OFFICE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION
Isiah Leggett Eric S. Friedman
County Executive Director
100 Maryland Avenue, Room 330 • Rockville, Maryland 20850 • T: 240.777.3636 • F: 240.777.3768
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/consumer
WARNING
How To Avoid a Flood-Damaged Car
After hurricanes with large-scale floods, flooded cars end up at salvage
auctions and bought by rebuilders. These cars should be marked as “salvage”
or “total-loss” on the title. But unscrupulous sellers know how to “wash” the
titles and hide the damage. Here are some ways to try and protect yourself:
• Check the VIN History: The National Insurance Crime Bureau
(NCIB)
has a free database that can tell you if a car has been marked as salvage,
stolen, etc. Note, rental vehicles may not make it into this database.
• Check Title: If it clears the NICB, then check the National Motor Vehicle
Title Information System (for a fee) or Vehicle History (free) which are
two resources that can tell you if the car has been through a salvage
auction.
• Additional Resources: If the car makes it through VIN and title checks
(through the above sources), the next step is to use paid resources such as
CarFax or AutoCheck
. The best strategy is to buy the multiple report
option which will let you check multiple vehicles at a discounted rate.
• Inspection: Even if the car clears these reports, nothing beats a Pre-
Purchase Inspection. Salvage auction cleaning services can be extensive.
Do not assume that flood damage is eye visible. Note that there is no easy
way to inspect an airbag and no way to test it without deploying it.
Please call the Office of Consumer Protection if you have questions. We speak Spanish, Chinese,
Korean, French, Igbo, Farsi, Arabic and have interpreters for other languages available.
