Here’s What Happened to All of the Flooded Cars after Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey proved to be one of the most devastating hurricanes that have targeted America. According to U.S Treasury Secretary, this hurricane actually caused damages up to $ 180 Billion! Yes, you read that right this hurricane annihilated everything in its path and bouncing back from this disaster will take some time. Hurricane Harvey also damaged over half a million cars due to the flooding that took place along the Texas Gulf Coast. Most people believe that these damaged cars were hauled off to junkyards and crushing sites, but the reality is a little more complex.

Cleanup efforts had commenced the moment the hurricane had subsided, and insurance adjusters, auction representatives, and scrap dealers immediately started to procure these damaged cars.  However, each damaged car did not face the same fate as a lot of factors came into play when determining how to effectively dispose of these vehicles. Firstly insurance adjusters assembled huge teams and set up mobile claim centers the moment the threat had subsided. These insurance companies already had protocols set up for such disasters and easily implemented their plan.

These adjusters processed the vehicles in bulk and noted the extent of damage, to find out if the vehicle can be restored or if they are deemed beyond repair.  If the vehicle has been deemed beyond repair then they are transported to a contracted auction facility, this transportation is done via thousands of heavy-duty trucks that could be seen transferring vehicles all around the place.  These vehicles would either be transported to Copart or Insurance Auto Auctions. These two companies have also leased spaces in order to cater to the staggering amount of vehicles that are being stored.  The Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown has actually been closed for the entire year and an industrial lot is also currently being used to store these vehicles.

Both of these companies have accumulated over 10,000 cars and each car has already been cataloged for their respective auctions. Most cars have not been auctioned yet, due to the fact that they cannot auction these vehicles without the required documentation. However, once they have been auctioned, they will be purchased by used car dealers, metal recyclers, scrap dealers and representatives from salvage yards. Till date, none of the cars present in these sites have been crushed as this is a clear waste of resources. Extracting the parts from these cars is not an easy task and might take years, but at the end, they will all end up being auctioned. Furthermore, cars that do not have comprehensive insurance, will go down a different path as the owners do not have any recourse.

What Happens To The Cars That Can Be Restored?

The most troubling news that everyone out there should know is that cars that can be restored will slowly re-enter the market without any trace of it being restored after the hurricane. Since these cars will not be sent to auction sites, used car dealerships can restore these cars and can resell them in the market.