The Expert Podcast

So the good news is that the hurricanes that have hit Florida are largely over and a lot of rebuilding is happening. The bad news is we're already starting to see some of these flood vehicles show up in the salvage auction pipeline. Now, this may or may not be a good thing for certain clients, but a lot of these vehicles are being sold with non-repairable or junk titles, sometimes called certificate of destruction. And if you don't know what you're looking for, you can get jammed up with one of these cars real fast.

Just because it says non-repairable, don't think that that's a challenge to you to repair it anyways. If you see something as certificate of destruction, don't confuse the fact that maybe you can save it from being destroyed. A lot of these vehicles look perfectly fine—no physical damage. You might know or be able to see that there's flood evidence in the vehicle, but sometimes they appear to be running and drivable and maybe need small repairs. The problem is it doesn't matter how minimal the repairs are.

If the vehicle has been reported as a non-repairable certificate of destruction, parts only, or junk, that VIN number is now canceled, meaning that it's put into a federal database called the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, and it can never be put back on the road. Doesn't matter how good you fix it, how good you get it inspected—the VIN number is ineligible for any state to issue a title. We're already starting to see dozens of these vehicles show up in auctions from Copart or IAA or other auctions.

Sometimes the buyers know that they're sold with that brand, sometimes they don't know. And if you don't know, you could get a vehicle that you pay good money for that you can never put on the road. So make sure before you buy it, you verify that it's not a certificate of destruction. A salvage title you can do something with, but a non-repairable or junk title you cannot—doesn't matter how good the car is or how much you fix it up. So be aware of these vehicles.

If you're a consumer, make sure that you know what you're getting into. If you're buying a car through a broker, make sure that you understand what the broker is disclosing to you so you do not get a vehicle that's worthless for you to use as a running and driving car.