car wreck

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A car wreck (see also wreck ) is a motor vehicle that is no longer functional and cannot be brought back into circulation within a reasonable economic framework. Car wrecks are often "cannibalized", that is, parts of the vehicles that can still be used are dismantled before they are finally scrapped. This takes place both commercially in recycling companies and illegally along the way.

A particular problem are car wrecks that have not been sent for vehicle recycling, but are illegally parked at the roadside or left free in the area.

Wrecked cars can still contain fuels and operating materials that are hazardous to water, such as gasoline , brake fluids ( glycol ether ), coolants ( ethylene glycol ) and engine oils , which can leak in an uncontrolled manner and endanger the soil or groundwater .
Illegally parking a wrecked car can be a criminal offense . In such cases, the authorities determine the previous owner using the chassis number (VIN). This is therefore sometimes removed, which is usually pointless, as the VIN is attached several times to vehicles in inaccessible places. In order to curb the illegal waste disposal of car wrecks, the legislator has issued the End-of-Life Vehicle Ordinance . However, soaring metal prices have meanwhile caused the problem to self-regulate. Car recyclers are now paying to buy wrecked cars. In addition, there have been so-called scrapping premiums from the automotive industry in the past to promote the sale of new vehicles.

In individual cases, very old and rare vehicle wrecks may have regained their value. A wreck of a Bugatti was recovered from the seabed .

Historic car cemeteries

Old car cemeteries, which were abandoned decades ago, no longer comply with the provisions of today's environmental legislation and therefore led to controversies regarding their clearance. These cemeteries consist entirely of wrecks of oldtimers and youngtimers , i.e. historical car models that are emotionally positive for part of the population , which in their eyes is carried over to the car cemetery as a whole. Many people with less affinity for automobiles see the weathered cars as nothing more than pollution . Examples of such car cemeteries that have become known in recent years are Kyrkö Mosse in Sweden (has been preserved) and Kaufdorf (Gürbetal) in Switzerland (has been dissolved).

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Wiktionary: car wreck  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations