Experts Warn Customers To Beware Of Buying Flood-Damaged Vehicles
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A new load of flood-damaged cars could make their way to a nearby dealership and you could easily be fooled.
Flood damage is hard to spot and can cause ongoing problems for a long time. CBS 2's Susanna Long found out just what you should look out for.
There are so many choices. It's hard to know which used car will give you the best bang for your buck.
Say you find a car you like and it appears to be in great shape and it's been marked down. How do you know it hasn't been sitting in several feet of water? Hurricane Irene left plenty of cars submerged in water throughout the region.
"Somebody's going to go and grab them and try and do whatever they can to, you know, sell them to you," Adam Cohen, of Major World in Queens, said.
Geneva Davis, who was at Major World Tuesday with her brother looking to buy a car, said possibly getting a flood-damaged vehicle "didn't cross my mind."
"I was hoping they don't get in cars that were flooded," Davis said.
According to experts, once-flooded cars are cleaned and dried, they are often sold. How would you know if a car was damaged by the flood?
"You should be able to tell from the marks -- the water marks -- from where it flooded up and it would leave a stain in the car and the inside," John Davis, Geneva's brother, said.
Other Things To Look For:
- Always get used cars inspected by a trusted mechanic.
- Look under the carpets to see if they are wet.
- Inspect the lights. They're expensive to replace so there may be a water line showing.
- Consider a free vehicle background check to see if the car has been salvaged.
Cohen added that if the car doesn't feel right, you should just walk away.
"There are places out there today that are going to try and take full advantage of the fact that these vehicles are out there," he said.
If you are from a flooded area and want to sell a car, experts suggest that you have a mechanic inspect the vehicle. Potential buyers may suspect it was damaged and will want proof it was checked out and properly working.
