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Houston Troubles Turn Into New Car Dealer Opportunities


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Atlanta GA September 5, 2017; Hurricane Harvey will likely prove to be among the worst, most-costly natural disasters to hit our United States. Vehicle damage caused by flooding was significant. Cox Automotive has estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 vehicles were severely damaged or destroyed, which translates to $2.7 billion - $4.9 billion in lost vehicle value, based on vehicle age in the market.

The recovery will be slow, but has already begun. According to data provided by Cox Automotive’s Dealer.com, which runs more than 60 percent of dealer websites in the U.S., online automotive shopping and research was brisk over Labor Day Weekend. Where the rest of the country was relatively flat compared to Labor Day Weekend 2016, the Houston market showed a 16% increase in overall dealership website traffic and a 26% increase in vehicle description page views. Further, volume measured by our Dealertrack credit application system returned to normal in the Houston market over the long holiday weekend, after dropping to virtually zero as the storm raged over Texas. Since most car purchase are financed, this is an indication that the rate of car buying in the area is rebounding quickly.

Flood damaged vehicles will be an ongoing issue for the Houston market and beyond. (And possibly the Florida market, pending the path of Irma.) Working with our partners at AiM – Alliance Inspection Management – our team assembled the attached statements pertaining to flood damage and vehicle salvage. AiM and its 1,300 employee inspect more than 2.4 million used vehicles annually.