Hurricane Helene has unleashed terrifying flooding and killed more than 100 people over the last few days, but the damage will take months to assess. There are likely thousands of flooded vehicles strewn across several states at the moment, sitting in concentrated numbers on dealers’ lots. One Florida Kia dealer was hit especially hard, saying that it lost 672 cars to the storm.
Kia dealer Ken Ganley told Automotive News that his store lost 660 new and used vehicles to flooding, and 12 customer cars were totaled in the process. He estimated the damage to reach between $28 and $30 million, and with a $5,000 deductible per vehicle, his store is on the hook for around $3.5 million to the insurance company. Flood waters can have odd effects on vehicles, and Ganley said that some of the damage came from fires and airbag deployments.
Coastal states like Florida are hard-hit by storms like Helene, but they are better prepared to weather the impacts than areas like Western North Carolina. There, flood waters funneled through deep mountain valleys caused massive damage, washing away entire towns and most roads.
Once all is said and done and cleanup efforts are underway, there will be plenty of decent-looking flood cars to deal with. Some of these will almost certainly end up in the hands of unscrupulous sellers who are willing to put a little effort into getting them running. Dealer-totaled vehicles likely have thorough documentation to prevent such scams, but it’s a good idea to be on high alert if you’re shopping for a used vehicle in the next year or so.
[Images: Best-Backgrounds, Fernando Astasio Avila via Shutterstock]
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