Ithaca dealer reports damage to over 700 vehicles

• Maguire said that the damage goes down to the base coat of paint on over 700 vehicles
• Climatologist Mark Wysocki said air pollution from Canadian forest fires could be cause of damage
• Test samples from the affected vehicles will get a chemical analysis

ITHACA – Damaged paint on about 700 cars and trucks has the owner of several Ithaca dealerships and his insurer wondering what caused the problem.

Phil Maguire, president of the Maguire Family of Dealerships, estimates the cost of repairing the damage will range from $300 to $5,000 for each affected vehicle at his locations on Route 13 along the southwest side of Ithaca.

"We've never seen anything like this in our 37 year history," Maguire said. .

The damage looks like dried water spots on the finish of a car's paint. The spots have penetrated the clear coat, however, leaving the damage visible after washing and polishing, said Matthew Strassner, sales manager at the Maguire Toyota dealership.

Maguire suspects something in the air may have caused the damage because only the vehicles on the lots outside of the dealership buildings were affected. His insurance company has obtained test samples of the residue on the affected vehicles for a chemical analysis, he said.

The National Weather Service in Binghamton and the Cornell Regional Climate Center have not recorded any unusual typesof precipitation during the past two months.

Mark Wysocki, a meteorology professor at Cornell University and the State Climatologist, said that large forest fires in Canada's remote Northwest Territory may be the source of the damage.

Wysocki said the air pollution caused by such fires can be carried in rainfall as well as a dry dust that settles on surfaces. A weak acid can be created from the chemicals in the air pollution.

"Your car may just look dusty, but it is really being attacked," Wysocki said. He said the damage can affect vehicles and buildings. The only way to prevent the damage is to cover exposed surfaces.

Whatever caused the paint finish damage appears to be isolated to the Ithaca area, Maguire said. He operates seven locations in the Finger Lakes region. Only vehicles at the four locations in Ithaca have been affected.

Three Tompkins County automotive repair and body shops reported that they have not serviced any paint damage that is out of the ordinary. A representative from Automotive Consultants, however, did confirm that he'd been contacted by insurance companies about unusual paint damage.