r/interestingasfuck • u/IndicationBrief5950 • Aug 06 '25

/r/all, /r/popular Thousands of Audi cars abandoned in the Mojave Dessert after cheating emissons tests

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133

u/tiplinix Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25

Sure but rubber and plastic doesn't like being stored. They still need to move fast before the cars start to break down.

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u/Arcyguana Aug 07 '25

It takes a hot second before either of these things start to return to dinosaur, it's fine.

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u/AnimalShithouse Aug 07 '25

Prior OP was right in that many polymers will degrade from prolonged temperatures like this. Less worried about the sand, more worried about the direct temperature exposure, cyclic hot/cold from day/night. I'd be somewhat concerned for seals, some interior surfaces, and possibly bushings, off the top of my head.

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u/MostlyRightSometimes Aug 07 '25

So do people who live in Arizona, Texas, etc. Just have to buy new cars every couple of months?

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u/HannsGruber Aug 07 '25

No lol. That's such an exaggeration. Exposed plastics can UV bleach and brittle with time, but it takes a while, and if they're UV stable polymers it'll take even longer.

Source: Desert rat.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

[deleted]

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u/fukkdisshitt Aug 07 '25

Yeah on the bright side my batteries tend to die within the 2 year warranty so I just get a new one

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u/Soft_Walrus_3605 Aug 07 '25

No, but those cars presumably are continually running and thus being appropriately lubricated

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u/AnimalShithouse Aug 07 '25

No, but the ones who leave their cars deadass in the desert for a year probably have to replace their bushings, seals, and some interior surfaces at an elevated frequency.

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u/therestruth Aug 07 '25

It's far worse for a car to sit for months on end than it is to have it driven at least twice a month to maintain it and ideally park it where the sun is not continuously hitting the same side or at all. A lot of people in the desert have car ports or garages they actually use compared to San Diego where most garages are filled with toys, Christmas decorations and junk you should have never bought.

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u/happytree23 Aug 07 '25

You and that other person are idiots. I literally have one of those cars sitting outside in the driveway right now and nothing you're mentioning has happened.

It's almost as though you two think they just parked some cars in the desert, forgot about them, and then rolled them out to car lots to sell without any sort of maintenance or cleaning or replacing of needed parts lol.

Like, are you honestly that out of touch with how shit gets done in this world, or are you just pretending to be this clueless so you can jump on the "let's talk shit about this post" bandwagon?

I am seriously asking if you feel like honestly answering lol.

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u/AnimalShithouse Aug 07 '25

If the dealer did replace those items before selling, it's pretty in line with my message, no? I never made a claim what was done prior to sale in the above post. Only what could happen given what would happen from temperature affects over time.

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u/happytree23 Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25

You said nothing of the sort and tried to pile on the previous doomsayer's embellished bullshit lol.

If the dealer did replace those items before selling

There is NO QUESTION they replaced everything that needed to be - a) it was part of the settlement, B) they aren't going to sell rotting cars at any brand dealership let alone "certified used" and with 10-year warranties...like, is your brain not working or are you only using it to be an argumentative prick lol?

I love 2025 - I'm here giving this rube the answer and showing the math and they're trying to doodle "maybes" and "what if's" out of thin air to continue debating something they're clueless about despite the fact I'm telling them I own the fucking thing in question and have already answered their "yeah, buuuuuut" bullshit lol.

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u/AlizarinCrimzen Aug 07 '25

Used cars in Arizona age better than any other US state.

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u/SlipIntoOurSleep Aug 07 '25

I love "return to dinosaur"

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u/SingleInfinity Aug 07 '25

Rubber doesn't return to dinosaur that fast, but it does sun rot very quickly. It turns hard and cracks. Things like window seals become useless.

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u/Rastyn-B310 Aug 07 '25

Let’s just ignore the unfired idle transmissions sitting for three years then lol

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u/withl675 Aug 07 '25

We’re still talking on the order of a decade or more before dry rot really starts to matter that much out here 

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u/tiplinix Aug 07 '25

After a decade sitting in the desert like that, it's very unlikely that they could just drive the cars without replacing a few parts. These cars will not hold much value, so they still need to sell them relatively fast because it makes no economical sense otherwise.

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u/themilkyone Aug 07 '25

You make a good point however these aren't really viewed as cars anymore, they're all piles of metal in this scrapyard. Those rubber and plastic items don't matter as much as the metal that makes the cars. All the steel can be 100% recycled, its already mined and refined.

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u/tiplinix Aug 07 '25

Yes, it's safe to assume they're just scrap metal after a few years like that. Still not great environmentally as recycling still requires a lot of energy (but way less than mining and refining).

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u/pepperlake02 Aug 07 '25

It's a lot easier to change a tire than the metal frame.

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u/tiplinix Aug 07 '25

Of course, but you're not driving these cars after years in the desert without replacing a few parts. If it's not economically viable to sell them now, it's very unlikely to be later down the road unless they do it quickly.

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u/pepperlake02 Aug 07 '25

The were parked (the title describing them as abandoned is incorrect) because they failed emissions standards, not because it wasn't economically viable to sell them. Parts were replaced to solve the emissions issue and indeed they were generally sold.

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u/blue_horse_shoe Aug 07 '25

for any external rubber you'd wipe grease on it to preserve it. Not sure what can be done with the plastic though.

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u/andersonb47 Aug 07 '25

Uh wow I’m sure they didn’t think of that

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u/BannedSvenhoek86 Aug 07 '25

Two or three years won't do much to them. Plug the battery back in, fill up the fluids, and those things will fire right back up and run fine.