Flood damage check by VIN

Why a flooded car is a risk

Water does its damage slowly. The FTC warns that flood water can slowly destroy mechanical and electrical systems and cause rust and corrosion. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance adds that severe water damage can make electrical systems and airbag sensors prone to failure. A flooded car can look clean on the lot while that damage is still developing.

How flood cars get resold

When an insurer declares a flooded car a total loss, federal law requires it to report the car to NMVTIS, the national title database overseen by the Department of Justice. Junk and salvage yards must report too. That record follows the car wherever it goes next.

The trouble starts when the history doesn’t follow the car. The FTC notes that after a hurricane or flood, storm-damaged cars are sometimes cleaned up and taken out of state for sale. NMVTIS describes how, after Hurricane Katrina, authorities reported truckloads of flooded vehicles taken from Louisiana to other states, as far as the upper Midwest, where they were dried out, cleaned and readied for sale in states that don’t brand flood vehicles.

Title washing and the flood brand

Not every state has a flood brand. NMVTIS notes that a car flagged or branded “flood” in one state may get no such designation in another. If a flooded car is re-titled where that brand doesn’t exist, the new paper title can look clean. This is title washing, and it is why the paper title alone proves little. NMVTIS keeps every brand reported by any state, so a history check can still show it.

Physical signs of flood damage

The FTC suggests checking for signs and smells of water damage:

• Mud or sand under the seats or the dashboard.
• Rust around the doors.
• Carpet that is loose, stained or doesn’t match.
• A smell of mold or decay in the car or the trunk, or a strong smell of cleaning products.
• Electrical features that don’t work properly. Test the lights, windows, locks, seats and screens, since water attacks electrical systems.

Then have an independent mechanic inspect the car. The FTC points out that a mechanic can find water damage that is slowly destroying mechanical and electrical systems.

How reports and auction records reveal flood damage

1. Run a free check on NICB VINCheck for flood, salvage and theft records from participating insurers.
2. Get a full history report. Look for a flood or water-damage brand in any state, a total-loss event and a salvage auction sale.
3. Look at where the car was registered and when. A car that was in a hurricane-hit area and was re-titled in another state soon after deserves a closer look.
4. If the car went through Copart or IAAI, the Copart report or IAAI report shows the damage recorded at sale and the photos taken on the lot. Compare them with the car you’re being offered.

A CARFAX report here costs $14.99, against $44.99 on carfax.com.

What records can and can’t catch

Records catch flood cars that passed through an insurer, a state brand or an auction. NMVTIS itself warns that until every required entity reports, a search can return a false negative, and that private history databases can have the same gaps. What you want is a clean history and a clean inspection, not one or the other.

If you think a dealer knowingly sold you a flood-damaged car as a good used car, the FTC suggests reporting it to the NICB, to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.