Where did the 400,000 water tankers in Zhengzhou go?
Our reporter Xia Xianqing and Yang Zipei
"My car is finally repaired." At the end of August, Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Zhengzhou, drove back the repaired Toyota sedan from the 4S shop.
"My car was parked on the side of the road during the heavy rain, and the flood water soaked up the seat. Then, the 4S shop took the car to repair, and it cost about 10,000 yuan for maintenance. Fortunately, it can take insurance." He said.
The latest data shows that from July 17 to August 25, Henan insurance industry received a total of 513,200 claims, the overall number of cases closed rate has reached 67%, the number of auto insurance cases 86%.
To a certain extent, auto insurance makes up for the loss of the car owner.
It is worth noting that there are still quite a number of water tankers that flow directly to the market.
Where did these cars end up?
Can you buy it?
Multi-channel flow to the market
Since the start of the first Henan flooded car auction on July 30, Zhengzhou has held dozens of flooded car auctions, and most of the participants in the auction are second-hand car dealers and repair shops.
"I have photographed more than 20 cars." Pei Dong runs a second-hand car trading company in the north section of Wenhua Road in Zhengzhou.
For the past few days, he has been paying attention to the special auction of flooded vehicles. “After the flooded vehicles are bought by professional organizations, they can be repaired and sold. For the severely damaged but relatively high-level models, the parts will be sold. After being disassembled, it is sold and used for vehicle repairs."
The industry's classification of flooded vehicles is slightly different, but from the perspective of whether they have maintenance value, they are basically similar. They can be roughly divided into three categories: the first category is that the water depth exceeds the wheels and rushes into the vehicle; the second category is the water depth Exceeding the dashboard; the third type is water that flows over the roof of the car.
The industry generally believes that the first two categories are completely auctionable.
Moreover, the auction of the water tanker is open and transparent. All vehicles can be checked from the insurance company based on the frame number whether they are accident cars or water tankers. The bidders participating in the auction are mainly qualified repair shops.
"After the vehicle auction is successful, the insurance company will help the owner to transfer the ownership. Generally, the insurance company first helps the owner to get the first 80% of the higher price of the car. The remaining 20% of the balance needs to be completed after the auction is over to get it." Pei Dong said that the channel for soaking cars to flow to the market is nothing more than the direct purchase of second-hand car dealers from car owners and flow into the second-hand car market after repairs, or the "total loss car" that is processed by insurance companies for residual value and auctioned by repair shops and other companies. After repairing and reselling, "the second situation is more."
According to statistics from the Henan Automobile Industry Chamber of Commerce, there have been more than 400,000 water tankers in Zhengzhou.
"Most of these water tankers will be designated by insurance companies as total damage and will be disposed of by insurance companies. Our scrap car companies generally receive water tankers that have not purchased car damage insurance and have very low residual value." Zhengzhou Four According to Liu Xiaohui, the person in charge of Da Waste Material Recycling Co., Ltd., after the presumed total loss of the vehicle, the insurance company will hand over the vehicle to the downstream accident vehicle handling company for disposal, and then auction it to the maintenance company. “However, a total loss of the vehicle is not It is said that the vehicles are scrapped or unusable, and many totally damaged vehicles still have the value of reuse after repairs, and therefore there is the possibility of auction."
Ma Jiabin, a staff member of the Henan Branch of PICC P&C Insurance, said that the wading vehicles that purchased water insurance before September 2020 and car damage insurance after September 2020 will receive insurance claims. Insurance companies prefer to adopt presumptive total loss. The method is to compensate the owner’s loss as a whole according to the car damage insurance coverage, and then hand over the vehicle to the insurance company for processing.
"For insurance companies, it can quickly solve problems and avoid long-term disputes; for car owners, it also avoids excessive maintenance time and high maintenance costs." He said.
