3,000 BMW and MINI cars found abandoned on a parking lot

A video has recently been posted to YouTube from a parking area in Vancouver, Canada, where around 3,000 factory-new BMW and MINI cars had been sitting for six years following a major recall campaign.

The cars were brought to the Port of Halifax, but were damaged in a snowstorm in February 2015 before they could be shipped. The batch was stuck in the port and subjected to the raging elements for multiple days.

In the end, the carmaker decided to recall the cars from this batch and give the buyers other, brand-new examples instead. Although many of the vehicles showed no signs of damage or material deterioration, their prolonged exposure to high humidity could eventually lead to electronic, metallic and suspension-related components failing in the future. Writing them off straight away was more viable than selling and then repairing as needed.

The future of the failed shipment remains uncertain. It is also unknown why the company never salvaged the batch for spare parts while it still had the chance.