The company's site has become a car graveyard, reported Südwestrundfunk (SWR) radio. More than 2,000 small cars, station wagons and motorcycles, as well as motor homes, have now been towed away by the company, said sales manager David Bongart. In some cases, cars had to be taken out of trees with cranes.

Bent doors, damaged bumpers and mud

SWR reporter Thorsten Christes described his impressions as he observed the damaged vehicles at the company site: "You can see what has happened to the wrecked cars as you look at them on the lot. Some of them are completely covered in mud. Broken windows, bent doors and bumpers. Interiors full of mud and dirt. Some cars were even so badly damaged that you couldn't even recognize the make”, Bongart says. “They looked like they'd been in a car compressor”, he said. There is no end in sight to the cleanup. There are still underground garages where cars are buried under meters of mud.

Many people do not know where their car ended up after the floods. On the homepage of the Ahrweiler district administration, those affected can enter the license plate number of their vehicle and start a search. If their car has already been salvaged, the website indicates where it is now. Scrap cars are no longer salvageable, Bongart noted. Without comprehensive coverage, the insurance company only pays the residual value.

How insurance companies calculate their payout

Here is just one example from the region: A VW Touran, first registered in 2009, with a mileage of 140,000 kilometers, fully comprehensive insurance with 300 euros deductible including partial comprehensive without a deductible. "In this case, the calculated repair costs are above the replacement value," the insurance company wrote. "Accordingly, we have made a settlement on a total loss basis."

It means the insurance company deducts the residual value (820 euros) from the gross replacement value (6,700 euros). This leaves a payout amount of 5,880.00 euros. It is up to the vehicle owner to have the car appraised for value. Also: "If you have not already done so, you can contact the highest bidder for your damaged vehicle directly - this is listed in the evaluation provided by the appraiser. Please pay attention to the bidding deadline! Your vehicle is guaranteed to be picked up and paid for by this bidder free of charge." The highest bidder, WMJ Invest SP.z.o.o. Sp.K. from Kielczow in Poland, offered 710 euros including VAT for the VW Touran.

Sinan Dogan from Bad Neuenahr

As a result of the flood disaster, the car dealership of 24-year-old Sinan Dogan from Bad Neuenahr was destroyed. "All the capital is gone," the "Rhein-Zeitung" quoted him as saying. To get back on his feet financially, Dogan is now specializing in flood cars: "Whether Opel Corsa or Porsche Cayenne, we try to save everything." If there is no possibility, he and his team try to reach a firm sales price with their dealer network abroad, wrote reporter Nicolaj Meyer. Dogan acts as a consultant, he said: what is the residual value, what is the current value, how much money can you still get?

The car dealer knows potential buyers, in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. After a vehicle's identity is determined and its location known, Dogan and his employees pick it up with their tow trucks "and take care of everything else," Meyer reported. So for some cars, there is life beyond the junkyard.

Autozentrum Dogan contact information: (0173) 280 73 19.

Orig. text: Dietmar Kanthak

Translation: ck