Midwest Flooding Equals Flood Damaged Cars

If you're in the market for a new or used car living in the midwest, beware. These cars can and will be shipped and sold to other parts of the country.

The warning is out for flooded cars to flood the used car market. Cars that have been under water will be cleaned up and auctioned off. Insurance companies are in the process of filing claims.

If the water level reaches the dash, these vehicles are usually totaled. For other vehicles with lesser amounts of water, they're cleaned up and fixed. Some states mandate that the vehicle title must list that the vehicle had flood damage.

This record will stay with the vehicle for life. Your best bet would be to buy a vehicle history report and see if any listings appear. So if the car was sold in another state and received a clean title it would still be listed on the vehicle history report.

Another sound recommendation would be to have your local auto mechanic to do a pre-buy inspection. This would eliminate any surprise repairs costing you extra money after the sale.

Things to look out for from a flooded car:

Check for odors - musty or moldy smell

Appearance - seats or carpet discolored & dirt where it shouldn't be

Water - might seem obvious, but look for fogging in the headlights or taillights lens

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