Once you know what to look for, it's easy to spot a flood damaged car in Florida.
"They're wanting to turn these cars so quick and get them out to the consumer before they can get caught," Willard warned.
"I expect to see these cars hitting our market in the next 15 to 30 days!"
With Hurricane Harvey, and Hurricane Irma, and the resulting flooding, you can expect the used auto industry to be flooded (pun intended) with damaged vehicles.
In this envireonment, consumers who need reliable transportation should be wize and wary !
Additional automobile consumer information on avoiding used auto problems arising from flooded vehicles is available at the news site.
My 2012 Tacoma might be out there.
It was sunk in an unexpected flash flood and me with it.
Movies and TV do no justice to the real thing about being trapped like that.
Anyway....the used car market was already depressed, this will only make it worse.
Be suspicious about any used car....regardless of where you live.
Mold will grow in the AC vents. They sell a lot of cans of stuff to spray in the vents.
Fixed it for them. Just think what might have been wrong for somebody to decide that $1500 worth of carpet needed to be added... to a used car.
If there is a lobster in the tailpipe, it is not there as part of a sales promotion.
Can you imagine the loss cars from Fl/Tx are going to take from all this? no one will touch a used car from either of those places right now..
> important to look under the seats for any brown stains
nice
I’ve seen that there were a half million flooded vehicles in Houston.
That maybe on the low side...
IF these are being sold by owners or insurance companies after being declared “totaled”, that fact should be on the car’s bill of sale in the hands of the person trying to sell it to you. Require a Carfax on every used car you buy. That’s how I avoid cars from the north (salt damage) and coastal areas (salt in the breeze that sneaks in everywhere).
Once you know what to look for, it's easy to spot a flood damaged car in Florida.
Flood damaged cars are considered “totaled” by insurance companies if water gets in the inside. They will issue a “Salvage or Scrap” title and send it to the scrap yards in Missouri, the scrap yards will officially “destroy” the auto, but in reality they will clean it real well.
Several wrecked cars will be cannibalized to make one good looking car, then they will be run down into ARKANSAS where for $50 they will issue a brand new clean title showing the car has never been damaged.
I have been hit twice in Arkansas, once in a car, once in a truck, and the vehicles “totaled”. Sold the remains to a local junk yard, and a few days later noticed the damaged parts out behind the junk yard in the scrap pile. Then a few weeks later, I saw my vehicles being driven around town looking almost like new.
Generally good advice but he lost me on “It costs about $1,500 to replace carpeting in a car, so it’s unlikely someone will do that, unless there is water damage.” ,,, I can get carpet cut and molded to fit any car for under $150..
Pull the heads. Pistons aren’t supposed to be rusty.
Carfax is no guarantee. Read their own disclaimer. I only buy new, so I should never have to worry about a flood damaged vehicle.
News you can use!