After the violent weather in Indre last night, it’s time to take stock. The hailstones did not spare the cars. More than a thousand windshields are shattered. The first affected are the dealers. In Châteauroux, at Soli Occasion, a seller of used cars, rental and repair, the stock of vehicles is partly demolished.
80% of the car fleet damaged
In this fleet, no car is spared. Between the dented bodies and the exploded windshields, the damage is significant. More than 80% of vehicles are damaged. “Our fleet is very damaged, all the cars are impacted, the windshields, the roofs, the rear windows and all the door pillars, so that’s a strong figure”explains Laurent Giraudon, co-manager of the Soli company.
– Justine Claux
From now on, we will have to repair all these cars, which will take time, up to 9 months to restore them. “There will be a lot of delays and the supply of parts will be more complicated because we are not the only mechanics in Châteauroux to need them.he assures. We’ll start by taking care of the windshields and then we’ll finalize the rest.”.
Cars good for “scrap”
Until everything is back to normal, dozens of orders cannot be fulfilled. “We cannot deliver the cars, we must first redo the bodywork and the windshields, that will delay deliveries”regrets Laurent Giraudon, used car salesman at Soli.
– Justine Claux
But some cars might just never be delivered. “If there are too many repairs to do and too many costs compared to its argus rating, it will be a wreck, it will be scrapped”he says.
The second-hand market under pressure
In a period when the second-hand market is already under pressure, this damage will not help the situation. Sales are likely to slow down. “We already have supply and stock problems, if, in addition, our vehicles are immobilized for a very long time, the time for repairs is yet another blow to the head”deplores Olivier Ruano, head of Soli.
“I think there are people in Ukraine much more unhappy than us, we have to be patient”, tries to relativize this manager. In total, after this stormy episode, 60 vehicles are damaged at Soli Occasion.
– Justine Claux