How and why Mazda destroyed $100 million worth of cars

NetfreakBombay · 30th April 2008, 19:55

A ship was carrying 4703 brand new Mazda cars from Japan. It almost sank. Ship spent weeks bobbing on the high seas, listing at a severe 60-degree angle, before finally being righted.

That made all cars a suspect in terms of quality. And Mazda decided its better to destroy cars (and claim insurance) then taking risk of selling lemons.

This news story talks about why it chose to destroy cars and unique problems that creep up. And why can't it sell cars to stunt studios etc.

Source :

A Crushing Issue: How to Destroy Brand-New Cars - WSJ.com

Includes cool video of cars being junked.

Nitin · 30th April 2008, 19:57

4703 CARS!! Mama miaa!!! All scrap metal now.
Imagine a spanking new car being shredded to bits. But a fair move on Mazda's part,else they'd have a chance of spoiling their excellent reputation.

n_aditya · 30th April 2008, 20:06

Sad to see so many new cars destroyed. Good to see them covered by insurance. Best thing is the spirit of the company which decided to protect its reputation and not sell the cars.

Hope this inspires other car makers to follow suit.

CorsaLove · 30th April 2008, 20:09

Brand Reputation!! Good thing done by Mazda instead of getting 4700+ cursing customers.

FlyingSpur · 30th April 2008, 20:36

Holy moly. Now we know what happened to all the Lauras before they were sold in India !!

vnabhi · 30th April 2008, 20:45

Madre mia ! At least they could have sold one to me at 10% value. Boo hoo

gods-envy · 30th April 2008, 20:51

i think that was a good move by Mazda
destroy the cars instead of getting a bad name for themselves.

NetfreakBombay · 30th April 2008, 20:56

For all we know, it could be a mean business move... Insurance might be paying more then others for each car

1100D · 30th April 2008, 21:31

Vet sad, but the right thing to do. If you see the picture of the freighter listed, you'll probably agree that, it was never sure what fate the cars would have in the long run. Rather than unleashing potential deattraps on customers willing to get them for a pittance.

But I wonder what Ford would have done, had this happened 2 years back, and the cars in question were Aston Martins.

snaronikar · 30th April 2008, 22:01

Certainly a very good move. Imagine if these cars would have been sold and one after another meets with accidents. The company would have fought more legal battles and lost more money in settling cases rather than $100mn right now.

VIPER_SRT · 30th April 2008, 23:11

Get this! In Jan this year a ship contaning morea than 400 BMW's including M3's were damaged/destroyed.

E92 BMW M3s, 1-Series and others destroyed in tipped cargo ship

My BMW dealer had almost 10 cars ordered in that shipment including 2 M3's.

Nitin · 30th April 2008, 23:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIPER_SRT

Get this! In Jan this year a ship contaning morea than 400 BMW's including M3's were damaged/destroyed.

E92 BMW M3s, 1-Series and others destroyed in tipped cargo ship

My BMW dealer had almost 10 cars ordered in that shipment including 2 M3's.

I could handle the Mazdas. But the M3???

Ouch!! that hurt even more..

NetfreakBombay · 30th April 2008, 23:29

Quote:

The cars that weren’t totaled will be repaired at the BMW Elizabeth Receiving facility and will be sold as new.

Hope they told customers about this repair.

SirAlec · 1st May 2008, 01:04

they could have exported all of them to india.

where aftersale service is just not excercised properly, forget warranty.

Xehaust · 1st May 2008, 01:13

Am happy with their move, but why could not they sell the cars as stunt cars or something?

30th April 2008, 19:55	#1
NetfreakBombay Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,478 Thanked: 1,073 Times	How and why Mazda destroyed $100 million worth of cars A ship was carrying 4703 brand new Mazda cars from Japan. It almost sank. Ship spent weeks bobbing on the high seas, listing at a severe 60-degree angle, before finally being righted. That made all cars a suspect in terms of quality. And Mazda decided its better to destroy cars (and claim insurance) then taking risk of selling lemons. This news story talks about why it chose to destroy cars and unique problems that creep up. And why can't it sell cars to stunt studios etc. Source : A Crushing Issue: How to Destroy Brand-New Cars - WSJ.com Includes cool video of cars being junked.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 19:57	#2
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	4703 CARS!! Mama miaa!!! All scrap metal now. Imagine a spanking new car being shredded to bits. But a fair move on Mazda's part,else they'd have a chance of spoiling their excellent reputation. Last edited by Nitin : 30th April 2008 at 20:01.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 20:06	#3
n_aditya Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Namma Bengaluru Posts: 5,360 Thanked: 3,750 Times View My Garage	Sad to see so many new cars destroyed. Good to see them covered by insurance. Best thing is the spirit of the company which decided to protect its reputation and not sell the cars. Hope this inspires other car makers to follow suit.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 20:09	#4
CorsaLove BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 392 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	Brand Reputation!! Good thing done by Mazda instead of getting 4700+ cursing customers.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 20:36	#5
FlyingSpur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 1,424 Times View My Garage	Holy moly. Now we know what happened to all the Lauras before they were sold in India !!
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 20:45	#6
vnabhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: DC -> DC Posts: 5,976 Thanked: 2,403 Times View My Garage	Madre mia ! At least they could have sold one to me at 10% value. Boo hoo
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 20:51	#7
gods-envy BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 474 Thanked: 38 Times View My Garage	i think that was a good move by Mazda destroy the cars instead of getting a bad name for themselves.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 20:56	#8
NetfreakBombay Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,478 Thanked: 1,073 Times	For all we know, it could be a mean business move... Insurance might be paying more then others for each car
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 21:31	#9
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,101 Times View My Garage	Vet sad, but the right thing to do. If you see the picture of the freighter listed, you'll probably agree that, it was never sure what fate the cars would have in the long run. Rather than unleashing potential deattraps on customers willing to get them for a pittance. But I wonder what Ford would have done, had this happened 2 years back, and the cars in question were Aston Martins. Last edited by 1100D : 30th April 2008 at 21:32.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 22:01	#10
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,845 Thanked: 29 Times View My Garage	Certainly a very good move. Imagine if these cars would have been sold and one after another meets with accidents. The company would have fought more legal battles and lost more money in settling cases rather than $100mn right now.
	() Thanks

30th April 2008, 23:11	#11
VIPER_SRT BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: FL Posts: 440 Thanked: 194 Times View My Garage	Get this! In Jan this year a ship contaning morea than 400 BMW's including M3's were damaged/destroyed. E92 BMW M3s, 1-Series and others destroyed in tipped cargo ship My BMW dealer had almost 10 cars ordered in that shipment including 2 M3's. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by VIPER_SRT : 30th April 2008 at 23:13.
	() Thanks

1st May 2008, 01:04	#14
SirAlec Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: zxc Posts: 3,395 Thanked: 727 Times	they could have exported all of them to india. where aftersale service is just not excercised properly, forget warranty.
	() Thanks

1st May 2008, 01:13	#15
Xehaust BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 846 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	Am happy with their move, but why could not they sell the cars as stunt cars or something?
	() Thanks