Super Sandy Kills A Quarter Million Cars

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

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.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Stryker1 Stryker1 on Nov 08, 2012

    Coming to a CarMax near you...

  • Alluster Alluster on Nov 08, 2012

    Sanjeev and Panther fans should look away... http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1195159.1351722205!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_635/cabs-submerged-water-hoboken-n.jpg They all seem to be new cars either hoarded before crown vic production ends or just waiting to start service. The decals and taxi roof signs are not installed yet. I am guessing water up to the door handles clearing the hood is a complete loss?

  • Whuffo2 Whuffo2 on Nov 09, 2012

    Back when I used to evaluate used cars, I found that checking the top of the underside dashboard flange was informative. The people who cleaned up flood cars would never think to clean here. In any event, never - I mean NEVER buy a flood damaged car. They commonly contain subtle damage that won't be noticed for a few months and then they'll be horribly expensive to repair. Even a brief exposure to salt water makes pits in bearings and shafts; the crooks will dump the oil and transmission fluid and replace it with fresh, but the damage is already done. It'll run and drive fine, but the life expectancy is cut to a small fraction of what it should have been. If you can find any indication that it's been immersed, walk away. Clues include carpets that don't fit right, doors that seem unusually heavy, and "high water" marks in various locations. Dealers need to watch for these all of the time; the general public needs to be aware, too - especially when thousands of cars that Sandy drowned will be making their way to the market in a month or two. Don't depend on title markings or Carfax; look at the darned thing and get an expert to do it if you're not sure.

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