Auto trimmers beware of flood-damage car scams

[TheHogRing]

With Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee behind us, some auto trimmers will see a surge in the number of cars that come to their shops with flood damage.

Some of these customers intend to sell the cars without marking the titles as salvaged or flood-damaged - which is illegal.

If you get mixed up in the scam, you can face some serious legal consequences.

Worse of all, you don't even have to be a willing co-conspirator to get in trouble - as ignorance isn't a proper legal defense.

Before you put your shop's reputation and your livelihood at risk, learn how to avoid the scam altogether: http://tinyurl.com/5wqpq4h

[Vtool]

they are easy to spot. rust in places not commonly seen. also foams will have rust stains. I also remember sand or other grit below plastic covers for floor bolts. also paint on frames, cheap spray paint. usually a sloppy detail job included.
                                                                                       David

[TheHogRing]

Agreed - they definitely are easy spot. I think that the important thing to keep in mind is that even if we don't necessarily know that the car is being sold as part of a scam, we could still be held legally liable to some degree.

In cases where we think a car could be part of a scam, it's probably better to forgo the job. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Vtool]

most of the cars I see are leather kit installs. if my employer is willing to install leather, then that's his liability.
                                                                           David

[jeepdoc]

Not only that becareful not to cut yourself with those flooded cars in the auto field we were warned of potential dangers of terriable infections caused by cutting yourself on one of those. those cars were flooded with not only water but sewage and what ever else was floating in there

[Vtool]

nissan is hands down on sharp edges. frontier,pathfinder,maxima and altima have sharp edges on bottom foam pan.also camary rear 60 (arm rest pivot arm) is a sharp edge. ford also has some sharp edges. peroxide is my best friend. also I use tea tree oil to prevent infection. this stuff is a miracle antiseptic.
                                                                                         

[TheHogRing]

Haha, maybe auto trimmers should carry a spare tetanus shot in their tool belt.

Seriously though, you're right - flood damaged cars do carry loads of diseases.

All cars do for that matter.

Remember this study saying that a car's steering wheel is dirtier than a public bathroom: http://tinyurl.com/3bazevj

Personally, I'm a fan of Nissan's anti-bacterial auto fabric: http://tinyurl.com/4xothc4