Hurricanes, Floods and Used-Car Sales

After every flood disaster, media and consumer groups start waving the fraud red flag. Beware, they caution, of con men that slap a quick cosmetic job on a moldy vehicle totaled and sold for scrap in the aftermath. Every time, some unsuspecting consumers drive a vehicle home that will begin to mold, mildew and revert to the disaster it was before the cosmetic job. This time around, though, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is calling for legislation to develop a national database that would, at the click of a mouse, provide vehicle history and title information anywhere in the 50 states.

Consumer Plan
Addressing a press group in Michigan, NADA Chairman Jack Kain outlined a plan that would work for consumers, asking:


1. Insurance companies to make the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)-based information on totaled vehicles accessible to the public


2. Automakers to disclose the VINs of cars and trucks totaled by Katrina and Rita and future storms or natural disasters


3. Legislation that would make state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices work with private data vendors to create an electronic vehicle title data system that is uniform and easily accessible