, where they are cleaned, not scrapped as they are supposed to be. Then into Arkansas to get a non salvage clean title. Then shipped all over the US.

[nascarnation]

Interesting.
I’ll be watching for the transporter loads heading west on I-70.

[BfloGuy]

Superstorm Sandy left about a quarter million dead cars in its path, Reuters figures. It might even drive up cars sales.

And that will help the economy!

Or so will say the liberals amongst us. Of course, were the reporter's house to burn down and insurance replace it, I wonder if the reporter would insist that his economic situation had improved.

[Morris70]

Over 200k in NJ still have no power.
Where they gonna plug it in?

[jwalsh07]

The destruction of private property is great for the economy. Just ask the guys on Wall Street. They will explain the broken window fallacy as just a right wing conspiracy.