Former Flood cars! IMPORTANT!
 

Flood Vehicles from Gulf Coast Resurface in California
By Jennifer Reed, Online Editor
FAIRFAX, Va. (Jan. 27, 2006) -- In an announcement Thursday, Carfax said it discovered that scam artists recently cleaned up 14 hurricane-flooded vehicles from the Gulf Coast, altered their titles and tried to sell them through a California auction yard. Company executives caution auto industry professionals that similar sales could occur throughout the country in the next few months.


Additionally, the Automobile Club of Southern California recently teamed up with the state's Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi to warn local buyers about the danger of purchasing used vehicles damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other storms damaged between 300,000 and 600,000 vehicles in 2005," said Steve Lenzi, the Auto Club's senior vice president of public affairs. "It's estimated that at least half of those will end up on the used car market instead of being scrapped."


As many in the auto industry know, even if mildewed carpeting or a ruined alternator is replaced, flooding can do permanent damage to sensitive electronics that manage the engine's operation or control safety components such as air bags and antilock breaks.


Executives said refurbishers intent on fraud can clean up the more obvious signs of evidence. Buyers and industry professionals should look for mud or residue under the dashboard, musty odors in the cabin or truck and mud or grit behind under-hood components such as the alternator, starter motor or power-steering pump, executives said.


According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, more than 200,000 flood-damaged units have been identified and added to its database, with more anticipated. To check the NICB's database of hurricane-damaged units, visit www.nicb.org.


Another vehicle history source for such information is Carfax. The company said it is still offering free Carfax Flood Checks and an advisory noting any vehicle last registered in a FEMA disaster area for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Visit www.carfax.com/flood for more.

very informative!
 

very informative, thank you. esspecially for us canadians. seems a lot of these cars have been turning up in toronto. mostly high end cars.....

Yes, makes sense as these guys move the cars wherever they think the records can' t be traced!

Good luck!

Hi,

Very informative. But another twist is that many of these Cars are being Parted out. There has been a flood (excuse the Pun) of Used Parts hitting the market in the past 6 mos. Undoubtedly, many have been stripped of Flood Salvaged cars...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I didn't think about the parts market for these cars... that's a good use for parts that were not affected by nasty water and just needed a good cleaning before resale.

I wonder if any Porsche parts made it to salvage, and if we should be concerned about buying salvaged parts that might have been in a flooded P-Car?

So, did these unscrupulous flood-damaged car sellers "wash" the titles? :D

On the parts themselves, there would be nothing, really, to stop these guys from selling you an engine from a flooded, salvage car. Nothing, that is, except their own morals, and perhaps, a local law or two (maybe not).

Re: the actual resale of a whole car with "washed title" the feds and the state of LA have really tried to stop this practice and it is really hard to do. I think many fo these cars are headed out of the country to places where a Boxster for cheap will be very easy to dispose of.

Hence, the PPI and other practices remain the best defense against these criminals.

My neighbor just got through returning an '05 1 ton Dodge Club Cab bought as New after I asked (casually) if he had used CarFax...I saw him in an F350 the next day!...He offered to buy me a bottle of Scotch. I don't drink, seeing him out of the truck and the look on the dealer's face was well worth it. The info was right there. It came from a yard outside New Orleans! He had already replaced (under warranty) the entire fuel system (tank to injectors) and it still had so many electrical gremlins it was a wonder somebody else hadn't checked. The dealer is fairly reputable but I think several factors came into play:
1) Got truck at significant discount and was able to sell it at reduced price making for volume and quick turnover
2) (most important)They were making a fortune in shop time from Dodge for warranty work!! It was like buying a cash cow!

Scary stuff!

Glad you helped him.