Checks could spot if car is waterlogged

A few quick tips on spotting a waterlogged car...before you buy. There are an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 cars damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Checks could spot if car is waterlogged: "

By MICHELLE SINGLETARY

When floodwaters finally recede on the Gulf Coast, no doubt there will be thousands of water-damaged cars that will flood the used car market.

If you don't want to end up unknowingly buying one of these vehicles, you had better do some homework, advises Jeff Fortson, an Atlanta-based auto consultant and editor of jeffcars. com, a car-buying educational Web site targeted to women and minorities.

In fact, it is common for flood-damaged vehicles to end up in the used-car market, according to Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research.

On average, about a million flood-damaged vehicles are sold each year. But these cars and trucks should not be sold as vehicles used for transportation, Spinella said.

'Flood vehicles can be sold for their parts,' Spinella said. 'There isn't a single vehicle that came out of Katrina that should be sold. They should all be scrapped.'"