Watch for “Used” Cars with Hidden Flood Damage

Wisconsin auto dealers are already warning buyers to beware of hidden flood damage from Hurricane Harvey the next time they buy a used car. Jim Tolkan of the Auto Dealers Association of Mega Milwaukee says it’s “absolutely guaranteed” that scammers will try to hide the permanent damage from flooded out cars, sell them to dealers, and make consumers the victims. Frank Scafidi (skuh fee’dee) of the National Insurance Crime Bureau says scammers take advantage of states with loose laws on titles, and obtain new titles that don’t have to mention the flood damage. Warren Buffett, who owns Geico Insurance, expects 50-thousand of his customers’ vehicles to be total losses from the Texas floods. In 2005, up to 400-thousand vehicles were considered total losses after Hurricane Katrina. One way you can check for hidden flood damage is to get the vehicle’s identification number, put it on the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s web base, see if it’s damaged or stolen.