Edited on 2013-08-04 21:00:21

I assume most people have read about this, but just as a reminder, if considering on buying a new or used car (anywhere, think about this.

After the NJ hurricane clean up, there were over 250,000 cars and trucks (all parted on some NJ airport there) that were considered a total loss. The report said that after awhile, they returned to that same NJ airport and all vehicles where gone.

The report wanted to know where they went and started an investigation, only to find a number of them on used car lots, being sold with questionable paper work. When an insurance company totals a car, the title is susposed to be stamped with the approate Salvage or Totaled stamp or something to that effect, so that the car/truck can-not just be sold as a used vehicle.

This is not just happening in NJ. These cars are being loaded up and shipped all over the country. Remember that from NY to LA, by truck, it's only-at max- a four day ride.

So just be aware. 250,000 cars and trucks have disappeared and the car your looking at could be one of them. Their advice was to take the car/truck to a garage and have them inspect it for flood damage, because a flood damaged vehicle is crumbling from the inside out and with most cars today, with all the computers they use, that won't take long.

Cheers

Submitted by BillCorn4895@c… on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 02:20

There was a report that I read in one of the auto mags that Fisker "lost" 60 something Karmas in hurricane Sandy. The holding yard in NJ, where they were unloaded from the ship, was flooded. Then no more news about them. And then...A few months after hurricane Sandy, there were dozens, yes dozens of Fisker Karmas on eBay. All of them with 4K - 7K miles. They were in all different color combos. They were being sold by high end used car dealers all over the US. Most of them were priced in the low $60K range. They have since "dried up" to only 10 listings currently, and 8 of those are "buy it now". I guess it was just too hard for them to resist getting rid of them this way. I can imagine how much of a nightmare the salt water will be on all the circuits on those complicated systems. Really sad, because 60 something cars is a big percentage of the total production. I was really looking forward to owning one 10 or 15 years down the road when they are affordable. But I would be so afraid of them now. And they way they are going out without any indication of flood damage, makes it impossible to know the good ones from the bad.

Submitted by SE21-64524 on Tue, 08/06/2013 - 10:50

HI Y'all: My 1996 XJS, signal red, black hood, black hides, with a little over 100.000 miles driven, was totalled by hurricane irene. My '96 XJS took 1st,and 3rd in the driven class twice during concours competitions, and when it was flatbedded from my house, it looked concours ready, but I know that the electrics/electronics/drive train, and lower engine were all under salt water. VIN: SAJNX2746TC224433 . Do hope it was parted for the sheet metal and misc. It looked like my current 1994. Ali King

Submitted by peddlarbob@gmail.com on Mon, 08/05/2013 - 16:51

Hate to break this news to you but car fax is only as good as the information that has reported to them. Even then, when they are informed that their information is wrong they tend to do nothing to correct it.

Just like a computer garbage in garbage out.

For example I owned a series III Jag for twenty years. They had it reported as being written off by the Insurance Company in the middle pf my ownership. The car had never been in any kind of accident at any time. They were informed of this but would not correct their report. I am not alone with this kind of complaint against them. They commonly get mixed up between Miles and Klms and report that speedometers readings are suspicious.

I would never rely on anything they had to report on any car I was thinking on purchasing..

Submitted by wpritchard2@tx… on Mon, 08/05/2013 - 11:06

Carfax turned up my "Lemon" title. Be sure to always get the correct VIN personally and run it through CarFax. The crook that I bought my 2009 XK from showed me CarFax sheet with a different VIN than the car I bought. Trust no one!

Submitted by wpritchard2@tx… on Mon, 08/05/2013 - 11:01

In NJ, all of those flood cars were auctioned by the insurance companies. Most likely in a different state without flood titles.

I had a 2009 XK that had a California "Lemon" title. A dealer in Louisiana bought the car at auction and applied for a Louisiana title. Since Louisiana has no "Lemon" titles they issued a straight title.

I correctly diagnosed that my car had connector problem and I figured out how to reproduce the problem every time. The dealer took 3 months but fixed it. The day I went to pick it up, a customer came into the dealership and asked for my exact car. I traded it to the Jag dealer for a new 2012 XKR. The dealer knew the car was fixed and everyone was happy.

Submitted by bonnettoboot@e… on Mon, 08/05/2013 - 09:19

Better late than never, but over a year ago I went to a sale of such vehicles here in Los Angeles. The property was a 20 acre lot with hundreds of these cars. Each one had been stripped of carpeting, all doors and windows were open so that they could dry out. Workers were checking them for faults to get them roadworthy, they have all gone. One was a Bentley which was purchased by someone I know. The law somehow allows this.

Submitted by asimko@netsolnj.com on Mon, 08/05/2013 - 06:31

Garfield, we had a client 35 yrs ago who made his fortune buying salvage title cars in nj
& ny and sending them, by car carrier to his car dealerships in north carolina. at the time, a town clerk could issue a new, handwritten title, from a pad. you then went to motor vehicle, waited in the dealer line, and got issued a new title with no history. this is nothing new.

they claim with carfax this is harder to do. i am unconvinced.