QOTD: How Do You Avoid Buying Flood-Damaged Cars?

The Southeast has been battered by Hurricane Helene and its remnants. And if you'll pardon the bad pun, the used-car market will be flooded with flood-damaged cars before too long.

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Hurricane Helene's Floodwaters Could Spark a Rash of EV Fires

Electric vehicles don’t catch on fire at a higher rate than gas models, but when they do, it can be a real hassle to extinguish the flames. While some EV fires can be attributed to collisions and other damage, flooding can also cause problems, especially saltwater. That’s the issue faced by thousands of EV owners in the Southeast, where Hurricane Helene just left a massive path of destruction and chaos.

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One Florida Kia Dealer Lost 672 Cars to Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene has unleashed terrifying flooding and killed more than 100 people over the last few days, but the damage will take months to assess. There are likely thousands of flooded vehicles strewn across several states at the moment, sitting in concentrated numbers on dealers’ lots. One Florida Kia dealer was hit especially hard, saying that it lost 672 cars to the storm.

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  • Victor The US factories will never be able to compete with chinese labor, and that's the main issue. Maybe the liberal in you won't care. The economy will, though
  • ToolGuy I spend my money on gasoline, taxes and food. (Also taxes on gasoline and taxes on food.) No money left for flood-damaged cars, and that is how I avoid buying flood-damaged cars.
  • ToolGuy How about hybrids? Thanks.
  • Chris P Bacon So Ganley is on the hook for $3.5 million in deductibles. A lot of dealers in Florida build parking structures to both keep cars out of the sun and above ground level. $3.5 million would buy a lot of concrete. Looking at the website, it appears this is a new building, so it's doubly stupid to not have built something to protect the inventory. Most of Ganley's dealerships are in Northeast Ohio, so car prices will be going up in Cleveland.
  • Paul Interesting. There was a video going around TikTok the other day of a new looking Jeep sitting on the shoulder of the 407 (Toronto) competely ablaze.