Flooded-out cars from Harvey are starting to reappear to unsuspecting consumers

Flood-damaged cars have telltale signs, but that isn’t stopping dealerships and others from selling them to unsuspecting consumers.

Videos by Rare

RELATED: According to a shocking report, Hurricane Harvey left up to 1 million Houston cars damaged or destroyed

And, with the cars now showing up as far away as San Antonio, experts have advice for how to avoid buying such a damaged car.

[protected-iframe id=”ee69d5bca4e04555a2e923298e2501f7-46934866-120279019″ info=”http://news4sanantonio.com/embed/news/local/flooded-houston-cars-already-in-san-antonio-area?external-id=0665d43f98f744e49a4564dc82d697ed” width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″]

“What you can check for on the fire wall is water lines,” San Antonio auto inspector Joe Trejo told News 4 San Antonio. “Sometimes, if the vehicle is involved in an extensive flood then the water will rise and you’ll actually see the dirt line from how high the water rose.”

“Any sort of rust or corrosion on the bolt heads is going to be a real strong indication that vehicle was previously submerged in water.”

Back in Houston, Shane Vaughn, who owns a pre-purchase inspection company, said his business has increased five-fold since Harvey.

“We’ve already found 63 flood damaged vehicles that were being sold by dealerships in the Houston area, large and small dealerships.”

RELATED: Houston car shredders aren’t begging for scraps after a storm like Harvey

One way to avoid buying a flood-damaged car is to avoid having one to begin with. And a product pitched on “Shark Tank” is set to do big business.

Called a “Ziplock bag for the car,” the EVP–or Extreme Vehicle Protection–acts as a massive barrier for water. ABC 13 test-drove one, so to speak, and found that the massive plastic bag works.

It retails between $300-$450.

 

 

What do you think?

A medical emergency led to Chrissy Teigen almost losing important member of her family

Arrested UCLA basketball players address President Trump as they learn their punishment