If you are in the market for a new car, Channel 2 consumer adviser Clark Howard says storms from miles away can flood the market with damaged vehicles.
Clark explains ways to make sure you aren’t being a damaged vehicle LIVE on Channel 2 Action News starting at 5:00 p.m.
What you don’t know can hurt you big time in the wallet. The vehicles will look fine but aren’t OK at all.
Historic flooding from Helene destroyed lives and homes in the Southeast. Car experts warn water-damaged vehicles from there could now be at dealerships in Georgia.
Em Nguyen with Carfax says it’s no small problem.
“We had seen as many as 89,000 vehicles affected by water so far through the summer up until about a few weeks ago,’ Nguyen said. “That’s on top of the 450,000 still affected from last year.”
Scammers buy flooded cars for cheap, sometimes at auction. They fix up the parts you can easily see.
“While they can make it look showroom fresh, it’s actually rotting from the inside out,” Nguyen said.
Water in a car’s mechanical system can lead to corrosion, impacting lights, air bags and even brakes. Nguyen says well-known dealers will often turn away flood damaged cars or disclose the damage, so scammers target individuals and lesser-known car lots.
“They try to sell those to very unsuspecting buyers who may not realize that these cars are really just ruined,” he said.
A simple step you can take that’s free is to go to carfax.com/flood. It’s different than a normal Carfax report, only telling you if they know a vehicle has been in a flood.
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