Am I the only one who looked at the pics closely to try and find anything cool?
I tried but then I think, "I wonder if this car was sitting like this before the auction"
Insurance Auto Auctions Corp. has taken over the runways of Calverton Exectuive Airpark in Riverhead, N.Y. and has parked about 15,000 Hurricane Sandy-ravaged cars there, according to the New York Post. The cars will be scrapped, used for parts or auctioned.
The town of Riverhead is making about $3,200 per month for every acre taken up by the cars at the airpark, former home to the Gumman Corp., which assembled F-14 Tomcat jet fighters for the Navy.
Some worry that the deal is a case of short-term gain, long-term pain because, environmentalists said, the thousands of vehicles that will be on site for six to 12 months could leak oil, gasoline and other chemicals into the groundwater.
Jeanene O'Brien, a spokeswoman for Insurance Auto Auctions, based in Westchester, Ill., told Newsday that the firm adheres to environmental concerns wherever it does business. "We are definitely environmental stewards of any area that we occupy," she said.
An estimated 230,000 vehicles in the region were damaged or destroyed by Sandy, according to insurance industry estimates. Thousands have been stored in vacant lots in the area while officials process insurance claims.
New York law says the titles of damaged vehicles must be stamped "flood" to warn prospective owners of potential problems.
But buyer, beware: Saltwater can ruin computer-controlled fuel and braking systems, heating and air-conditioning, and other components.
To help stem auto-salvage fraud, the NICB recommends first examining the car for evidence of fraud -- are there signs of rust, water damage, mildew? It also suggests taking a close look at the title and ownership papers.
The organization also encourages prospective car buyers to use its VinCheck service, which runs a car's vehicle identification number through its database of cars that have been reported as salvages. Eighty-eight percent of auto insurance companies in the nation are represented in this database, so if a vehicle has taken a dip in Hudson River water, chances are you'll know.
