Thousands of cars will be damaged by Florence's floodsPublished: Thursday, September 20, 2018
As flooding continues in the Carolinas after Hurricane Florence's massive rainfall, experts say high water will damage thousands of vehicles. But auto industry analysts say the number of soggy vehicles will be far less than the roughly 700,000 damaged by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida last year, largely because there are fewer people and cars along the Carolina coast. Also, Florence followed the expected path, making evacuations more successful and keeping more vehicles out of harm's way. Still, Florence is being blamed for at least 37 deaths in three states. Kelley Blue Book Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke estimates that 20,000 to 40,000 vehicles will be total losses due to Florence, while Anil Goyal, executive vice president of operations at Black Book, which tracks used sales and values, predicts 20,000 damaged or destroyed, maybe less. Both are waiting to make final estimates as swollen rivers crest this week. State Farm, one of the largest U.S. auto insurers, said it had 1,630 auto-related claims from the Carolinas as of yesterday. That certainly will rise as floodwaters recede and people return to their homes. Smoke and Goyal say the storm damage will drive up used vehicle prices at least on the East Coast as people replace damaged cars. "We already have strong demand for used vehicles, particularly for used sedans," Goyal said. *— Tom Krisher, Associated Press* _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
