Irene's flood waters have mostly receded, but they leave behind thousands of water-logged cars.
To find out what you need to know, when these vehicles hit the used-car market, Fox 29 went out to Carvision, where they buy and sell used cars.
They don't want to get stuck with a wet lemon any more than you do, and so, they know what to look for
Carvision's repair shop foreman, Marty Spitko, says there are plenty of signs that a vehicle's been swamped.
Start by looking under the hood.
"Red flag would be normally down inside along the fender rails- you would see if there's any mud down in here. Generally with floods, it's not clean water. It comes with dirty. Muddy, river water. So it leaves silt," Spitko says.
Next, hop inside and take a whiff!
"Underneath this carpet is an inch and a half of padding. So it's a good place for water to sit and collect," Spitko says. "Eventually that smell will come out from the mildew or whatever mold is in there."
Give the carpeting a good slap. Dried mud becomes dust: Look for a cloud.
"Underneath the seats, on all the metal components, sometimes if water is sitting, you would see rust on the metal there," Spitko says.
Check the lights.
"Down inside here you'd see condensation built up. It'd be kind of like the inside of your windshield when you have to put the defrost on. It's condensation on the inside."
And take a peak underneath the vehicle.
"Just excessive rust, look for, maybe on top of suspension parts, dust or silt or mud caked up. Even grass or shrubbery, stuff like that."
If an insurance company declares a vehicle a total loss- from floodwaters- the title will reflect that, so most dealerships are a safe bet.
The real danger is in buying an older, uninsured vehicle from an individual, who may have dried it out and cleaned it up, nd is now looking to unload it.
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