Cars damaged in last year's Tianjin warehouse explosions have returned to the market after being "whitewashed," media reported on Monday.
Several Jeeps - including Chrysler Jeep Compasses and Grand Cherokees - appeared at auction in January in Tianjin and Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province at low prices after being repaired by vehicle maintenance shops and whitewashed with new receipts issued by trading companies, The Beijing News reported.
At one car auction held on January 19 in Qingdao, some 500 kilometers southeast of Tianjin, about 150 Jeep Wranglers and Grand Cherokees damaged in the explosions sold out within hours. The Grand Cherokees sold for about 300,000 yuan ($45,810), while the lowest price for a similar certified vehicle was over 500,000 yuan. At another auction in Tianjin on January 18, 400 Jeep Wranglers and Grand Cherokees were sold.
A representative with Chrysler did not comment on the sale of the damaged cars, saying only that the company had issued a statement saying it will not provide quality assurance for those cars.
Since the jeeps did not have the original receipts, buyers might face difficulties registering their vehicles, The Beijing News said.
Two blasts on August 12 ripped through warehouses in the Port of Tianjin, where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored.
According to a statement issued by Chrysler on December 18, 2015, 2,114 of the 3,435 cars damaged in the blasts were destroyed with the aide of the Tianjin government. However, no information was released concerning the whereabouts of the remaining 1,321 cars, said The Beijing News.
Tianjin authorities said that 8,000 imported vehicles parked near the blast site and worth an estimated 4 billion yuan were destroyed in the blasts.
