TORONTO – Ontario residents may once again be affected by the damage of hurricane Sandy the next time they go to buy a used car.
Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC) is warning potential car buyers that storm and flood-damaged cars could make their way to Ontario car lots in the near future.
“U.S. authorities have told us it’s only a matter of time before some of these vehicles find their way onto the auction blocks; ultimately, some will be imported to Ontario,” said Terry O’Keefe, Manager of Communications for OMVIC.
Hurricane Sandy pounded the northeast coast of the United States at the end of October.
Dozens of people across the U.S. were killed by Sandy and thousands were left without power throughout several states including New York and New Jersey. An independent firm has suggested the bill from the damage could be as high as $50 billion.
Flood damaged vehicles are immediately branded by the Ontario government as “irreparable” and cannot be licensed and put on the road in the province.
“Water, especially salt water like we saw in Sandy’s storm surge, can get inside sensitive electronic components and cause corrosion,” Carey Smith, Director of Investigations for the OMVIC said in a press release.
“It can take months or years for the effects of this exposure to show – but when it does, it can be catastrophic: air bags might not deploy in a collision, engines could shut off at highway speeds, steering could fail – these vehicles are not safe for the road.”
However, the OMVIC warns that flood damage on cars in the U.S. sometimes goes unreported.
It’s possible that some car owners could transfer damaged cars across state lines, and “wash” their history of any flood damage.
Uninsured cars will also likely not get branded as flood damaged. But some car-check services may be able to determine whether or not a vehicle has ever been branded as flood-damaged.
“Get a vehicle history report. Something like Car Proof or CarFax. Because even though you can remove that brand from the title or ownership of the vehicle, Car Proof or CarFax will probably be able to tell you that car was branded somewhere else,” O’Keefe said.
Registered car dealers in Ontario must detail if the car has been branded as flood damaged, sustained damage over $3000, registered in another province or state or immersed in a liquid that penetrated the car’s floorboards.
“So if you’re buying from a registered dealer you’re going to know all that and quite frankly they’re probably not going to want to sell that car. Who’s going to want to buy it knowing that information?” O’Keefe said.
The old adage rings true when searching for a deal on cars, O’Keefe said. If it’s too good to be true – don’t buy it.
People stuck with damaged cars in the U.S. may go to great lengths in private sales to get some return on their damaged car.
“If it seems too good to be true, It probably is,” O’Keefe said. “If it seems like too good of a deal, walk away because no one gives away cars.”
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