The Expert Podcast

Well it's been a couple of months since hurricane Ian and the other tropical storms have hit Florida and we're already getting hundreds and hundreds of inquiries from. Potential customers who have vehicles they've purchased. That have had a prior claim. For damage from. The hurricane and…a lot of these end up with what's called a certificate of destruction You can see that here on the screen because Florida. Calls these vehicles certificate of destruction Every state has a name for these vehicles. Some call it Non-repairable some call it junk some call it. parts only. And Florida's called certificate of destruction So we're already seen hundred of these Matter of fact we had…a caller earlier today where they had purchased 14 vehicles. From an auction. And it turns out that they had a certificate of destruction for each one of them So what does it mean? What can you do with these vehicles What can't you do with these vehicles? What are the requirements and restrictions on a certificate of destruction…So this is not a title. Even though it. like a title. A certificate of destruction is a document issued. By a government agency to declare that the vehicle. Is no longer eligible for road use. Where does that power come from Well in the Florida statutes…If certain conditions are met and we'll talk about what those conditions are. The department shall declare the vehicle un rebuildable and print a certificate of destruction which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of the vehicle. It doesn't authorize anything else other than destruction of the vehicle? And he can see they take it pretty seriously because a person who knowingly violates this paragraph by selling transporting delivering a motor vehicle without making notifications. it's Third degree felony. So again we're not giving you legal advice not attorneys but you gotta make sure you process these vehicles properly In fact here's a key. Part of the language of the titling authority So they talk about all the different ways you can get a title for a vehicle all the different processes, but it says nothing shall be applicable If a certificate of destruction has been obtained. So everything as far as titles, Or methods or all the rules for getting a title to a vehicle all out the window Nothing. Shall be applicable If a certificate of destruction has been obtained. For the vehicle. So why do this, why have a certificate of destruction Well, the reason why is because. If an insurance company who pays a claim. Has any reason that they don't want this vehicle to be out on the road? They're going to put a certificate of destruction And the reason why is because even if vehicle's in perfectly good condition…If later. It's discovered that something goes wrong with the vehicle Maybe. The brake line rusted out because it was corroded. Maybe it wasn't damaged at the time of the flood or the accident, but if a year or two later that BreakLine rust out the brakes don't work Somebody crashes they get her, they're going to go back and Sue the insurance company who paid the claim Back When the car was originally damaged or totaled. What if the airbag sensor. Gets corroded and It doesn't go off Somebody gets in a crash the airbag doesn't activate properly. Well, When the person gets hurt they're going to go back and Sue the insurance company that says look you should have never let this car go back on the road. That's why they put these certificate of destruction on vehicles that seem to be in good condition. So we're already getting hundreds of calls every single day for people who are looking at these cars or buying these cars. These cars are showing up at Copart, IAA, all the other auctions. even if the car looks like it's in good condition. Obviously a flood vehicle doesn't have a lot of physical damage Like the. aren't crushed or broken or crashed. you may smell some mildew or some funky smells or maybe the carpet has stains on it. But a lot of times people look at these flood vehicles as very good candidates. For flipping cars. Be aware that if it is a certificate of destruction, It is no longer eligible for title or registration in any state because it's shared between the different states. So check out our website for more information but be aware that thousands of these cars are already showing up in the marketplace And you want to make sure you don't get stuck with one.