Beware of Hurricane Damaged Vehicles!

By: Matthew C. Keegan

Nearly a half million cars were destroyed by two of this past
season's biggest hurricanes, Katrina and Rita. Some of these
cars may not have received much apparent damage but they were
totaled nevertheless because of water, mud, and debris which
flooded engine bays and the interior. Damaged cars are supposed
to make their way to the junkyard for scrap, unfortunately some
unscrupulous parties are gaining a hold of the vehicle titles
and turning around and selling damaged cars to the public.
Should you be concerned? Absolutely! Read on to learn more about
this problem and what you can do to avoid being stuck with a
vehicle that is certain to be a lemon.

Let me just say this: it is not illegal for weekend mechanics to
buy a salvaged vehicle, repair it, and sell it to you. What they
must disclose to you is this: you are buying a salvaged vehicle.
This is where most of the problems begin: the dishonest
purveyors are not sharing this information.

Only 22 states require that the titles of flood damaged vehicles
[which were totaled by insurers] be stamped with that
information. So, if you live in any one of the 28 other states,
be extremely cautious about buying any used car [check your
local laws to see which group you belong to].

One organization is doing its part to help fight the problem.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau [NICB] this past summer and
fall sent teams to flood damaged areas in affected states to
work with local police authorities. What the teams did was try
to catalog all of the flood damaged vehicles and enter that
information in a database, which is accessible online. Because
of their diligence, nearly 200,000 car identification numbers
are now available for car buyers to search at www.nicb.org

Car shoppers should always invest in obtaining a car history
report from an independent company, such as Car Fax, as a back
up source to verify information about a vehicle. Although the
information supplied by these types of companies isn't always
100% accurate, it can usually reveal whether a car has been
salvaged, rebuilt, is a lemon, or has been flood damaged. Some
guarantee their information so check the individual
contract/agreement before you use their services to see what
recourse you would have in the event a lemon sneaks by them and
you purchase one.

So, how can we know for sure that there will be problems? Well,
if Hurricane Floyd is a measuring stick then the potential for
fraud is huge. In 1999, nearly 80,000 cars were damaged by Floyd
and taken off of the roads due to storm damage. About half of
that number were repaired and resold, many to unsuspecting
consumers.

You don't have to be a victim, so get informed. If a car is
priced well below book value that can be a big clue that a
problem exists, however don't rely on price, instead do some
research first before buying your next used car.

About the author:
Matt Keegan is a contributing writer for the Race Pages, a
supplier of quality Honda catalytic
converters and Toyota oxygen
sensors at discount prices.