ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After two hurricanes, many drivers are having to look for a new car or just one that's new to them.
Carfax estimates 347,000 cars were flooded in hurricanes this year, and Florida leads the nation for the most damaged cars. Even before the storms, Florida was considered one of the top spots for flooded cars.
The Tampa Bay Area ranked 9th out of 100 in the country. Carfax estimates 120,000 cars were flooded in Florida during Milton. That's on top of the 60,000 during Helene. The problem is these cars could be potentially resold, putting your safety at risk.
“If there's too much rust in terms of the brake pedal or the gas pedal, it could cause malfunction," Em Nguyen, director of Public Relations at Carfax said. "So you can think something along the lines of like faulty automatic braking, for instance."
She recommends checking out a few key things before you buy a new ride:
“One is carpentry and upholstery, if it's damp, if it's loose, if the carpet is mismatched from the upholstery, those are bad signs. Of course, use all of your senses," Nguyen said. "So if you sense that there is a smell of mildew, that is a bad sign, of course, look out for rust at the break or gas pedal that could cause malfunction."
"Look under the dash for brittle wires," she continued. "Look out for mud or silt in unusual places, and I mean under the hooded car, but up high where mud and silt usually is not and then, of course, go around the car, check out the tail lights and the headlights. Is there moisture inside? Sometimes it can be trapped inside of there."
Nguyen tells 10 Investigates that Carfax gets billions of records from thousands of sources, so they want to help you spot problems. Besides checking out a Carfax report, she recommends going to a trusted mechanic. You can check for free to see if the car’s VIN is associated with major flood damage.
Also, she says now might be the time to buy because car prices have been trending down, but Carfax expects prices to increase soon.
