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cmitch
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Ala-Tenn
Vehicle(s): 2002 ML320, 2005 S430 4Matic, 2010 F150 Super Crew
Posts: 3412
| Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
By Chris Solomon
Perhaps 10% of cars and trucks in Louisiana and Mississippi -- 571,000 vehicles -- were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, according to an initial estimate by the National Automobile Dealers Association, and Hurricane Rita covered tens of thousands more. At one point, about 50 auto dealerships in and around New Orleans, including some of the state’s largest, were underwater, says Bob Israel, executive vice president of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association.
That’s bad, you say -- but what does it have to do with me, in Boston or Denver or Las Vegas?
Plenty, if you’re going to be in the market for a used car in the next several months. So-called "flood cars" -- cleaned up and then put on the block by sellers who sometimes hide the car’s past -- will start appearing around the nation in the coming months.
A little water, not so bad -- but a lot of water?
A car that sat for a short time in top-of-the-wheels water after Katrina may not have suffered irreparable damage, says Alan Rosenblum, service manager at Adams Automotive in Houston, a metropolis that saw 50,000 flood-damaged cars after Tropical Storm Allison hit in 2001. Replacing the fluids in the engine is often enough to get the car running well again, he says.
But if water enters a car’s passenger compartment, as happened in Katrina’s wake, it’s trouble for many reasons: - Today’s cars have a dozen or more onboard computer systems, sometimes housed under the seats.
- Electronics like CD players don’t like water, and they hate grit and residue.
- Carpets and upholstery can be cleaned, but mold and mildew linger deep in the fabric.
- The dashboard is the brains of the car. "If water gets into the dashboard, then the car is considered totaled" by insurers, says Rosenblum.
- Water that gets into wires running in the floor and door panels will continue to injure the car after it dries. Saltwater is even worse on metal -- and vehicles caught in New Orleans likely got a brackish bath, thanks to the levee break with Lake Pontchartrain, which contains saltwater. "It’s real corrosive," says Bill Kindall, owner of Kindall’s Auto Repairs in Houston.
Where the cars go
So what happens to all of these water-wrecked cars, anyway? Of the vehicles damaged at Louisiana dealerships, most will be total losses, says Israel of the Louisiana auto dealers’ group. After past hurricanes, a few cars have gone to Hollywood for movie work. Some have been recruited for safety tests. The bulk of them will be sold for scrap or salvaged for parts. Many, however, will make it back on the road, often driven by unwitting buyers. |
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cmitch
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Ala-Tenn
Vehicle(s): 2002 ML320, 2005 S430 4Matic, 2010 F150 Super Crew
Posts: 3412
| RE: Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
Here is a link that you can use to check and see if the VIN is identified as a 'Flood Car': https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/SID-4031FE95-5EAC3B04/nicb/hs.xsl/... |
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BenzDieselTuner
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
good info, we will have to keep that in mind....... |
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cmitch
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Ala-Tenn
Vehicle(s): 2002 ML320, 2005 S430 4Matic, 2010 F150 Super Crew
Posts: 3412
| RE: Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
I found the first water car!
 (H2ODamage.jpg)
 (S-ClassH2O.jpg)
Attachments
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 H2ODamage.jpg (77KB - 17 downloads)
S-ClassH2O.jpg (77KB - 12 downloads)
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Roch207
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Palmetto State
Vehicle(s): 2005 E320 CDI, 2010 Silverado 2500HD
Posts: 3749
| Re: Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
Wow, looks like the water completely rotted away the shocks and suspension. Good to see they used the wipers to help get the water off the car. |
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Marsden
Classic MB
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Capital City USA
Vehicle(s): Mercedes-Benz
| RE: Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
That's a great resource. Thanks for sharing it. Wish they had all flood-damage cars though!
There's a lot of Florida cars for sale here in the mid-Atlantic...it's making me wonder. |
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Noodles
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Watch out for FLOOD CARS!!
I just noticed this thread. The glut of Florida cars are rentals. There are more there than any place.
Years ago the Florida new car dealers sued the rental companies and the car makers for dumping
the cars on the Florida market and hurting the dealers. So the rental companies move them around
the country to sell them. |
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