New York City selling 535 cars towed in Hurricane Sandy

Owning a car in New York City stands as a badge of honor and fortitude unique in the nation; between insurance costs, thefts and parking laws that make "Bleak House" look like a kid's book, no other American city makes owning a car such a hassle. Which is what makes this picture even more surprising: 535 cars and trucks collected by New York City after Hurricane Sandy that have never been claimed, and will be sold at salvage auctions over the next couple of weeks.

According to the New York Post, the city sold the cars largely because it's spending $1 million to store and sell them on Long Island. After Hurricane Sandy last October, it deposited 3,300 vehicles that had been swept up in flooding or otherwise found abandoned, and in the months since, had tried to track down the owners, 2,765 of which retrieved their rides.

As with all flood-damaged vehicles from Sandy, these will be sold with a salvage title, whether they were only parked in puddles or submerged to their sunroofs. If you want to take a chance on a Gotham-tested ride, you can check out the terms of the upcoming sales here — but if you spot that car you've been missing for six months, it may be a bit late.