Thousands of new vehicles heading to the crusher after Sandy flooding

With cleanup from hurricane/superstorm Sandy still underway, the estimated costs of its damages have risen to a range of $30 billion to $50 billion, making it the second-most expensive storm in U.S. history. Here's a sliver of those costs —thousands of new cars and trucks caught in Sandy's floodwaters, which now have a pending appointment with the crusher. The trouble: A few may escape and have their titles washed instead.

Unlike the classic cars which may appeal to a collector with a penchant for hunting rust and electrical issues, there's no salvaging unsold new vehicles immersed in up to three feet of brackish water. The National Insurance Crime Bureau says in one Brooklyn lot alone, 7,000 new cars were dunked — and all but 800 of them have already been hauled away and crushed. One NICB investigator opened one Nissan and found even a month after the storm hit, there's still floodwater sitting in the cupholders.