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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Hurricane Harvey Likely To Destroy More Cars Than Katrina: "This Is Bad; Real Bad"

Hurricane Harvey's historic flooding in Texas is set to wreak havoc on the auto industry and its insurers with analysts now predicting the storm could damage more vehicles than Hurricane Katrina. In August 2005, Katrina wiped out some 500,000-600,000 vehicles but William Armstrong of CL King warns that Houston has about 5x more people than New Orleans did at the time.

Hurricane Harvey could damage more vehicles than Hurricane Katrina, driving business to the salvage auctions operated by Copart and KAR Auction Services, CL King analyst William Armstrong wrote in a note.

Katrina damaged 500,000-600,000 vehicles in August 2005, and the greater Houston MSA is five times as populous as pre-Katrina New Orleans.

The cost of dealing with catastrophes can be higher than normal given vehicle extraction, towing and temporary storage and auction locations, though both companies have grown their physical presence in Texas over the last year, which should lower the need for temporary locations.

It may be 2-3 months or longer until damaged vehicles are sold at auction.

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17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Better use Car Fax reports .........
These could show up here for sale .........

lmclain said...

Sold at auction. Dirt cheap.

Then resold after some touch up to unsuspecting buyers....in other states.
At regular used car prices.
60 Minutes exposed this scam when Katrina came through.
Keep cheering. And no, it's not capitalism.

Anonymous said...

Yep. They will be on the shore before long. At your local used automobile stores.

Anonymous said...

7:34 Who is cheering about the devastation of a hurricane? Chill.

Anonymous said...

They will show up in Delaware at Camden Rt 13 !!

Anonymous said...

Didn't a law pass that all flood vehicles had to be crushed.

Justathought said...

It's very sad. Many people will loose their cars and not be insured because they have liability only or there is a loophole for flooding. Many will already have other horrific losses, plus this. There but for the Grace of God. Praying for Texas.

Anonymous said...

Actually, yes, 8:36 pm! And all used car dealers obey all laws without exception all the time.

Thank you for asking! Come to my lot in November for my HUGE Thanksgiving blowout sale! A THOUSAND cars on sale, close to HALF PRICE!

IT"S AMAZING!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

A bunch of them will be bought by cheap skate locals thinking they are getting a bargain.

Anonymous said...

Hollywood will buy loads of them for movie smashups.

Anonymous said...

if they were actually scrapped, it would be a good thing considering the car bubble we're in. inventory needs to be lowered.

lmclain said...

8:13...pay more attention.
I didn't say ANYTHING about the hurricane.
The comment was for the rip-off of consumers by shady dealers selling junk cars at regular prices.
Did some one read it for you and get it wrong???
Or are you a local high school grad?

Anonymous said...

How can you look at the picture and not feel for the people who will suffer?

Anonymous said...

They will just Make more cars .....only Material things !!!
LIFE is FAR More Important !!!
I'm sure they can Write All the lost cars OFF !!!!

Anonymous said...

August 31, 2017 at 9:05 AM:

I don't think car dealerships have enough money to write off their entire inventory and the loss on the property and contents. Flood insurance, and the lack thereof, applies to the dealerships, as well as everyone else. None of them thought they were in a flood zone.

Anonymous said...

Even with half a million cars/trucks destroyed, there is a huge surplus of new and returned leased vehicles in the pipeline.

Don't forget its not just personal cars/trucks either...lawnmowers, tractors (to include high end), state/county vehicles and equipment and then ALL the appliances. This storms' damage will be much worse economically than Katrina.

Anonymous said...

When I worked in car insurance many years ago, it was illegal in that state to salvage a flooded car. Don't all states have a similar law? Of course, crooks will find a way to get around it.