How to spot a hurricane damaged used car

Last year, hurricanes and wildfires produced major losses for Americans in Texas, Florida and California. Those affected replaced destroyed assets, which in many cases, included a new car.

If you’re in the market for a used car, it’s important to be aware that scammers take advantage of natural disasters by cleaning up flood and fire damaged vehicles and reselling them to unsuspecting customers. According to vehicle history reporting service CarFax, there are about 325,000 flood-damaged cars on the road today that were resold after past storms like Hurricane Katrina.

More than 1 million cars were destroyed in Hurricane Harvey alone, and some of these cars have turned up on used car lots or are being sold online by private sellers. To avoid becoming a victim, heed these tips.

• Take your time. If the seller is pressuring you to make a quick decision, that’s a sign you could be dealing with a scammer.
• Used cars have long lost that new car scent, but if the car smells damp or musty, that’s a sign of water damage. And likewise, if you smell smoke, it could have been damaged in a fire.
• Check the vehicle’s history and acquire a vehicle history report from a service like CarFax. It could reveal if the car was issued a salvage title. You can also check the vehicle’s identification number (VIN), which is usually located at the bottom of the windshield on the driver’s side, and compare it against the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s database for a salvage title.
• Inspect the car thoroughly. Pull back the carpet at different areas and look for mud, dirt or signs of water stains. Look for dirt building up in unusual areas, especially the underside of the dashboard. Check headlights and taillights for water. Inspect for rust, mud, dirt or discoloration under the vehicle, in body seams and small out-of-the-way crevices on the doors, under the hood and inside the trunk.
• Ensure electrical components, such as lighting, the heater/AC fan, window motors, power windows, door locks and more are all functioning properly. Flooding often damages electrical systems.
• Get a pre-purchase inspection of the used vehicle by a trusted mechanic.

It’s always important to do your due diligence when purchasing a used vehicle. However, following a year marked by natural disasters, it’s important to be extra cautious.