In the wake of Katrina, beware of flooded cars

[johnnymk]

Immersion in water usually causes enough damage to total a car, but not all of them go to the scrapyard where they belong. Many insurance companies sell the cars to rebuilders, where they can be cosmetically repaired and sold at a handsome profit. But that doesn't mean the car is OK -- flood damage causes all sorts of problems that can be expensive and frustrating to repair. Remember: If it was cost-effective to repair the car properly, the insurance company would have done it. Some states, including Louisiana, indicate flood damage on the car's title, but the title can be "washed" by state-to-state transfers. If you are going to buy used, be sure to get a detailed background report from a service such as Carfax. If the car has been severely damaged in a flood, don't buy it. -- Aaron Gold

[mechmike0034]

If the ashtray's wet, it is totaled.

Saltwater flood cars are the worst.

[bachviet]

I am not buying any car coming out of NO or MS.

[BigJon]

Thanks for the heads up. We'll be looking into buying a car sometime. Who knows how long those things float around the used car market. (no pun intended)

:thumbup:

[mechmike0034]

If you are serious about a car that you think might be a flood car, have a prepurchase inspection done. Be sure to tell the shop performing the inspection that you're worried about getting a flood car, and have them pop an inner door panel off for a look inside. Nobody ever cleans under the door panel when "reconditioning" a flood car for resale, so chances are it'll have a waterline mark or other evidence of any major water instrusion inside.

If the kickpanel (the panel under the dash on each side, located forward of and on the same plane as the door panel) is easily removed, pull it for a look as well.

Note that this isn't a foolproof test, but it'll find many. Even if it costs you $100 for a thorough inspection and door/kick panel removal, it'll be worth it.

Better yet, if you have any reason to suspect that any vehicle you might be considering for purchase is a flood car, run - don't walk - away.

[mechmike0034]

http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=103306


Flood of Cars: Insurers hope to stop cars submerged by Katrina from resurfacing

ANDREW LUU

Published Date: 10/10/05

We’ve all heard the reports: Hurricane Katrina left an estimated half a million flood-damaged vehicles in her wake—with as many as 250,000 now drying out and headed for the used-car market.

To prevent a repeat of the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in 1999—in which roughly half of the 75,000 flooded vehicles resurfaced on the resale market—insurance agencies and law enforcement officials are taking unprecedented steps to identify Katrina-flooded cars.

Central to the effort is a national registry of flooded cars, listed by vehicle identification number (VIN), available to police agencies, state motor vehicle departments and, for the first time, the general public via the Internet at nicb.org (http://nicb.org/).

The National Insurance Crime Bureau, an organization that works with police and insurance companies to fight insurance fraud, is compiling the VIN registry.

“Never have we seen this kind of destruction,” said the NICB’s Frank Scafidi. “So we decided to collect all the data and make them available.”

Officials hope the registry will prevent shady dealers and wholesalers from “washing” titles of flooded cars—a practice in which totaled cars are re-registered in another state to hide their watery history. Flood-damaged cars, often written off as total losses by insurers, are supposed to be sold strictly for their parts. But unscrupulous re-sellers buy flood-damaged vehicles for pennies on the dollar, dry them out and clean them, and put them back into the used-car stream.

Since submerged vehicles can appear to be in physically good condition after a thorough cleaning, unsuspecting buyers don’t learn until later on that electronic systems are severely damaged, and that salt water-logged wiring is corroding further each day.

Besides the registry, insurers are taking additional steps to prevent flooded cars from reappearing. For instance, State Farm, which claims to hold paper on the highest percentage of cars in Katrina’s path, is impounding all of its policyholders’ flood-damaged cars until the registry is completed.

That should make life easier for companies like Experian, which sells vehicle history reports through Autocheck.com and Consumerguide.com. Dave Nemtuda, director of Autocheck.com, urges consumers to be patient.

“It will take until late October before the information starts hitting our databases,” says Nemtuda.

While Nemtuda is confident his company should expose most flood titles, he acknowledges that scams like VIN cloning (taking on the VIN of a clean car) can get cars through the filters.

So even with a vehicle history report in hand, Nemtuda strongly recommends consumers have a reputable mechanic inspect for flood damage.

[johnnymk]

The National Automobile Dealers Association says while there's no foolproof method to test a vehicle for flood damage, a prospective buyer should, at a minimum, perform the following inspections before committing to a purchase:

1. Check the vehicle's title history, which may state whether it has sustained flood damage.

2. Examine the interior and engine compartment for evidence of water and grit from suspected submersion.

3. Check for recently shampooed carpet.

4. Check under the floorboard carpet for water residue or stain marks from evaporated water not related to air conditioning pan leaks.

5. Look for rusting inside the car and beneath interior carpeting, and visually inspect all interior upholstery and door panels for evidence of fading.

6. Check under the dashboard for dried mud and residue, and note any evidence of mold or musty odors in the upholstery, carpet or trunk.

7. Check for rust on any screws in the console or other areas where water normally would not reach unless the vehicle had been submerged.

8. Check for mud or grit in alternator crevices, behind wiring harnesses and around the small recesses of starter motors, power steering pumps and relays.

9. Complete a detailed inspection of the electrical wiring system, looking for rusted components, water residue or suspicious corrosion.

10. Inspect the undercarriage of other components for evidence of rust and flaking metal that would not normally be associated with late-model vehicles.

[Paymaster]

11. Check for live fish in the glove box.

12. Verify that the spinners on the wheels are not actually propellers.

[MikeD]

12. Verify that the spinners on the wheels are not actually propellers.

:ptlaugh:

Don't forget the ones on the exhaust tips...