"The soaking car that can be repaired and maintained will be sent to the factory for maintenance and re-sold to second-hand car dealers. This is usually a cross-regional transaction." Xue Yi runs a car repair factory in Zhengzhou, he said. Cars with very low water levels are very popular because they do not require major repairs and can enter the market after simple repairs. "The repair cycle is short, the cost is small, and the profit is substantial."
“The second-hand soaked car with a normal price of 200,000 to 500,000 yuan is the most sought-after. This type of car is generally a luxury brand. After the restoration, many companies have bought it as a reception car or leased it." Pei Dong said, China Low-end models generally flow to more sinking areas.
Be cautious when buying
In a large parking lot in Zhengzhou, there are about 4,000 security water vehicles parked.
"This is one of our many parking lots." According to Wei Hongshang, a staff member of the Zhengzhou branch of Beijing Boche.com Auction Co., Ltd., if the soaked car reaches the presumptive total loss standard, the insurance company will negotiate with the car owner. Towed away for preservation, “preservation is to park vehicles collectively for preprocessing and classify them. Vehicles with repair value will be auctioned, and vehicles with no repair value or low residual value will be written off or dismantled and scrapped.”
"The key to flooded vehicle transactions is openness and transparency. Our bidding platform has the qualification review of the parties participating in the bidding, and must also pay participation and transfer deposits, and the vehicle must be picked up within 48 hours after the transaction is completed, and repairs and repairs must be completed within 45 working days. All procedures such as ownership transfer ensure the transparency of the vehicle circulation process." Wei Hongshang said that after the vehicle is repaired, it can only be transferred and used after being tested by the relevant vehicle management department.
"Now the repair technology of the water tanker is very mature." Xue Yi said, for example, the electronic systems and components that were considered prone to hidden dangers in the early days can be judged and repaired through integrated chips.
In order to encourage car owners to replace new cars, Zhengzhou City issued the "Subsidy Measures for New Car Owners of Damaged and Scrapped Vehicles" at the end of July. When eligible car owners purchase new energy vehicles, they can enjoy a maximum of 15,000 yuan in subsidies.
Many car companies and dealers have also formulated welfare policies for replacing car purchases.
On August 26, Zhengzhou Consumers’ Association, Zhengzhou Automobile Dealers Association and Zhengzhou Motor Vehicle Appraisal and Evaluation Industry Association jointly issued an initiative to require Zhengzhou’s automobile dealerships and second-hand car operators to operate in good faith, and to ensure that they enter the market. Water used cars are safe to drive, and after-sales are guaranteed.
"You must be cautious when buying a second-hand car and do some necessary tests, such as turning on the air conditioner to the maximum, and holding a piece of white paper toward the air vent to see if there is any dust attached. Or check the seats, pedals, steering column, etc. Traces of rust.” Du Ke, who is a senior appraiser at a third-party agency, said that although the price of flooded cars is cheap, consumers must purchase them rationally according to their own needs.
Before buying, you can check the maintenance records, engine maintenance records, etc. at the 4S shop to determine the specific situation of the vehicle.
"At present, the state does not explicitly stipulate that all water-bubble vehicles are prohibited from selling. It is generally believed that wading and semi-bubble vehicles can enter the second-hand car market after they have undergone strict and standardized maintenance and professional inspections." Henan Second-hand Vehicle Circulation Association Chairman Wang Junhai introduced, but there is currently no clear regulation on whether fully submerged vehicles can be included in the circulation of second-hand vehicles. We look forward to establishing standards in relevant laws and regulations as soon as possible.
"Consumers can avoid the risk of the water tanker by signing a purchase contract." Li Jie, a full-time lawyer at Henan Yangtian Law Firm believes that whether it is a new car or a water tanker, the product quality must be qualified and meet national and industry standards.
At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the consumer's right to know. Since it is a water tanker, the seller should clearly inform the consumer in advance.
If the water tanker is purchased without clear notification from the seller, the consumer has the right to claim compensation in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law.