Consumer Alert: Flood Vehicles Washing Up Across the Country

--After weeks of heavy flooding in the Midwest, used car shoppers everywhere need to be on high alert as vehicles damaged by floodwaters may be washing up for sale in your area. Thousands of waterlogged wrecks from Hurricane Katrina and Rita already have made their way back onto the market and many more are still showing up around the country. A recent study by Carfax shows that the number of flood cars revealed by Carfax Vehicle History Reports has doubled nationwide over the last five years.

As a reminder, Carfax continues to offer a free Carfax Flood Check (www.carfax.com/flood) to help consumers avoid unknowingly buying a flood-damaged car. Under the Carfax Buyback Guarantee, cars purchased with Carfax Vehicle History Reports that do not contain DMV-reported incidents (salvage, flood damage, lemon, odometer problems) may be eligible to be bought back by Carfax.