The recent horrendous rain storms and flooding experienced in the Midwest and Southeast areas of the United States will undoubtedly bring back a scam in which unscrupulous scam artists will purchase water damaged cars, bring them to another state to re-register them and then attempt to sell them to unwary consumers without informing them of the storm damage which the cars underwent. This practice of transporting a car to another state and re-registering it in an effort to hide the damage is called “title washing.”
TIPS
Whenever you purchase a used car you should always get a full report on its history. The United States Department of Justice operates The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) which provides much information about used cars. The NMVTIS provides a list of various companies such as Carfax that have been approved to provide reliable reports. these companies charge between $2.95 and $12.99 for a report that will provide detailed information on any used car you are considering purchasing. It is also important to understand the terminology in these reports. A “salvage title” means the car was declared a total loss by the insurance company while a “flood title” means the car has incurred damage from water deep enough to fill the engine compartment. Either designation should give you pause. Also, you should have a mechanic whom you trust always check out any used car that you are considering buying.