Damaged Cars: Flood Cars | Salvage Cars | Storm Damaged Vehicles

Damaged Cars - Totaled Cars - Salvage Cars

Buy repairable and rebuildable salvage vehicles for bargain prices

Along with hurricanes, floods, hail, and tornadoes come destroyed and damaged cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Some are new cars that have been damaged or flooded while sitting on dealer lots. Others are used cars owned by individuals, dealers, and businesses. Many of these vehicles have been totaled – written off as total losses – by insurance companies. These become "salvage" vehicles.

The largest source of flood damaged cars and storm damaged cars in U.S. history was Hurricane Katrina. These vehicles are called "Katrina cars" for obvious reasons. Even though the storm occurred in 2005, the cars will be around for years. Experts estimate that 200,000 vehicles were damaged in this single storm.

Flood damaged cars or storm damaged cars are often written off – "totaled" – by insurance companies as complete losses which, in effect, invalidates the titles since the vehicles don't legally exist any longer. However, since many of these vehicles are actually repairable and can be reasonably cleaned up, they can return to life as rebuilt salvage vehicles.

Salvage cars and flood damaged cars can, at the same time, be both great opportunities or great problems. Rebuilding salvage vehicles can be a rewarding endeavor, or even become a profitable business. However, if you're simply in the market for a good used car and are unknowingly sold a vehicle with hidden damage, you will be very disappointed, to say the least.

What's the problem?

After a major natural weather event such as those that have been occurring recently, thousands of affected new and used cars begin showing up for sale all over the country. Some will be offered for exactly what they are -- flooded or storm damaged vehicles -- at significant discounts. Others will be cleaned and repaired vehicles in which the seller will attempt to hide the problems or the fact that the vehicle has a salvage status.

Salvage cars are those that have been damaged or totaled, paid off (and therefore purchased) by insurance firms, who then can sell these cars to individuals or dealers who want to restore them. In many states, it is required that such vehicles have a "salvage" title. Other states allow a new "clean" title without salvage status. Unscrupulous sellers can "wash" and hide a salvage title by moving the car from a salvage-title state to a clean-title state.

States that do not record salvage vehicle titles are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont.

If you're going to be in the market for a used car, or even a new car, in the months after a major natural weather event such as a hurricane, flood, tornado, or hail storm, you should take extra caution when shopping.

It's amazing how easily and quickly a storm-damaged car from Mississippi can show up for sale in Oregon with no indication that it may be hiding serious problems for a new buyer. Therefore, automotive consumers should be on the lookout for flooded or storm damaged vehicles.

To spot flood damaged vehicles, look for signs of water damage under the hood, under the seats and carpets, under the dash, and in the trunk. Beware of musty odors, or attempts to cover such odors. Look for rust on parts inside the vehicle and signs of repairs. Although not a perfect system, buyers should always get a vehicle history report, such as those offered by CARFAX Vehicle History Reports . Salvage vehicles will usually appear on those reports. Another place to check for VIN numbers of cars damaged in hurricanes and floods is the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

What's the opportunity?
Serious natural weather events that damage and destroy cars also present an opportunity for people who want to pick up great bargains, especially with repairable and rebuildable vehicles that have been declared total losses by insurance companies.

As long as the seller is honest and up-front with what is being sold, and the buyer is completely aware of what he is purchasing, some outstanding deals can be had. Many of these vehicles are easily repairable and can be made good as new at very little cost.

Often, a flood damaged vehicle that has been totaled means that the insurance adjustor has not had the time to go out and inspect each vehicle in detail.

For example, a new-car dealer may have had 400 cars flooded or damaged. The adjustor can't inspect all the cars but knows that at least 75% of the cars have serious damage and declares them all as total losses. This means that about 100 of the cars may have little or no damage, and can easily be cleaned up and resold as salvage vehicles. Since the insurance company owns the vehicles after claims have been paid, the company can auction off the vehicles, or resell them to the same, or another, dealer.

Honest sellers and dealers will offer previously damaged cars for good prices. These can often be real bargains for buyers who are willing to do some clean-up and repairs. Just be aware that if the car has a salvage title, it will usually appear on vehicle history reports, such as those from CARFAX Vehicle History Reports , and may be of concern to a future buyer, should you decide to sell later.

What's the bottom line?
As with most things in life, if you go into buying storm-damaged cars or salvaged flood-damaged cars being properly informed and using appropriate caution, you'll avoid serious mistakes and even find some terrific bargains. Rebuilding and repairing damaged vehicles can be very rewarding and may save thousands of dollars.

One more thing
If you don't plan on taking a mechanic around with you to inspect potentially damaged vehicles, here is an excellent ebook, Inspect Before You Buy, on how to perform the services yourself, with checklists and details of exactly what to look for — and how to do it. It's written by an experienced ASE certified mechanic, Jerry Ellingson.

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