Hurricane Sandy-ravaged vehicles line the runways at Calverton Executive Airpark on Long Island. The cars will be salvaged or auctioned.
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.
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.
The enormous majority of the vehicles above will be sold for scrap and crushed, the rest will have non-rebuildable titles and become parts cars. You can get about $400 for any car right now, regardless of condition due to the metal value. But as mentioned, no one can stop some unscrupulous person from trying to dupe the system and that will likely happen too.
