Coming to a used car lot close to you?

[89911]

PHOTO: 15,000 Hurricane Sandy-damaged cars parked bumper-to-bumper at Calverton Executive Airpark - NYPOST.com


You figure the cars were driven there and parked so they must be drivable. I guess they wont just destroy them and the get new titles. Is there still ways around getting clean titles? Concerning for anyone that likes to buy used.

[M.D. Holloway]

There might be a business venture there for a guy/gal that knows how to do a good diagnostic for water damage! Salvage titles can be a boon or a bust if you know what is what.

I wonder if there is any data out there on what make/model would fair the best in a flood? I would think that some would be better sorted out than others.

[Dan J]

They weren't driven there they were towed. These cars aren't going away they'll
be around as used cars and parts for quite awhile so anyone that might by used cars or parts
should keep their radar up

[azasadny]

We're getting ready to buy two used cars, so we're going to be very careful that we don't get one that has been flood damaged...

[sc_rufctr]

I reckon with a bit of hard work and time you could get a lot of those cars back on the road.

Water damage is not good but you can deal with most of it.

One big problem is the steel used inside a modern car (seats frames, under dash etc) It's not as well treated for corrosion like the outside. So it's OK in normal use for the life of the car but sea water exposure/immersion is really bad.

[Instrument 41]

After Katrina we had a few of those laying around....some were gone but others were still Ok. Some cars got flooded but the water level only got up to the edge of the door or just inside to get the floorboards damp. Many cars were bought and used a race cars. the drive lines were dry and the only work was to replace brake components. Example a buddy bought a ZR1 that had no internal water damage but was declared totaled. Replaced rotors/pads and for $1000 and some race upgrades he was racing.

[VaSteve]

They need to send Bigfoot and Gravedigger in there. monster jam baby!

[89911]

Originally Posted by Dan J

They weren't driven there they were towed. These cars aren't going away they'll
be around as used cars and parts for quite awhile so anyone that might by used cars or parts
should keep their radar up

How exactly does a tow truck park them bumper to bumper?

[kaisen]

How not? They simply back them in and drop them.

They're not damaged, they can roll just fine. They may have been hand-pushed to final position as well.

[ckissick]

What's the big deal about cars that get wet on the inside due to a flood, with no other damage? I've driven cars through deep water where water came inside. It dried out eventually and there were no problems. If the seats gets saturated and smell bad, just replace them. Why must the entire car be salvaged?

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by ckissick

What's the big deal about cars that get wet on the inside due to a flood, with no other damage? I've driven cars through deep water where water came inside. It dried out eventually and there were no problems. If the seats gets saturated and smell bad, just replace them. Why must the entire car be salvaged?

I'll give one example I remember from a hurricane Andrew car. It worked well for a bit, but after a few months things started to crop up. First the dome lights went out, that was corrosion in the connection under the seats. Next the power seats, then the window motors.

This car belonged to a girl I was dating while I was mechanic. It just never ended, fix one thing another happened. Couple that with having to break rust off ever you bolt you needed to remove on the car. Was not fun. And this var didn't have near as many computers as today's vehicles.

(was a full size Bronco BTW)

[Rick V]

When I was wrenching on Mazda we got a delivery of flood victims from Andrew. I looked at one car and found some water damage and declined the entire truck load, after talking to the owner about it.
I spent a lot of time looking for flood damage from deliveries of used cars they would buy, I was astounded at how many I found.
I had a policy, if I find one car the entire shipment was returned.

[GWN7]

Several years ago I had a S15 Jimmy. While pulling my boat out of the water the E brake failed and the truck rolled back into the water. The boat was attached at the front to the trailer and the back end floated off the trailer and jammed against a tire on the dock which stopped the truck from going all the way under. Even so the angle of the launch ment the truck was under water from about a foot of the back roof to just under the dash. I called a tow truck and pulled it out. I pull started it with the tow truck and drove home. Put the boat away and called my insurance company. They came and took it away. A week later I get my truck back all fresh smelling, dry and cleaned. Fast forward a couple years and I notice rust bubbles .......on the roof exactly where the truck was submerged to. I take it to my buddys shop and he looks at it. He tells me that it's rusting from the inside out. I tell him about it being a submarine and we pull off a couple of the rear plastic panels and there is rust forming on just about all the internal sheet metal. It's worse where metal is welded to metal. The rust is coming from inside.

So you buy a flood car because it's a deal. It looks great, runs ok, even smells fine. You drive it for awhile and then give it to your son or daughter to take to school. They have a couple friends with them and get into a accident. A minor one, under 30 mph. The car folds up like a accordian and everyone is seriously hurt. It turns out the welds that hold the A & B pillars to the frame were rusted 1/2 way thru. Remember these are usually spot welds that hold the car together at these points and the car was originally designed to absorb the energy from a crash with those components.

On who does the liability fall?

[trekkor]

Here's how they park them so neatly:



Just like at Pick-n-Pull


KT

[Laneco]

Fresh water floods are bad, but the saltwater floods are REALLY hard on the cars. Also, with storms, you get sewage in the flood cars... Like TOTALLY gross...

Something to be aware of is that the cars you see in those pictures are cars that were involved in insurance claims (for the most part). If the owner did not have full coverage insurance, then the process of identifying the vehicle as flood damaged can easily break down.

Let's say a car owner did not have full coverage insurance or even comprehensive. If the car was flooded, they would either keep driving the car after they got it running again (usually not hard to do) and sell it later. Or they clean it up and get rid of it immediately. Because there was no police report, and no insurance adjustment, nothing will appear on CARFAX.

Examine used cars carefully, and do not rely wholly on CARFAX or title condition (e.g. salvage, etc) to tell you the full truth about a car's history.

angela

[john70t]

I'd like to take this moment to gripe:

Registration and insurance is mandated in all states(paid by taxpayers), but title records are only available through private internet venues, which are sometimes incorrect.

[89911]

Originally Posted by trekkor

Here's how they park them so neatly:



Just like at Pick-n-Pull


KT

Ok that works. Easier then pushing 18,000 cars around by hand.