I have a friend that just bought a 2000 Toyota Corolla as her daily driver. Clean Title car with clean carfax. She bought it from a guy in town who only owned the car for a year. So she buys it and takes it to a mechanic who tells her it is probably a flood damaged vehicle because there was unusual amount of dirt all around inside of the engine components and all.

She told me about it and I inspected the car myself and sure enough, there were signs of flood damage. The bolts and nuts from under the seats, as well as the metal all had rust on it. The carpeting in the car looked pretty new as if it was changed. I check the trunk and it was as clean as a new car. Even the spare tire looked new and untouched.

She’s stuck with the car. Can’t find the owner anymore and he’s only had it for about a year anyway. The car was originally from Florida and the owner bought it from the previous owner who was from there. She told me she has tried to contact other previous owners to no avail. So my question to you guys is, now that we know this IS a flood damaged vehicle, are there any precautions that she could take?

 

I would contact the insurance company and see if they offer any protection in case like this.

 

They should put in water paper strips. like they have in phones, like where if the paper gets wet it changes color, have a strip under the seats or something.

 

Doesn't carfax have some guarantee that can help her out?

 

i was gonna say this!

 

Unless they buyer didn't buy the carfax at all

 

Unfortunately, she bought the car upon thew owner's word that the car had a clean title. She got the carfax report after I had told her about carfax

 

Hate to hear that -- But there is still a way around that . -- You could have your friend sell the car to you, or another friend etc.. That DID buy the carfax before the sell of course. Then carfax supposedly backs up what they claim on their reports. Supposeduly 'BUYS the car back'.

I'm skeptical on this, so I would want to hear of real stories of carfax making good on this claim before going to such a hassle.

Not to mention, yes, it is flood damaged.. But how much damage is there really? Take care of the rust with sandpaper, and paint/primer/sealant -- Overall the structural integrity of the car should be ok. I really don' tsee the car falling apart on your friend anytime soon. Though this is just speculation based on your description.

The previous owner may have had no idea it was flood damaged, OR thought that even as such its condition was perfectly safe and sound. Who knows..

best of luck

 

One thing that will benefit you is that the general climate, in most parts of California, most of the year, is not conducive to further corrosion or damage. It's dry most of the time, and they don't dump salt and abrasives on the roads.

 

Not to be an jerk here, but who would get a carfax report AFTER paying for the car?

I'm sure the carfax report would show "flood" if the car was flooded on the lot - but if the car was flooded after being purchased it makes sense that the report was clean.

I guess a clean title doesn't necessarily mean clean car.

Sorry to hear about your friend's misfortune.

 

Under no circumstances should you not get a Carfax report when buying a used car. It's not a good feeling realizing that you could of spent a couple of dollars on a report to avoid being stuck with a flood damaged car.