The following is a quote from NBC TV NEWS by Pete Williams:

"NO ONE would try to fix up a flood-ravaged house and sell it in another state. But that's exactly what consumer advocates warn is happening to many of the 12,000 cars that sat in flood waters in North and South Carolina just weeks ago.

Time and time again, after floods all over the country, thousands of waterlogged cars deemed unfit by insurance companies are given token repairs and sold to the unwary.

'Every time there's a flood, used cars are going to turn up on lots, ostensibly in mint condition, that are ticking time bombs and dangerous to drive,' said Patricia Sturdevant, of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

Each year, 2.5 million cars are declared totaled by the nation's insurance companies, so riddled with corrosion from floods or banged-up in collisions they are considered a total loss and not worth repairing.

But amazingly, nearly half of those cars actually end up back on the road and the new owners seldom are told what they are buying. How does it happen?

How to track down a vehicle's history:

Write down the vehicle identification number, which is listed in 17 digits on the driver's side dashboard. Take the number to your state's motor vehicle registration office and ask for a title history check. If the car has been labeled 'salvage,' 'flood,' 'junk' or 'rebuilt,' it may be indicated on that title.

Insurance companies sell the totaled cars at auction, for salvage. Some are rebuilt in a perfectly legal fashion using good-quality parts. But consumer advocates say too many repairs are merely cosmetic.

And some states do not require changes to the legal titles to warn buyers that the cars were salvaged or rebuilt.

When Kristin Ferguson of Chicago bought her 1990 Honda Prelude no one told her about the car's troubled history. She found out the hard way: When the steering went out.

'It was almost as if someone was sitting on the other side of the steering wheel and jerked it in the opposite direction that I was going,' she recalled.

Faced with so many cars on the market that once sat in floods or were badly damaged in wrecks, some lawmakers in California now want to tighten that state's standards for rebuilding cars after hearing experts describe cases of shoddy repair work.

In testimony last week before a committee in the state legislature looking into the issue, accident investigator Rocco Avellini held up a twisted piece of metal to make a point.

'This just collapsed about three weeks after the repair was done,' he said. 'This woman was seven months pregnant, and her right side door just flew open on the car.'

In fact, no one really knows how many salvaged cars end up causing accidents, partly because car titles may be sanitized. When that happens, they are said to be 'washed.'

And now, investigators are finding, the cars are sometimes washed twice. Once in a flood, and again by dishonest dealers."
 
 

The following quote is taken from Carfax online.com under the article "Floyd Flood Alert":

"Carfax News Flash

According to the Thursday, September 23, 1999 issue of The Washington Post, AAA estimates nearly
50,000 vehicles are submerged in the floodwaters of North Carolina. What’s going to happen to those
vehicles?

Will they be branded with Flood or Water Damaged titles?
Will they escape the title branding process altogether?
Or, will they surface in nearby states with 'washed' titles?

Protect yourself from the onslaught of flooded vehicles with Carfax.
Here's what you need to know. . .

North Carolina, as well as Virginia, New York and New Jersey requires salvage
certificates to be issued after a vehicle is damaged by water and an insurance
company has paid a total loss claim. Carfax reports this information. If you run
a Carfax Vehicle History Report on every vehicle you purchase through trade-in,
auction or wholesale, you’ll know whether a vehicle has sustained any flood or
water damage.

Carfax Vehicle History Reports not only identify branded titles, but also
identify the city and state of each transaction. With Carfax, you know if a vehicle
comes from a flood zone.

Carfax reveals the dirt on "washed" vehicles. Even if a vehicle’s title is 'washed'
between states, a Carfax Vehicle History Report will show the original flood
damage title. Remember, flood damaged vehicles can end up in your area
looking 'clean' without title brands. "