How American car companies handle vehicles affected by flooding caused by storms?

Natural disasters occasionally wreak havoc on a large number of cars worldwide, and in most cases, vehicle owners and insurance companies will determine the fate of the flooded cars, usually repairing them for continued use or scrapping them, depending on the extent of water damage to the vehicles.

So, what happens if a brand new car at the dealership gets flooded? Ford, General Motors (GM), and Stellantis have come up with the idea of donating flooded vehicles to technical schools to be used as educational tools.

Students at Ann Arbor technical school happily receiving the vehicles donated by Ford and dealerships for educational purposes (Photo: Detroit Free Press).

Car technology is advancing rapidly, and technical schools find it challenging to keep up. Therefore, flood-damaged or otherwise unsellable vehicles can become valuable educational tools at technical schools. This benefits all parties involved.

Car manufacturers and dealerships can have a positive image by donating flooded vehicles to vocational schools, while the schools get updated educational tools.

Many 2024 Ford Mustang vehicles were flooded during a major storm in Boston in September 2023 and have been donated to vocational schools (Photo: Ford).

Specifically, many 2024 Ford Mustang vehicles were flooded due to a major storm in Boston in 2023. According to the company's policy, dealerships cleaned, dried, and donated them to technical schools. From September 2023 to date, Ford and its dealerships have donated over 300 vehicles to technical schools in the United States.

These vehicles can help students better understand the complex systems in modern vehicles. Ford stated that they are not only donating cars to schools, but also vans, trucks, and SUVs. Stellantis and GM are doing the same.

GM has donated over 250 new vehicles along with engines, parts, and tools to technical schools. Meanwhile, every year Stellantis lends hundreds of vehicles taken from the group's used car buyback program to help train students.

Ken Lewis (in purple), an automotive technology instructor at Ann Arbor technical school, interacting with students and assistant Max Reimann, next to a 2024 Ford Mustang donated by Ford and a Ypsilanti dealership in late May (Photo: Detroit Free Press).

To prevent the risk of newly stockpiled vehicles at dealerships being flooded from being diverted to the market, Ford requests the legal department to process paperwork so that these vehicles cannot be registered or inspected. They are donated to technical schools as waste materials.

Rocky Roberts, a 41-year-old automotive repair service instructor at Washtenaw Community College and co-chair of the Transportation Technology Department, has used the new Mustangs to teach air conditioning repairs to students this year.