Earthquake in Japan Damages Infiniti Cars

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vmatador

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...nts-at-honda-toshiba-damages-nissan-cars.html

"Nissan said four factories and two offices suffered minor damage and the automaker hasn’t been able to contact some of its dealers in northern Japan. Some 1,300 vehicles, mostly Infiniti models, awaiting export to the U.S. at Hitachi port north of Tokyo, were damaged, said Sadayuki Hamaguchi, a Nissan spokesman. About 1,000 others at a service center further north in Miyagi prefecture were also damaged."
 
Sure. Maybe you'll get a discount for "minor damages" and then pay extra for heightened fuel and shipping charges related to the emergency.
Good luck with that.
 
It's just getting worse and worse over there. Now nuclear reactors may leak and cause radiation. The more videos and pictures i see, it's terrible. This is such an eye opener to realize what we have and how fast it can be taken away by the earth/mother nature.
 
I, honestly don't think they can salvage those cars... maybe certain parts... but its no difference than selling a used car that had flood damage. There's NO way Nissan/Infiniti would jeopardize their reputation buy selling cars with flood damage.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't doubt if certain parts are recycled either as replacement parts or in new cars. Glass, headlight casings, rims, tires, body panels...

Nissan is not going to absorb the cost, there will be a nice insurance claim. And I bet you insurance will salvage every possible part.
 
It looks like some of these got fired:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMPUZTm5vAc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

---------- Post added at 11:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 PM ----------

YouTube - ShippingCarsFire
 
So I wonder if this is the manufacturers lot or the shipping yard lot....if the shipping yard lot, wouldn't the financial responsibility no longer be with the car manufacturer? Just curious.
 
jdTrader said:
So I wonder if this is the manufacturers lot or the shipping yard lot....if the shipping yard lot, wouldn't the financial responsibility no longer be with the car manufacturer? Just curious.
Click to expand...

Depends...there are several factors that would determine whose insurance will cover the losses.

Better question is what sort of clauses are in the insurance policies that will allow the insurance companies to escape the responsibility of covering tsunami damage?
 
1300 INFINITI VEHICLES damaged

At least 2,300 Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles that were about to be shipped to U.S. and Japan showrooms were seen scattered like toy cars during the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan. While parked at two coastal loading points, nearly 1,300 Infiniti M, EX and FX models bound for North America were hit by massive waves. At the Port of Hitachi in Ibaraki prefecture, hundreds of brand new Nissan and Infiniti vehicles were shown piled on top of one another.

Many of the Infiniti models were later shown to be on fire. At the Port of Hitachi, all the 1,300 cars there that were waiting to be exported to the U.S. were destroyed. Most of these carried Infiniti nameplates such as the M sedan and EX and FX crossovers.

A few were 370Z sports cars. These cars were built at Nissan’s Infiniti assembly plant in the Tochigi prefecture nearby. The tsunami also damaged a service center in neighboring Miyagi prefecture, where cars were built and were prepared to be shipped to domestic dealers. At that site, around 1,000 vehicles were damaged. According to Nissan Motor Co., fire had destroyed many of the vehicles at the Port of Hitachi. However, Nissan couldn’t say what caused the fire; it also couldn’t provide an exact breakdown.

http://www.4wheelsnews.com/tsunami-in-japan-destroys-2300-nissan-infiniti-vehicles-bound-for-us/
 
If any cars that were damaged are deemed repairable (I am not talking about the flooded ones but ones with body damage), they may choose to repair and ship them out (when possible).

Whether or not it is disclosed to the buyer will be another story. States have laws that state if the damage is x% (usually 3-5% depending on state) of the total cost of the new automobile it must be disclosed.

If the vehicle is damaged at the VPC, then the dealership has to disclose that the vehicle was damaged in transit providing that the damages exceeds the states minimum percentage. Dealers do have access to the VPC report. Some choose to disclose, others do not. It is quite common practice for the latter to occur. These were not damaged at the VPC. Whether or not the damage is disclosed to the dealer from Nissan is another story.

Minor damage to a new vehicle and disclosure of such damage has a precedent set by the US Supreme Court in 1996 with BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore. This case limits excessively high punitive damages under the due process clase of the constitution.
 
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I highly doubt they are considered junk, at least the ones that didnt burn. They'll just fix the busted panels & stuff if they can, & hang dry them. VINs are still clean at this pt.
 
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