I've been looking for an inexpensive used car (mostly Civics and Integras in the $10k range) lately, and have been reviewing the CarFax history for many of them. I've been finding lots of these cars at local used car dealers, and noticed that a high percentage of them come from Florida. The suspicious part of me wonders why?

Is there a good reason why so many cheap used cars being sold in California come from Florida? Is there something special about Florida? For now, I'm leaning toward this being coincidence, but if there's something important that I'm missing, please let me know.

My main concern is title washing, i.e. rebuilding a salvaged car and then getting a clean title for it.

Case in point... I recently went to look at one of these Florida cars. It was an Integra, and asking price was well below KBB value. The CarFax history showed no accidents, but the car's body panels didn't seem to line up as nicely as I'd expect on a car with no accidents. Now, this particular car was mildly riced, so it's possible that it used to have a body kit or something, but who knows. It just seems that many of these bargain-priced cars come from Florida.

Any input is appreciated. (I should also mention that I do not put as much faith in CarFax's accuracy as many people do; however, I do feel that it's a good source of basic information on where the car was previously registered and what kind of title it has.)

 

I would steer clear of any Florida cars in the near future. They are probably flood damaged (remember all those hurricanes this year?). Dealers usually end up auctioning off those cars to try to salvage their money and who knows where they end up. I remember this from when the Mississippi River flooded so bad ten years ag or so. To be sure, look under the car for rusty spots on the frame, underbody, exhaust, etc.

 

^^ Ahh, yup that does make sense, and I think it's a pretty likely explanation for why so many Florida cars (much more so than from other states) end up for sale in California. CarFax shows that a number of these cars were indeed purchased at auction.

Thanks for the info!

 

Ah, California. What better place for them?

 

Even thought it is less likely, check the frame of the car for any cutting/welding. Sometimes cars will be sold that have been chopped and welded back together with another back end of the car. When this happens sometimes they don't even care how the welds look, and they are obvious. It's not pretty, and it gets even uglier when you buy the car.

 

yeah, unless a car has a salvage title, carfax is more or less useless. i had a car that had 2 accidents (one that's around $3500 damage and the other around $6000), and when i did a carfax on the car prior to selling it, the carfax report showed absolutely no indication of either of those accidents ever having existed!!

 

Yup, I've seen the exact same thing over and over again. It's not that CarFax is bad, but it's of limited use only. Still, for the $25 price of admission, it's not a bad tool for quick title checks. Lots of sellers list salvaged cars without mentioning the salvaged title (I have to wonder why they do this but that's another issue) that I'm willing to pay $25 just to save me the trouble of calling about those cars.

Oh, and if anyone needs a CarFax...