How Could Flood-Damaged Cars Find Their Way to Utah?

Hurricane Harvey damaged thousands of cars in Texas with its high floodwaters that continued to rise for over a week. In Murray, we stayed high and dry—but that doesn't mean used cars for sale here don't have hidden flood damage.

Dishonest car dealers often try to improve their profit on flood-damaged cars by "title washing" them. The unethical process involves shipping the car off to different states, and obtaining new titles for it that are free of flood or salvage branding. An unsuspecting customer may never know they're paying for a vehicle with severe rusting or electronic damage.

In Utah, title-washed vehicles are not as big of a problem as in other states. According to Cars.com, only 1 in 560 used cars sold here are title-washed, while in problem-states like Mississippi, as many as 1 in 45 have fraudulent titles. Still, it's something to be aware of when shopping pre-owned vehicles in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Always check the CarFax Vehicle History Reports provided by Larry H. Miller Honda Murray to be sure a vehicle hasn't been issued several titles recently, suggesting fraud. You may also want to have prospective purchases inspected by a mechanic for signs of flood damage.