How can I find out if I bought a Hurricane Katrina used car?

Question

I bought a used Ford Taurus, and although it is only a 2003, it seems to have an unusual amount of rust in certain areas. Where can I take it to find out? I am in Deltona, Florida.

Answer 1

car-fax and all those programs are good but there is a way around those to hide the katrina car,s,you can look under the seats,at the springs,on the bottom,,if they are rusty looking,it has had water in it,,also look in spare tire in rear,,look for a silky like look on ,or around the spare tire area,they often forget to clean there,,last ,but not least,if your in under the ar look up inside the bumper area,s,these are area,s that are hard to clean,and they will show sign,s that the car has been under water,for a while,,hope this help,s you,,i know it saved a friend of mine a few grand 3 weeks ago.

Answer 2

You double edge your question. A "beater" is just that, it starts, sometimes, and gets you there, most of the time. You get what you pay for. Now, if what you are looking for is a solid runner, just a little too homely to marry, that's another story. A couple of things you can look at just on the walk-around. Look at the tires. Brand new? Great, maybe. Are they a good quality name brand or no-name replacements. No names can tell you that this car has alignment issues and goes through tires often. If not new look at the wear patterns. Check front and rears both. Front end problems eat tires that get put on the rear to hide the issue. Check the engine compartment, filthy or superclean? Both can signal an issue with a leaker. Look at the battery, particulaly the terminals. Are they the quick fix chain auto store repair ends or factory type. Cheap is cheap, and if the car has only seen the minimum in care, you are a buying a problem they no longer want. If the car has a good look and feel about the above, then take it to a shop, hopefully one that speciallizes in that make for their opinion. I charge $35.00 for a used car check. Includes compression check, body damage/repair check, fluids condition check, accessories check, leaks, flood damage and test drive. One other thing. If you choose to go with a dealer, still have the car checked independantly. And pay little or no attention to the CarFax report they wave in your face, it is meaningless for the most part. Good Luck

Answer 3

Its a crap shoot! Carfax doesn't always pickup on flood cars. A dealer can put it on a tractor trailer move it to a state like ILL. transfer the title to ILL. then take it to another state and resell it with a clean title. NO flood damage, NO salvage title, nothing.But .....being that you are in Florida it could be just the salt from the air down there alot sea water (salt water) is evaporated so the salt is just floating around in the air.

Answer 4

look at the bolts on the the floor under the carpeting if its rusty that one sign, check the fuse box look at the fuses to see if its rusty, look at the spare tire to see if youn see salt , water inside the lights, wiring for the light sign of rust glove box inside around the edges look for rust stains , also see if you can go under car fax look it up, dont buy a car from a shady car seller or from a stranger unless you know 100% the car is good

Answer 5

Go to your local car dealer and get a Carfax report on the car. Also, your insurance company can tell from the VIN number who last owned the car and where they lived.

Answer 6

It suppose to say it on the title that it had been a reconditioned title

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Answer 7

contact a ford dealer and they can tell you the history of the vehicle from lookin up the vin number

Answer 8

Check the trunck for looted sporting goods.

Answer 9

go to carfax.com
when buying a car you might want to go inland a bit away from the salt water.

Answer 10

if it has that wet dog scent. take it to a ford service center