prices going up

[gilleydog]

are the prices of 2017,18 chevy trucks going south because of Harvey

[country_09]

I'd imagine a lot of dealers around here(east Houston) will have "specials" on trucks with "none to minimal water damage". Needless to say I wouldn't be in the market for a truck around here right now.

[Thomcat]

Tens of thousands of totaled flood vehicles will be sold to salvagers, auctioneers and used car lots for drying out, demudding and detailing. And the price of used cars will definitely be depressed not just because of a glut of used cars, but because any reasonably buyer with half a brain will either buy immediately or delay purchase of a used car for a long time to avoid getting a reworked flood wreck. Most will likely buy new to eliminate the possibility of getting one. And based on the number of vehicles, multiple dispositions to non car dealer entities as well as those uninsured vehicles reworked by their owners and dumped, etc. I wouldn't count on Carmax as a gold standard to identify a flood wreck.

 

A flood refurbished late model computer networked vehicle is not he same as years ago. It will look great, ride great and maybe even smell great for a while!! My guess is less than a year later it will be a buggy POS that will aggravate the owner, confuse service techs and become costly to maintain. Engines, trannys, transfer cases and rears can be successfully flushed and re-lubed, but once all those wet, fouled electrical connectors with aluminum contacts start to oxidize with time the computer will start doing screwy things that cannot be properly diagnosed. Dielectric grease may be sufficient to protect the contacts in a normal environment, but once water and mud intrude through the rear ends of the connectors....they're fuc...d. Problem is only aggravated by newer vehicles' networked systems which use a two wire or multivoltage system that depends upon the resistance or capacitance to identify the switch or sensor or problem condition.

 

So, my guess is, as has happened before, buyers demand for new vehicles as replacements for flood damaged and otherwise worn vehicles will increase to avoid getting stuck with a gremlin infested POS ......and of course prices will be going up, not down, on the new car market.

[duquephart]

And your friendly neighborhood dealers will have "great prices" on "fresh" inventory of "excellent condition" cars. It's way too easy to wash a salvage title and we all know how ethical car dealers are.

[seamus2154]

Believe it or not all said above was true and common practice. Many very well cleaned up flood cars in the past. I used to buy auction cars with a friend to fix and flip. Flood cars come with non rebuildable titles. We used to pull the door panels off and check the bottoms of the doors which most cleaners didnt do. But their are many shady bums who move the title around trying to get a clean title. But insurance companies now get involved and send investigators to these areas while it's happening and just after. They start logging every car that got flooded. They make a data base of vins with pics of damage so no stories later. All the insurance companies share info just like the casinos do with cheaters. I bought a 2004 GTO drivetrain from a fresh water flood. It's in my 70 GTO now with no issues but was flushed well and trans and motor are great. But a whole car would be another story with alot of future problems.

 

 

Another issue is that Arlington Texas is where they make the big SUVs. Suburban, Escalade, Yukon. Don't know how they are effected as far as production.