Katrina Cars

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » January 31, 2006, 10:18 am

There was a piece on the radio this morning about "Katrina Cars". Apprently folks are washing them out and marketing them around the country, CarFax and Co. won't do you a lot of good as they're being careful to keep the cars out of the system.

A car that's been in a flood, especially salty water isn't going to last long, they rot from the inside out in a couple years. Assuming you can keep it running that long, once the wiring\electrical components get submerged there's nothing you can do but replace all of it as they'll all fail with time.

Watch out buying anything used. Look under the carpets, up inside the dash, under the seats and behind the rubber plugs in the underbody for mud, watermarks, leaves etc..

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » January 31, 2006, 12:45 pm

That's why I am glad that the company I work for sent our claims to be crushed, sliced, and melted. I have seen the companies that sell off those autos in auctions and the only thing that scares me more are the people who buy them to resell for more. They are dirt cheap because of all of the damage, and while those companies that auction them off say that they are only intended for parts/scrap, they know that the cars will hit the streets again.

Ransure · Post by **Ransure** » February 17, 2006, 2:37 am

Its supposed to turn into a phenomena, with the used car market having serious issues (dealers taking flood trade ins, ect...) I read some article on it...

Id like to get an E34 center consol, and all the lower and upper dash parts for cheap, so if anyone hears about one, let a brother know!!

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » February 17, 2006, 11:45 am

The past week, we have turned away 3 flood cars that people have tried to trade in, they aren't THAT hard to spot and no dealer worth a shit will take them.... they are a nightmare waiting to happen, in 2 years all the electrical connectors will corrode and the entire spaghetti system will die... right now I have used civics on the lot that will sell for more then a new one... the new one is the damn car of the year and you can get it cheaper then an 05 with 14k miles on it...

the market is fucked bad

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » February 17, 2006, 1:07 pm

What's the reasoning behind that discrepancy Pherr? Is it that the new car is too edgy or that customers can cash in on incentives not offered for used cars?

Kelshara · Post by **Kelshara** » February 17, 2006, 1:12 pm

heh I tested the new Civic. I can't drive it, when I had adjusted my sitting position the steering wheel covered the isntruments.

Not that I would buy a Civic anyway

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » February 17, 2006, 1:36 pm

Chidoro wrote:What's the reasoning behind that discrepancy Pherr? Is it that the new car is too edgy or that customers can cash in on incentives not offered for used cars?

The used market is out of whack, cars are wholesaling for 2-4 grand over wholesale book (not SUVS or trucks, just cars), then when a dealer wants to make his usual 1800 profit the car ends up being more expensive then a new one. OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS of what we battle now is perception, I had someone say to me "well I don't want my car to depreciate by that huge chunk when I drive it off the lot so I am going to buy a used car", people get stuck in a mindset about new cars, toyota and honda don't drop the way a domestic does, but people have it ingrained in their head that buying a new car means massive depreciation and used cars hold their value better, failing to realize paying 1500 over book means their car depreciated 1500 the moment they are over the curb.