Water Damaged Vehicles Flood Markets

Washington DC February 15, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that a new Carfax report says that flood damaged, title-washed vehicles are appearing on the market at twice their usual rate. The jump is being attributed to Hurricane Katrina.

According to Automotive News, incidences of flood-damaged cars and trucks uncovered by Carfax's used-car database jumped 103 percent nationwide in 2002-06 compared with the previous five-year period, 1997-2001.

The largest increases were found in vehicle history reports ordered by dealers or consumers in the three states hardest hit by the 2005 hurricane.

In Mississippi, reports of vehicles found to have water damage increased 633 percent; in Alabama, the increase was 374 percent.

The cars are also appearing in unexpected states, such as Virginia, Minnesota, and Montana, where consumers and dealers are less vigilant when it comes to flood-damaged vehicles.