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Russian car repair shops do not confirm BBC statistics on damaged cars imported from Georgia
Rosavtoservis does not confirm the BBC statistics on damaged cars imported from Georgia. BBC: Georgia sells cars that were in accidents in the US to Russia.
British journalists called Georgia an international center for used car trade and, based on data on import and export of foreign cars to Georgia, came to the conclusion that sales of used cars to and from the country have increased sharply. Russia through Georgia as an intermediary. However, Russian experts do not agree with the journalists' logic.
Russian auto repair shops have not noticed the influx of damaged American cars bought in Georgia. The BBC, previously blocked in Russia, published a publication about the huge used car market in Georgia, from which these cars are mainly delivered to Russia. Experts say that this scheme itself is not new, the risks of buying such cars are known, and there is no surge in requests to Russian services.
British journalists have called Georgia an international hub for used cars and have given a colourful description of a huge car park the size of 40 football pitches on the dusty outskirts of Rustavi, an industrial town 20 kilometres from Tbilisi. And there are so many Mercedes, Porsches, Jaguars, Toyotas and even Teslas in this car park.
All of them were involved in car accidents in the United States. For American insurance companies, repairing and reselling cars is expensive. And they prefer to simply put it up for auction. beaten. The article explains: “If in the United States it costs about $ 5,000, and the restoration of the car and its legalization takes six months, then in Georgia the same car will be repaired in a month and will cost you $ 1,000. ”. It’s just that the labor costs are much cheaper. The same principles (albeit without specific figures) were confirmed in written comments by a representative of one of the Georgian companies directly involved in the project. Buying such a car can really save you money. All costs for delivery, customs and registration are also taken into account in Russia. But the money saved may not be worth it. Drowned cars are especially dangerous in this regard, says Nikolai Yankovsky, service director of the Ivanor car service franchise in Moscow.
In fact, Russians have been buying damaged American cars through auctions in third countries for a long time. It all started with people falling in love with huge pickups and muscle cars, and then they started buying traditional Toyotas and Lexuses. And there is nothing new here. Previously, it was repaired in Poland, and now in Georgia, said Nikolai Yankovsky.
British journalists concluded that most of the cars currently coming to Georgia go to Russia, based on the fact that last year Georgia imported $3 billion worth of cars and exported $2 billion, mostly to the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. off. These countries are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, which until recently made it easier for cars to be imported to Russia. For example, in 2022, Georgia exported 7,350 used cars to Kazakhstan, and almost 40,000 in 2023. That's 5.5 times more.
However, there is no surge in requests for repairs of broken ex-American cars to Russian service centers, says auto blogger and tuning studio owner Dmitry Sannikov.
On the other hand, Russians have had the opportunity to buy such cars in large quantities in the last few years, but they still break down or break down en masse and do not have time to be serviced.
Another risk when buying an American car for use in Russia is the body parts. This applies to both European and Japanese brands. The bumpers on an existing Camry assembled for the US market may not fit the same Camry sold here or in Europe. Because they are slightly different. The same applies to many body elements and many brands. Then expect bumpers from Georgia and they will come from the US.