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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:
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. | ||
#44449 | |||
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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/... | ||
#44451 - in reply to #44449 | |||
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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....... | ||
#44483 - in reply to #44449 | |||
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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 ---------------- H2ODamage.jpg (77KB - 17 downloads) S-ClassH2O.jpg (77KB - 12 downloads) | ||
#45537 - in reply to #44449 | |||
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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. | ||
#45569 - in reply to #44449 | |||
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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!! cmitch - 9/12/2006 10:37 AM 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/... That's a great resource. Thanks for sharing it. Wish they had all flood-damage cars though! | ||
#48117 - in reply to #44451 | |||
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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. | ||
#68192 - in reply to #44449 | |||
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