Florence Flooded Only a Fraction of Cars Versus Harvey, Will Still Impact Market Based on VinCheck.info Estimates
Free VIN check provider VinCheck.info finds vehicle losses from Florence less catastrophic, but alerts consumers about significant impact on the rising tide of water-damaged vehicles as Harvey-wrecked vehicles continue to flood the used car market.
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Vehicle flooding caused by Hurricane Florence was only 1.7% to 3.6% of the damage brought by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, based on VinCheck.info estimates. The first major hurricane in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Florence flooded 7,000 to 14,000 vehicles with record rainfall and storm surge. The free VIN check provider based its findings on satellite flood data from the Dartmouth Flood Observatory correlated with estimated vehicle density data.
Prior to landfall, Florence and Harvey drew comparisons because both systems reached category 4 hurricane status. Initially feared to be the "Harvey of the East Coast," Florence made landfall as a category 1 and dumped 35.93 inches of rain, while Harvey made landfall as a category 4 then again as a category 3 dumping 60.88 inches of rain. The city of Wilmington, NC and the counties of Pender, Brunswick, Bladen, Onslow, Robeson and New Hanover in North Carolina experienced the worst flooding according to VinCheck.info estimates.
In 2017, VinCheck.info began actively monitoring the impact hurricanes have on the used car industry. The free vehicle history website estimated that between 380,000 to 760,000 vehicles were damaged by Harvey. An increasing number of waterlogged vehicles have re-appeared on websites like Craigslist and AutoTrader. VinCheck.info has observed that around 4,000 vehicles from the flooded regions are listed for sale online every week.
"We expect more flood-damaged cars for sale in the coming months after Florence-wrecked vehicles hit the market. Brace yourself for more water-damaged vehicles inundating the used car market after they are dried out and cleaned up," warns Anne Reyes, community manager of VinCheck.info.
VinCheck.info offers a VIN Flood Check Tool for buyers to quickly check if a used car has been registered in Texas and if it was likely to have been soaked in flood waters during Harvey's onslaught. The Florence data will help VinCheck.info improve the impact estimation process for hurricane flooding.
About VinCheck.info
VinCheck.info provides a comprehensive free vehicle history report, checking the records of over 268 million registered vehicles in the United States. The vehicle research service compiles data from government and auto industry sources to perform a more thorough check than any website for critical issues including accidents, flood damage, theft, liens, and salvage records. (Reports generated in the past year have revealed flood damage in one out of every 100 vehicles checked.)
Launched in August 2017, the company has delivered over 650,000 full car history reports to consumers across the country as a free alternative to Carfax and other paid reports. On a mission to help protect as many consumers as possible from scams such as title washing and resale of stolen or unsafe cars, VinCheck.info offers all of its research-based services 100% free. Visit https://vincheck.info for more information about free VIN check, free license plate lookup, free VIN decoder and other services.
SOURCE VinCheck.info
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