If you've been following the news -- or you've been unfortunate enough to be involved yourself -- you know parts of the United States have been inundated with rain, causing floods over a wide area. That means there are going to be a lot of flood-damaged cars out there. In a perfect world, all of those flooded cars will either be scrapped or, if reconditioned, carry the word "salvage'' on their titles to warn buyers that the vehicle may have hidden problems. But after hurricanes Katrina and Wilma left behind thousands of flooded cars, many of those vehicles made their way to used-car lots with titles that didn't show they were salvage vehicles. Even such services as CarFax can occasionally fail to pick up on a salvage vehicle. So what's a buyer to do when bargain-priced car pops up that, on the surface, looks OK? The Car Care Council has issued some guidelines about how to check if a car has had significant water damage. The tips are not only useful for checking out a car you may be considering buying, but they also will help you determine how damaged your car may be if you've been hit by torrential rains. Here are some things to look for: - Remove the carpets and check for signs of mildew or silt. Seat brackets and power set motors should be inspected for rust.
- Check the engine and transmission dipsticks for the color of the fluid. If it's milky or beige, the fluid likely has water in it and the car should not even be driven until all the fluids are drained and the engine and transmission checked.
- Look under the bumpers and frame areas for any sign of grass, mud or other debris not normally picked up on the road.
- Remove tail light and headlight covers and look for moisture around the lenses and in the seals.
- Look at the alternator and other electrical connections under the hood for abnormal corrosion.
- Examine the seats. If the interior looks too new for the age of the car, it may be a sign that the soft parts of the car were replaced due to flood damage.
- Match the vehicle identification number at the base of the windshield with other places on the car where that number is repeated -- such as the firewall or door jambs. A damaged car may have been pieced together from other damaged vehicles.
- Inspect the title. Be wary of a car with a newly issued title from a state other than where the car is being sold. This is sometimes a tip-off that the title has been laundered to remove the "salvage'' designation.
- Use your head. When the price on a car is several thousand dollars less than the vehicle would appear to be worth, be very wary. No seller takes that sort of bath on a car unless it has a watery past.
 | | This week | | | | • | 9 red flags: Don't get hosed on flood car | | • | Can the dealer change the finance rate after I take the car? | | • | Are discount paint jobs as good as high-priced shops? | | • | Are credit unions the best place to finance a car? |
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