Flood Cars

For some time now, I have been looking at the devastation in many areas along the Mississippi River caused by flooding. My thoughts go out to those poor people and, as I look at those pictures, I also am made aware of the cars that are under water. This should be a wake up call to all those looking for a used car.
I was in the used car business and have seen how easy it is for an unscrupulous dealer or curbstoner to doctor a flood car and hide the problems. Flood areas are prime targets for these kinds of sellers and draw them like metal shavings to a giant magnet. It's not easy to tell a doctored flood car and no one can really tell you how to spot one unless it was doctored badly.
Some things to look for are new carpeting, musty or deodorant fragrance inside, water spots or lines and also check the trunk or cargo area carefully, etc. The unscrupulous seller will like likely change the fluids but if he is lazy you may see signs of water in the oil or tranny fluid. The tranny fluid is sometimes overlooked so look at the color and, also, if it is way overfull. Look underneath for water lines or fresh paint or cheap undercoating. Again, it is difficult to tell a good cover up of a flood car and checking with Carfax will not always....maybe rarely....tell you if it is a flood car. These unscrupulous sellers have many means of hiding the fact that the car was flooded. Even if it was totaled by an insurance company it can be hidden by a good car guy. Albeit, with more difficulty.
When checking a Carfax look to see if the car spent most of its life in a flood area and then the info stops around the time of the flooding. A worse case scenario is if the car was located in a flood area and then, in the past year or so, it went to one or more other States. People in the car business are better at reading a Carfax report than most laymen but these signs are possible evidence that something could be hidden.
Anyway.....if you are looking for a used car, use due diligence and check the area that it lived and find all the areas of flooding in the past year or so. Recently, there have been MANY areas that have been flooded along the Mississippi and other areas as well.
Just a reminder that there will be a lot of flood cars on the market now and in the next year or so.

 

Be very suspicious of any used car that has travelled west.
Those flood cars will eventually be disbursed throughout the country.
You might get lucky and get one that may have only been flooded up to the rockers, say - but not likely.

 

Good points, thanks for sharing. It's sad the extent that some dealers go to in order to deceive potential buyers.

 

The people in the flood areas themselves are screwed. Who do they trust? Their area is going to be 'flooded' with cars, excuse the pun.....

 

In 2005 I watched over 200 cars from our dealership be loaded and taken to Tennessee.They were supposed to be crushed...I have my doubts.I still look out for Hurricane Katrina cars because they are out there!

 

Car Show

1tireman, just noticed what town you live in. Back not much before Katrina we went to a car show where you live. Also checked out that guy who had old cars inside a chain link fenced area. Most likely gone now. Car show was near some bar. May have been a biker bar because I remember a bike run at same time. Went to several other car shows and cruise nites south of New Orleans. Beautiful cars. I know they are long gone now.

 

Yeah. I guess ther wern't any car crushers in Louisiana......
Yeah, they all got crushed. Sure.................

 

see, I would never think about this kinda stuff...course I don't live in a flood area...a salty area, but not a flood area.

When we were kids, mom had 62 Biscayne



hers was white with red interior. Anyway one night when we were all sleeping somehow the car managed to roll down the driveway, turn itself around and park itself in the boat slip where the tide came in and just about covered it twice before we found it in the morning. The police try to sell these sequence of events to mom...I might have been 10 at the time and I didn't believe it...I'm not sure whatever became of that car. The insurance company wrote it off and we got another car...don't remember what???

 

My dad backed his parents car, later his car, when he was 13 into the Wisconsin River, at the boat launch just down from where their house is now. They cleaned it up and went on their way. No problems. The car? 1966 Caprice wagon lol

 

Today, most states have "FLOOD" stamped across the titles of these vehicle. The biggest problem will be with collector cars that are too old to have titles. Personally, I have owned a number of flood cars, and didn't have problems with them, since I knew what to expect. The biggest problem is the electrical wiring, and back then, they didn't have computers, so the repair was quite simple. If I found a old car that had recent flood damage, I wouldn't be afraid of it, knowing what I already know. If it is a modern car, then it is just good for sheet metal parts.

 

If it's a salt water flood you will have problems in any car. Seen those kinds of problems. Right down to the seat springs disintegrating.

 

I just read and viewed pix of North Dakota floods. I can't believe how many states have been affected by floods this year! Again...I feel sorry for these unfortunate people in those areas.
Regarding the car market...it would seem that there will be a plethora of flood cars "flooding" the market. In order to buy a used car and be safe you will have to do due diligence for sure. I, and others, have already discussed some possible solutions above, but, there are going to be a lot of these cars spread throughout the US. In fact, I would bet that it will be hard to find a state that won't import some of these cars to sell them.

 

I wish Andy would chime in here and that other guy,,,Hormin, forman...OH YEAH "Stormin Norman". Manitoba must have the same flood cars to deal with. I can't see them getting as far as my province but where do they go? Rural praries?

 

Let's flood this Vega with our votes!

http://www.goldeagle.com/event_marketing/coolridesonline.aspx

David

 

DAYUM!! Right now it's 36.19 to 43.42 !!