How to Spot Flood and Accident Damage on a Used Car

Most used cars have had an honest life. A few have been underwater or in a serious crash and then tidied up for sale. You can catch many of them in fifteen minutes with your nose, a flashlight and a habit of comparing one side of the car with the other. What you cannot catch, a mechanic with a lift usually can.

Why this matters

NHTSA warns that after a flood, damaged vehicles and their parts can turn up for sale "even hundreds of miles away," and that people who clean up flooded cars know how to make them look fine at first glance. Water damage also plays a long game: NHTSA notes it can affect a vehicle for years and may not show up as a problem right away. The FTC adds that water can slowly harm mechanical and electrical systems and cause rust and corrosion.

Accident damage is different. Many repaired cars are perfectly good. The concern is a poor repair, or damage to the structure that protects you in the next crash.

Flood damage: what to check

Smell

Do this first, before the doors have been open long.

• A musty, damp smell. NHTSA calls this a strong sign of water exposure.
• A heavy deodorizer or air-freshener smell, which NHTSA and the FTC both flag as a possible attempt to mask mildew.
• Run the fan and air conditioning for a minute. A moldy smell from the vents counts.

Silt, mud and waterlines

Cleaners reach the obvious surfaces. Look where they do not.

• Under the seats and along the seat rails.
• Under the dashboard and inside the glove box.
• In the trunk, under the floor, in the spare tire well.
• In the seat belt: pull it all the way out and look for a stain line or grit.
• Inside the light housings for fogging or a dried waterline.
• In engine-bay crevices and around the alternator for fine dried mud.

Carpet and upholstery

• Carpet that is loose, stained, or does not match the rest of the interior. The FTC lists all three.
• Brand-new carpet or seat fabric in an older car, with no explanation.
• Dampness under the floor mats.

Rust and corrosion

• Rust around the doors, on door hinges and on screws under the dashboard.
• Rust on seat frames and rail bolts, which normally stay dry for a car's whole life.
• Underneath, more rust or corrosion than you would expect for the car's age and where it has lived.
• Green or white crust on electrical connectors and fuse boxes.

Electrics

• Every switch, window, lock, light and seat motor works every time.
• No warning lights, and no flickering screens.
• The speakers sound clear. Water ruins speaker cones.

One sign alone can be innocent: a spilled drink, a leaky sunroof drain. Several together are a pattern.

Accident damage: what to check

Cars leave the factory symmetrical and painted in one go. Repairs break that symmetry.

Paint

• Stand at each corner and look along the side. Compare color and gloss between neighboring panels, especially bumpers to fenders and doors to quarter panels.
• Look for a different texture: one panel smoother or more "orange peel" than the next.
• Check rubber seals, trim, wheel-arch liners and door jambs for overspray.
• Open the doors, hood and trunk and look for tape lines where new paint stops.

Panels and gaps

• Gaps around the hood, trunk and doors are even, and match left to right.
• Doors close with the same sound and effort on both sides.
• Body lines flow straight from one panel into the next.
• A cloth-wrapped magnet holds on steel panels. Where it will not, there may be thick filler. (Aluminum and plastic panels will not hold a magnet anyway.)

Fasteners and structure

• Bolts holding the fenders, hood hinges and doors have unbroken paint. Wrench marks mean the panel has been off.
• The radiator support and the metal inside the engine bay are not wrinkled, re-welded or freshly painted.
• Under the trunk floor, the metal is smooth and the factory seam sealer is neat and continuous.
• Headlights and taillights are a matched pair in age and brand.
• The airbag warning light comes on with the ignition and then goes out.

On the road

• The car tracks straight on a level road with a centered steering wheel.
• Tires are wearing evenly. See how to test drive a car.

Back it up with records

1. Vehicle history report. Look for brands, total-loss records and reported accidents. NHTSA says to beware of flood-damaged vehicles with clean or "lost" titles and points buyers to NMVTIS to trace title history. See vehicle history reports explained.
2. NICB's free database. The FTC recommends checking the National Insurance Crime Bureau's free lookup for flood damage, unrecovered theft and salvage declarations. Its limit, per the FTC: it only shows cars that were insured when the damage happened.
3. Where the car has been. A car recently retitled from a region that had major flooding deserves extra scrutiny. This is also how brands get lost: see title brands.
4. An independent mechanic. Both NHTSA's and the FTC's guidance lead here. Tell the shop what you suspect so they look for it: see pre-purchase inspection.

A clean report does not settle it. The Justice Department cautions that title database searches can miss things because of reporting gaps. What you see on the car outranks what the paper says.

Reading what you found

If you suspect damage

Ask the seller directly and note the answer:

"Has this car had any flood or water damage, or any body or structural repairs? Do you have the repair invoices?"

Then:

• If it looks like flood, leave. No discount makes up for electrical faults that appear a year later.
• If it looks like an accident repair, ask for invoices and get the inspection before deciding. When to walk away from a car deal can help you hold the line.
• If you believe a dealer is knowingly selling a storm-damaged or salvaged car as a good-condition used car, the FTC says to report it to the NICB, to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to your state attorney general.

If you already own a car you now think was flooded, start with your state attorney general's consumer office. What remedies exist depends on state law and on what the seller disclosed.