Flood vehicles on market
The Age
Friday March 11, 2011
CAR buyers are warned to be on the lookout for flood-damaged cars from Queensland and Victoria. Thousands of flood or storm-damaged vehicles have been salvaged from disaster-affected areas for re-sale.The Insurance Council of Australia has received more than 10,000 claims for damaged vehicles and put a $296 million price tag on the claims.While most vehicles have been deemed statutory write-offs and cannot be repaired legally, this has not stopped them going under the hammer at car auctions.Pickles Auctions has already run two sales of flood-damaged cars in Brisbane and another is planned for Melbourne next week. A spokeswoman for Pickles said that the majority of the cars sold at the Brisbane auctions were statutory write-offs and the buyers were informed.However, it is still expected that seriously damaged cars will slip through loopholes in the system. Cars deemed repairable write-offs by insurance companies can be repaired and re-sold legally, even if they have been damaged.Even though the cars are being sold in Queensland and Victoria, experts have warned that the vehicles will travel quickly to other states on the used market. The industry is advising buyers to pay close attention to any used car up for sale to check for signs of flood damage.
© 2011 The Age