Cars Damaged From Katrina Now Flooding California.

[Navy6064]

Cars Damaged From Katrina Now Flooding California Fri Mar 24, 11:36 PM ET


Cars damaged by Hurricane Katrina are now flooding southern California, 10News reported.
10News investigative reporter Thom Jensen reported that these so-called "Katrina cars" have become a major public health concern.
It's estimated as many as 600,000 cars damaged during hurricanes in the Gulf states are now back in circulation. Some are already on the roads with new owners, and others are still for sale, 10News reported.
They are cars that are much more than just mechanical and electrical hazards, and many may actually carry diseases.
State officials are keeping their eyes on auction yards across California packed with used cars.
"We've told the insurance companies if there's been flood damage, you'd better be darn sure those cars don't end up back on the streets," said John Garamendi, with the California Department of Insurance.
A warning was issued by the state after it was discovered a 500,000 cars flooded by Hurricane Katrina are being sold as perfectly good cars.
But Katrina cars have already been discovered in California.
10News became suspicious about a 2001 Toyota Sequioa in National City.
It was decked out with all of the amenities but was covered in rust from the top of the engine to the bottom of the frame and filled with odors of mold and mildew.
Jensen: "Is it a Katrina car?"
Auto Access owner Bahar Nemetulla: "It's not a Katrina car. I told you."
Jensen: "How you do know if you don't know what state it's from?"
A day later, Nemetulla came up with a title for the SUV.
"I showed you all of the documents and the title -- everything. It's not a Katrina car," said Nemetulla.
Nemetulla did show 10News documents, showing the car was titled less than three months ago in Michigan.
10News did its own research on the Toyota on Carfax -- an online service that checks a vehicle's background.

It showed the Sequioa was a fleet vehicle in Ohio -- possibly a rental car.
Was it damaged in New Orleans or another Gulf Coast state and then sent back to the Midwest where the title was washed?
Or was it sent to another state and cleaned of history of damage?
It's not just the dangers of cars breaking down on a busy freeway or the air bags and brakes failing when you need them most.
What the car sat in is more dangerous than a breakdown.
The Katrina cars are considered toxic, 10News reported.
"They can kill you with the bacteria, with the toxic mold," said Rosemary Shahan, with Consumers For Automobile Reliability And Safety.
Area mechanics are also on the lookout, worried about their health and that of customers.
"Certainly that water is going to have a real potpourri of germs in it," said Greg Kelly, with Greg's Automotive.
A Mississippi firefighter died from infection just days after cutting himself on a Katrina car, 10News reported.
Insurance companies fought efforts to destroy the cars and won, so the Katrina cars are flooding the country. There's no proof insurance companies are washing Katrina car titles to hide their histories, but they have been caught washing titles before, 10News reported. Last year, State Farm was caught concealing more than 32,000 cars that were supposed to be totaled but instead were repaired and put back on the roads registered as clean cars that were never wrecked.

[AmericanGirl]

They did a warning on the local news about those cars here in Texas too, some of them had showed up here... as the saying goes, buyer beware!

[AngelBear]

I live off of I-10 here in Houston (major road headed to California) and I have seen MANY 18-wheelers loaded with vehicles that you can clearly see where the water line was. They remove the plates but you can still see where the water was on the vehicle. I agree Kim you have to research before you buy around here.

[Navy6064]

Remember that a new car is not titled tell it is sold and put on the road by a dealer,so it makes them hard to trace.

[AngelBear]

Another good point!

[AmericanGirl]

never really thought about the brand new cars that were damaged... excellent point NAVY