Nov 09, 2012 12:03 PM EST
Sandy Damaged Less Cars Than Reports Initially Stated, How Many Were Effected By The Superstorm (VIDEO)

The Associated Press is reporting that insurance claims for vehicles damaged by superstorm Sandy might have been exaggerated a little bit. Hundreds of thousands of cars were predicted to be flood-damaged by the superstorm and predictions spread by companies like Carfax were reportedly not as bad as expected.

Many companies were saying that the total number of vehicles damaged last week would "easily" surpass the total number of cars destroyed of affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Over 600,000 cars were damaged or destroyed because of Katrina accord to the AP, and the number of cars damaged by Sandy will be a mere "fraction" of that number.

"It's not anything near what we're talking about in the Katrina situation," said James Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, which represents more than 500 dealers to The Detroit Free Press.

Click here to find out what to do if your car has suffered water damage from superstorm Sandy.

Insurance companies like Progressive, Nationwide and State Farm have received around 32,000 claims due to the superstorm, a large number in itself, but nowhere near 600,000. Flooded cars that have been declared "total losses" by auto insurance companies must get new titles deeming them as a damaged vehicle.

 

This won't stop owners and used car dealerships from trying to sell you a water damaged car however. Some owners will go as far as bringing the car to another state, re-titling the vehicle, and selling it as if it has never had any problems.

Make sure you either go to a site like Carfax or NICB yourself or ask a dealer to show you the entire history of a car you are interested in purchasing on paper before even taking the car for a test run.

Approximately 14,000 new cars were harmed during the superstorm while sitting on docks near New York awaiting shipment to local dealerships accord to The Detroit Free Press. A good number of those cars won't even make their final destination as they have either been damaged by flooding, high winds, or from objects crashing on top of them.

Related Articles:

Chrysler Recalls 919,000 Jeep SUVs, Airbags Causing Issues, 81 Injured

2013 Ford Fusion Receives IIHS Top Safety Pick, Provides Leading Fuel Economy, Advanced Technology To Assist Drivers

Hyundai, Kia Faces $775 Million Lawsuit Over False Fuel Economy Lies In 1 Million Vehicles, Company Apologizes For Mistake

2014 Ford Mustang And Shelby GT 500 Guides Released, Mustang Boss 302 Says Goodbye (SEE ORDER GUIDES)

See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?

 PREVIOUS POST
NEXT POST 

EDITOR'S PICK    

Hyundai to Invest $16.1 Billion for EV Business; Sets Annual Sales Goal of 1.87M Electric Cars by 2030

World's Most Expensive and Most Heavily-optioned Porsche 928 GTS is Coming Home to the U.S.

Major Boost as Tesla Giga Berlin Facility in Final Phase of Approval Process; Delivery Event Set This Month

Audi Looking for e-tron Electric Vehicles to Spur Car Brand's Growth in India in 2022

Toyota Offers Free EV Charging to Owners of 2023 bZ4X After Partnership Agreement with EVgo

2022 Suzuki Baleno Finally Unveiled in India: What are the Specs and Features of this City Car?