Around 1,000 vehicles damaged in floods -experts warn some could surface in used car sales
Insurance companies are counting the costs of the September floods in which several towns and villages suffered severe damage. People have already reported about a thousand cases of damaged cars to insurance companies and experts are warning that some of them could surface in used car sales.
Odometer fraud, in which someone tampers with the odometer listing kilometers on a vehicle to make it appear as if the car has travelled less, is widespread in Czechia. Now, experts are warning people planning to buy a used car that some owners whose car was damaged by the floods could try to sell it off underprice as a good bargain.
Insurance companies say they received around 1,000 damage claims relating to vehicles. Generali Česká pojišt'ovna alone has recorded over 400 water-damaged vehicles. Many of them are marked as unrepairable by liquidators, but some of them can be fixed, says company spokesman Jan Marek.
Insurance companies have several options for determining the residual value of a car flooded with water. According to Kooperativa spokesman Milan Káňa, sometimes the amount is stated directly in the insurance contract and the insurance company will pay the client either the agreed insurance amount or the average price of the vehicle, which is on the market. Kooperativa has already paid out CZK 9 million to clients whose vehicles were damaged or destroyed in the flood.
Not all insurance companies are interested in what happens to the wreck after it is liquidated. Lenka Růžková from Uniqa says it can be sold off for spare parts.
"If a car has been flooded and has no damage to the bodywork, but the price of repairs has still been set higher than the value of the car, it is still possible to use the undamaged parts and offer them for sale on specialist auction portals".
Cebia, a company that checks the history of vehicles, warns, however, that after floods damaged vehicles regularly appear on the used car market. The company advises people to inspect used cars thoroughly before buying. Buyers are advised to look for mud residue, corrosion and also unusual engine sound. Some cars may have been thoroughly cleaned and perfumed, experts warn – so potential buyers have been advised to use their sense of smell, look under the floor carpeting and pull out the seat belts all the way for a give-away bad smell or mud residue.
