How To Identify A Flood Damaged Vehicle From Hurricane Sandy Part II

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Now that you have seen how buyers are getting duped by dishonest sellers; let’s think about some immediate solutions. The only way that you will have immediate solutions is to is to completely understand the problem and how you can help to make a difference in the solution. Following are some tips on how to avoid buying one of these horribly damaged vehicles: 

  • Be diligent by only buying vehicles from reputable dealers-Up until this point I have really come down on car dealerships as being a part of the problem. I still believe that, but the dealerships that I am talking about would not be the reputable ones. If you are going to buy a used vehicle, choose dealerships that have Certified Used Cars. These are approved by the manufacturer which requires a very stringent thorough investigation of each car coming to the lot. You can be sure that you are safe within these dealership walls.
  • If it’s too good to be true, it probably is-This should go without saying, but this saying is as old as the wind and you may not have had to reference this before. If you find yourself buying a Mercedes for half of what it’s worth, your red flags should be flying high. Where is the logic that makes it okay to sell a two year old Mercedes for half of what it’s worth? It’s not okay, so don’t do it. You are asking for trouble and should be asking the seller, Why?

This isn’t Rocket Science, but this is common sense and some people lack this. You must be hyper-diligent when shopping for a vehicle, no matter where you are shopping. However, that being said, buying a vehicle off of Craigslist or other such sites, you will really need to pay attention on many different levels. There are scams everywhere and muggers as well. So ‘buyer beware’.

Questions? East Coast Paintless Dent Repair Training. More tips in the following post.

How To Identify A Flood Damaged Vehicle From Hurricane Sandy Part I

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We’ve spent some time talking about what happens to Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina damaged vehicles. But if you have not read those posts, here is a quick snapshot. It’s an unfortunate and unnerving fact that there are thousands of these vehicles from these Hurricanes that are making it into our dealerships and being resold to our consumer market. There is no warning and the title has been washed. Legislation has been trying to pass a law requiring insurance companies to be more honest in their assessment of these vehicle’s, meaning to not pass these vehicle’s as anything other than totaled. State Farm has since entered an agreement as part of a plea deal after having bilked over 30,000 into buying these horribly damaged vehicle’s. When I say thousands, more than 250,000 from Hurricane Sandy alone. The fact that there are dishonest sellers, including dealerships, is unsettling. It’s not just the dealerships, it’s also happening in the private sector. No matter where you go, or who you talk to, you must equip yourself with knowledge, and stay informed.

The worse offense is when someone takes one of these vehicles, cleans it up, and then sells it to an unknowing victim. The National Insurance Crime Bureau is most concerned about these type of sales, but it doesn’t stop there. Some of these vehicle’s sat in four feet of flood water and sewage for days, many, many days; leaving the cars moldy and mildewed. These abusers of the law will get titles that have been “Title Washed”, these will buy the damaged cars on the East Coast and then travel to another state whose laws are lax and get new, clean titles. These vehicle’s, nationwide, have got to be scrutinized and caught before there is an unknowing buyer duped by the seller. This is the goal, but in the meantime……..