Flood damaged cars are being resold!

[serryjw]

It was on my TV news in DENVER.If you know anyone in the used car market give them a heads up. Evidently they can be fixed long enough to get resold and fail in a few weeks

quote....
As the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast begins to dry out, there are concerns about flood damaged cars making their way north. News 3's Jessica Arp is On Your Side to help make sure you don't get stuck with one of them.
end quote....
http://www.channel3000.com/news/5039645/detail.html

[libnnc]

1. Yep. Happened here in NC after Floyd

for months after the local news was doing consumer alert stories on flood lemons.

[serryjw]

2. Is there an ethical soul

anywhere? Buyers BEWARE!

[pitohui]

3. after every flood flood-damaged cars are re-sold

it's a reality of this wicked world, let the buyer beware

don't know what else to tell you

it is not a time to be buying a used car, you could try carfax but they aren't going to know all the cars that went underwater

on a happier note, the hub's new car was flooded only months after purchase, it was repaired under comprehensive auto insurance coverage, and he hasn't had a bit of trouble w. it since so a proper repair can certainly last more than a few weeks, it can last years, but the job must be done right, i believe his insurer spent about $5K on the repair

no dealer is going to spend that on a car for re-sale so i dispute the author's claim that buying from a dealer will guarantee yr car is properly repaired or undamaged unless it's a certified vehicle

[kcass1954]

6. I work for an auto auction, and we sell them all the time.

I work on the Ford account, and it's corporate policy (both Ford and Manheim) that we disclose what we know. We can't pull a Carfax on every vehicle we sell - the cost would just be prohibitive. Sometimes, the damage isn't visible, and we do miss some. But at the end of the day, we do right by our dealers.

Now, whether or not the dealers disclose what they know to the retail buyers....

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. So much for southern cars. That used to be a big sales pitch.

No more.

[soothsayer]

5. My first brand-new car turned out to be a flood damaged car

It was mostly ok (Acura Integra, back in '89 or '90) but a couple of times it had ignition or steering column issues and I couldn't figure out why the mechanics would always ask me 'Has this car ever been underwater?' until finally I asked why they kept asking me that and the said the steering column was full of mud. BUT...it was still a great car. I don't go back to that dealer anymore, tho.