How to avoid sinking your savings in a flood-damaged car

Here's an interesting article....
Considering the flooding that recently devastated Tennessee, we thought it important to remind consumers how to tell if a car that might have been underwater. (See a CNN report on the Tennessee flooding.)

Every year, many car buyers may unknowingly buy a vehicle that has hidden water-related problems. It could be caused by a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, local flooding, or a vehicle leak. Whatever the cause, buying a car with hidden water damage can play out like a depressing country song. Water damage can be hard to detect, but there are some hints of what to look for:

-Inspect the carpets to see if they are wet, damp, or muddy.
-Check the seat-mounting screws to see if there is any evidence that they have been removed.
-To dry the carpets, the seats must be removed, not generally a part of normal maintenance.
-Inspect the lights. Headlights and taillights are expensive to replace, and a visible water line may still show on the lens or reflector.
-Inspect the difficult-to-clean places, such as gaps between panels in the trunk and under the hood. Waterborne mud and debris may still appear in these places.
-Look for mud or debris on the bottom edges of brackets or panels, where it wouldn't settle naturally.
-Look at the heads of any unpainted exposed screws under the dashboard. Unpainted metal in flood cars will show signs of rust.
-Check if the rubber drain plugs under the car and on the bottom of doors look as if they have been removed recently. It may have been done to drain floodwater.
-If you need to dig deeper, remove a door panel to see whether there is a water mark on the inside.

If you are from an area impacted by a flood and have a car that was not damaged, be aware that buyers may still suspect that it was. Consider having a mechanic inspect the car before you sell it so that you can present potential buyers with a clean bill of health.

Likewise, months and even years after a major event like the Tennessee flooding, damaged cars can surface in other parts of the country. It best to be vigilant when considering a used-car purchase.

Source;
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/05/how-to-avoid-sinking-your-savings-in-a-flood-damaged-car-nashville-tennessee.html

Huge New Fuel Source Found: Old Cars

Talk about unfortunate timing: Just as the scrapping incentives all around the world are running out, a Japanese company found a way to turn old cars into fuel.

According to The Nikkei [sub], Japan’s JFE Engineering Corp. is set to open an automobile recycling center that turns the increasing amounts of plastics found in a car back into fuel.

The Nikkei says that the Kanagawa plant (halfway between Tokyo and Yokohama) will open in July. It has the capacity to process some 40,000 tons of scrap a year, which comes from automobile crushing sites in the Tokyo area. When the plant is through with the scrap, 9,000 tons of steel, copper and other valuable metals will have been sorted out. The sorting magnets are especially green: They use wind power. The many plastics in the cars will be put under pressure to create 30,000 tons of fuel a year.

Europe will be taking note of the new technology. Japan and Europe have strict end-of-life regulations on the books. In Europe, the manufacturer has to bear the cost to remove the dead vehicle off the road in an environmentally responsible way. In Japan, the cost is born by the consumer, in form of a deposit when the new car is bought. In the end, the consumer always pays. The new technology possibly could lessen the burden.

The cost of the new plant is vaguely described as “billions of yen,” but the return of investment promises to be considerable. JFE wants to generate 1.5 billion yen in revenue by fiscal 2013.

They get their money through disposal and from selling recovered metals and the produced fuel. Imagine a refinery that gets paid for graciously taking the crude.

Source;
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/huge-new-fuel-source-found-old-cars/

Used Vehicle Review: Honda Fit, 2007-2008

Looking for a small, safe, economical, and reliable car? Here's a nice link to a read on the 2007-2008 Honda FIT's.

Link;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/03/26/used-vehicle-review-honda-fit-2007-2008.htm

Consumer Reports names most reliable used vehicles

Yonkers, New York - Consumer Reports has released the list of its most and least reliable used cars for the last ten years in its Annual Auto Issue. The vehicles range from model years 1999 to 2008, with Toyota and Honda dominating the majority of the nine categories.

The picks in five categories are:

Small Cars: Honda Civic, Toyota Echo, Scion xB*, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Mazda3, Mazda Protegé, Subaru Impreza

Family Cars: Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan*, Toyota Camry (except 2008 V6), Subaru Outback (six-cylinder), Nissan Altima

Minivans: Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey

Small SUVs: Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, Mitsubishi Outlander

Midsize and Large SUVs: Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX, Toyota Land Cruiser*, Toyota 4Runner, Infiniti FX35, Acura MDX, Infiniti QX4, Lexus GX, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Tribeca, Nissan Xterra (2005-2008), Toyota Sequoia

* Model not sold in Canada

The report also features “Used Cars to Avoid” and “Worst of the Worst”, which names vehicles with multiple years of much worse than average reliability, including models from Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Mazda, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Porsche, Saturn, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Consumer Reports noted that problem rates for cars have decreased across the board, so newer used cars should hold up better than their predecessors as they age. Among five-year-old and newer cars, Ford, Hyundai and Nissan are about tied in reliability. European cars, long the least reliable overall, are pulling even with the domestics on newer models. The magazine also noted that cars with high problem rates are not always the oldest vehicles.

Across all ten years of the survey, the most commonly reported problems are with the check engine light, windows, and squeaks and rattles. Brake problems became evident at five years.
The full report is contained in the Annual Auto Issue, on sale from March 3 to May 4, 2009.

Source;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/02/26/consumer-reports-names-most-reliable-vehicles.htm