Something I never thought of -- what will happen to all of the cars that were flooded out by Hurricane Katrina. Not only the ones people own, how about those sitting, new, in dealers lots. The Massachusetts Daily News Tribune has this story:
Buyers warned of Katrina carsMight be good to use Carfax if you buy a car in the next year or so... I'm wondering if the manufacturer would honor the warranties -- after all, the car had been declared as totaled...
MetroWest used-auto dealers and a national industry group say car buyers should beware of flood-damaged vehicles making their way into the market in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"Someone is going to end up with some of those cars that have been damaged," said Mark Rizoli of Auto Village, a truck seller in Milford. "People are going to have to take extra precautions to make sure it doesn't happen to them."
Rizoli said his dealership makes sure not to buy such vehicles, which could have "major electrical issues" after sitting in water for extended periods.
"Sometimes," Rizoli said, "even the most cautious dealer will end up with (a flood-damaged car) that slipped through the cracks."
Insurance companies usually purchase such vehicles from policyholders, declare them "totaled" and then sell them at auction to be resold for parts, many of which will still be suitable for use in other cars and trucks.
But some unscrupulous dealers and wholesalers buy flood-damaged cars at scrap prices, clean them up, retitle them and resell them. The vehicles may look good, but the electronics and safety systems are likely damaged -- and can threaten the safety of the new owners.
The National Automobile Dealers Association said buyers should check a vehicle's title history, look for rust that shouldn't be there, examine the interior for dried mud and residue, and smell the trunk for mold.
When Hurricane Floyd struck Florida in 1999, an estimated 75,000 vehicles were ruined by floods and totaled by insurance companies, according to Carfax Inc., a Fairfax, Va.-based firm that performs background checks on used vehicles.
More than half of those cars and trucks, however, were resold to buyers unaware of the vehicles' histories or uninformed about the extent of the damage caused by flooding, Carfax said.
Carfax estimates, based on information it has received from law enforcement and government authorities, that between 250,000 and 500,000 vehicles could have been damaged by flood waters generated by Katrina.
"I suspect they will make their way up here," said Brian O'Connell, owner of O'Connell Motors, a used car dealer in Framingham.
However, O'Connell said he only buys from local dealers and is not concerned about running into the damaged vehicles himself. These cars "do tend to get up into the northern auctions," he said, and if someone buys from a wholesaler from outside the region, "they would have a higher probability of getting one of those vehicles."
