MIAMI VALLEY — Hurricane Ian damaged thousands of cars after flooding major parts of Florida.
However, rather than sending these water-logged vehicles to the scrap yard, they may be refurbished and resold to residents of Miami Valley.
>> Warning: How To Avoid Buying a Flood-Damaged Car
After these natural disasters, some may take water-damaged cars, clean them up, and resell them to unsuspecting buyers, Emilie Voss, the director of public relations for CARFAX said.
“We know historically from other storms that a lot of times, unfortunately, con men sometimes take these cars and clean them up and then resell them to unsuspecting buyers and sometimes not even in the area where the storm happened,” Voss said.
>> Buying a used car? How to spot a flood-damaged vehicle following Hurricane Ian
To protect yourself, WHIO Consumer Advisor Clark Howard advises going to CARFAX for a free flood car alert, which can be obtained with the car’s VIN number. The alert will show you any previous flood damages via its insurance claim.
He also recommends that you get the car checked out by a mechanic who can identify internal water damage on a used car.
Tips for spotting damage can be found here.