After the recent hurricanes, dealers and consumers should be aware of vehicles with flood damage hitting the market.
A CARFAX report published before Helene and Milton struck the United States showed approximately 454,000 flooded vehicles back in use across the nation. Texas and Florida each had more than 60,000 flood-damaged vehicles on the road.
CARFAX offers a free Flood Check tool. But also offers tips on what to watch for on vehicles that may have been damaged during floods.
The signs according to CARFAX include: a musty odor in the interior, which sellers sometimes try to cover with a strong air-freshener; upholstery or carpeting that may be loose, new, stained or doesn’t seem to match the rest of the interior; damp carpets; rust around doors, under the dashboard, on the pedals or inside the hood and trunk latches; mud or silt in the glove compartment or under the seats; brittle wires under the dashboard; and fog or moisture beads in the interior lights, exterior lights or instrument panel.
“More often than not, water-damaged cars are reported to insurance companies, and after an assessment process, buyers get a settlement to cover their losses,” the CARFAX report said. “While many flooded vehicles are then sent to an auto recycler for dismantling, other vehicles are branded by state agencies as flood-damaged, and a Salvage title is assigned. Once identified, flood-damaged cars can once again enter the sales market. The truth is, refurbished flood-damaged vehicles can be difficult to identify without some trusted documentation.”
