Buyer Beware:
Tidal Wave of Flood cars

Tips for avoiding Flood Cars


At first, it may not be at all obvious a car was flooded. Even experts have to examine a car closely to determine if it was waterlogged.

The safest thing to do: Have a trusted mechanic and body shop expert check out any new or used car you’re considering buying. They will know the telltale signs to look for, and may be able to access online databases that are a tip-off.

Demand to see the actual title to the vehicle. If you are taking out a loan and won’t get to keep the title until you pay off the loan, still insist on getting a copy—clearly marked as a copy--for your records. If the seller balks at showing you the title, walk away. Honest sellers are not afraid for you to see the title.

Insist on seeing a title history from a service such as Carfax or Autocheck. But---Keep in mind that a “clean” history may mean the original owner simply failed to report the flood condition properly to authorities. A clean title history is NOT a substitute for an inspection by a trusted technician.

Some warning signs a vehicle is flood-damaged:

Title history that shows---

• Car was once sold at auction
• Insurance company owned car at one time
• The term “flood” or “submerged” or “salvage” on the title
• Vehicle was registered in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, or Alabama during storm season

Silt between the door panels, under the carpeting, in the trunk

Rust anywhere on the vehicle

Musty smell


The National Insurance Crime Bureau has set up a website that tracks the identification numbers of flood cars. It’s worth checking out to see if a car shows up there, but keep it in mind---the VINs for thousands of flood cars may not have been entered yet into their database, and would go undetected.

National Insurance Crime Bureau database:
http://www.nicb.org/