So you want to buy a used car? Look at this before buying!
I also heard that Hagerty ins. has had over $10 million in claims so far.
http://www.weather.com/news/hurrican...-cars-20121231

Pat

 

Wow!

 

A quarter million cars - wow... I say auction them off to those willing to take the chances with 'em.

 

Those photos don't tell the whole story either...we still have a few thousand cars jammed in lots still waiting to be picked up! I have shops renting lots for $1,500pm, and charging ins co's $45 per day storage per car! Do the math...100 cars X $45 per day....good profit margin.... They are cleaning up there. On the flip side, in has hurt my business, as cars that were in my shops being repaired, were lost, mainly on the south shore. So shops had no work coming in, except for tree strikes, and work in progress were totalled.

 

You would be taking a chance buying one of those cars because most likely all the electronics have been ruined by the water. Now if it was an old car it might be worth taking a chance and buying.

 

my family had 3 cars totaled. including my sisters Sienna which was 4 days old with 22 miles on it when Sandy came.

 

a lot of people buying (unaware) in the near future are going to get screwed

 

NY titles after 75 will be clearly marked "Flood". The problem comes, as a member here correctly noted in a thread on ROP a couple days ago, when pre 75 cars are auctioned there's no title so no record.

One other problem is these cars get auctioned so quick that the new titles haven't been issued yet. My neighbor's a NY car dealer. He's been burned at least once by someone quickly selling the car before the title catches up. The car was cleaned up really well and he didn't find it out until he dropped the gas tank and saw all the mud under there. When the title came, sure enough, it was a flood car. He ate it because he put it back through the auction as a flood car. He could have sued the original seller but that's a long road.....

 

I'd buy up all I could of the cheapest cars and salvage out all the plastic parts, aluminum, steel, cat converters and the like... 5 years down the road I can sell headlights and tail lights for a song! LOL (yeah pipe dreams)

 

I travel on the Long Island Expressway a lot and see the trailers full of these cars going by. On most of them, the windows are completely fogged in. Bet they smell great inside!

 

Darrell, they do smell.....and are now full of black mold.....

 

Friend of mine on the south shore of Long Island had his wife's focus and his brand new Fusion ruined from the storm. The water just came over the door sills and shorted out much of the electronics in both cars. It's amazing how much damage salt water can do.

Fortunately, his 70 GTO and 84 Supreme were in the garage and the building was on higher ground. They never got wet.

 

Copart auctions. As far as I remember for the NY auctions you must have a dealer license. I would think the 87 Cutlass pic is from before the flood. They seem to do that a lot

71 Cutlass, Lot #27761412, auction ends 2/1/13



87 Cutlass, Lot # 27049572, auction ends 1/8/13



65 Delta 88 4 dr, Lot # 27008412, auction ends 1/4/13

 

Man if i had the space and time i would buy the cars then part them out and make good money.

 

I remember reading in the paper, that some guy that was a sec. guard, came out of work after the storm and found his honda full of water. Seems that that particular model has a sensor that detects water above a certain point and automatically rolls down the windows, since it thinks the car is submerged in a lake or river, etc.

 

My daughter saw this on facepuke, thats why I don’t go there.

 

I only buy desert SW or Calif cars...never anything east or south coast. I like solid no rot cars. Doesn't guarantee a non flood car but the odds are better with honest history. Only exception would maybe be a nut and bolt resto on a rare worthy car. Perhaps a 66 W30, 67 Track pac, 68 W30 vert or a 69 W32 Vert L88/L89 vell or vette or similar. Still crazy money expectation. Ill pass.
Uncle had a 02 LS stick vette that went though 16 Fla hurricane. Flooded up to the footwells. Is that worthy? Well yes because it didn't do any mechanical electrical damage. He knew that so he salvaged it. Not worth the roll of the dice IMO. Caveat Emptor! Look offer buy.