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Vehicles float within the water on Sept. 29 in Bonita Springs, Florida, after Hurricane Ian.
Sean Rayford | Getty Images
If you are planning to store for a used automobile within the subsequent few months, be certain to examine for flood harm earlier than signing on the dotted line.
In the wake of widespread flooding throughout Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina final month due to Hurricane Ian, automobile historical past report web site Carfax now estimates that up to 358,000 autos have been damaged by flood waters. Some of these automobiles will find yourself being resold — already, 400,000 automobiles on the street are water-damaged from previous flooding occasions.
“Flood waters trigger all types of hidden harm, which might floor months later,” stated Teresa Murray, shopper watchdog with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.
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“You don’t desire something to do with a flooded automobile, regardless of whether or not the harm is disclosed and it doesn’t matter what assurances you get from a vendor,” Murray stated.
Flooded automobiles are ‘rotting from the within out’
Floodwaters can destroy — generally slowly — electronics, lubricants and mechanical programs in vehicles. Corrosion can finally discover its approach to the automobile’s very important electronics, together with airbag controllers.
“The backside line on these flood-damaged automobiles is they’re actually rotting from the within out,” stated Emilie Voss, spokesperson for Carfax.
“They may look high-quality cosmetically, however there may be mechanical, electrical, security, and well being points that may present up down the street,” Voss stated.

Buyers ought to all the time examine a used automobile’s automobile historical past report to be sure they know what they’re buying, regardless of when or the place they make the acquisition. Flooded automobiles usually find yourself on the market in locations removed from the place they initially have been damaged.
Through companies like Carfax or the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s VINCheck, you possibly can enter a automobile’s automobile identification quantity, or VIN, to see if there’s something in its historical past that is a pink flag. However, you might not be ready to discover out all the pieces.
Not all titles will replicate flood harm
That’s as a result of not all flooded automobiles are recorded as such until an insurance company is concerned. When an insurer receives a declare and the automobile is totaled — that means the repairs would value greater than the automobile’s price — the automobile’s title typically is modified to replicate its standing.
Those ruined automobiles are usually offered at salvage auctions to junkyards and automobile rebuilders. Reselling them to shoppers could also be authorized if the title discloses the flood harm.
But not all automobile homeowners file an insurance coverage declare. If they do not have complete protection — the half of automobile insurance coverage that flooding would fall below — they’re typically out of luck when it comes to protection. This implies that with no insurance coverage firm involvement, the flood harm could not find yourself formally recorded anyplace.
“If you think a automobile could have sustained flood harm, transfer on,” Murray stated.
There are issues you possibly can search for in a used automobile for that would recommend flood harm, in accordance to Carfax:
- A musty odor within the inside, which sellers generally strive to cowl with a robust air-freshener
- Upholstery or carpeting that could be unfastened, new, stained or that does not match the remainder of the inside
- Damp carpets
- Rust round doorways, below the dashboard, on the pedals or contained in the hood and trunk latches
- Mud or silt within the glove compartment or below the seats
- Brittle wires below the dashboard
- Fog or moisture beads within the inside lights, exterior lights or instrument panel
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