2004 - Looking to sell (flood car), need advice

[GeorgeMack]

2004 - I'm looking to sell. Black with red/black interior. Both tops. 25,025 miles. Good condition. No rust. Runs great. Everything works as it should. Has custom Motif wheels and Borla exhaust system. Clean title. However, Carfax shows the car was in a flood back in 2011. This was hurricane Sandy. The car was sitting in a dealer's lot for servicing on Long Island, NY. The car went to Florida where I presume the title was washed. Other than the original owner who owned it until the flood, and the estate which I bought it from, in-between owners where dealerships (KY and NC). My question is how to price it. 2004s with this low mileage seem to run from $15-30K. I will be upfront and show the carfax to the prospective buyer. Any suggestions as to pricing?

 

[biddle]

2004 - I'm looking to sell. Black with red/black interior. Both tops. 25,025 miles. Good condition. No rust. Runs great. Everything works as it should. Has custom Motif wheels and Borla exhaust system. Clean title. However, Carfax shows the car was in a flood back in 2011. Any suggestions as to pricing?

The car is worth what someone is willing to pay. Since many buyers won't touch a rebuilt title or in your case showing as a flood car, it lowers your market along with the price.

Since the car has been driven a number of miles since 2011, this certainly works in your favor as "Flood Cars" often have superficial damage.

 

[GeorgeMack]

Thank you for your quick response. That's what I thought with the miles and years that have gone by with no problems . It would appear that there was minimal or no damage at all. Of course that would be part of my conversation about the car to a prospective buyer. I would encourage them to research prices on the internet as well. I feel the clear title works in my favor too! We'll see what happens!!

Hurricane Sandy was actually in 2012. According to the carfax, the car was declared a total loss vehicle on 10/29/2012, serviced by Newins Bay Shore Ford on 11/14/2012, and a new title was issued in Florida on 1/23/2013 with 12,215 miles on the title . The last owner purchased the car on 04/05/2017.

 

[Brax]

Thank you for your quick response. That's what I thought with the miles and years that have gone by with no problems . It would appear that there was minimal or no damage at all. Of course that would be part of my conversation about the car to a prospective buyer. I would encourage them to research prices on the internet as well. I feel the clear title works in my favor too! We'll see what happens!!

Hurricane Sandy was actually in 2012. According to the carfax, the car was declared a total loss vehicle on 10/29/2012, serviced by Newins Bay Shore Ford on 11/14/2012, and a new title was issued in Florida on 1/23/2013 with 12,215 miles on the title . The last owner purchased the car on 04/05/2017.

I’m not sure how a title was washed because a salvage cert is issued if the car was insurance totaled and sold at auction the salvage cert then has to be turned into a branded title. If the new title 1/23/13 was a clean title it most likely means the owner never took the total amount from Insurance.

 

[GeorgeMack]

Thanks Brax for your thoughts. It appears that the loss was turned in to the insurance company (hence the carfax report). Perhaps the original owner decided to keep the car and take a reduced settlement. If he was a snowbird and had a residence in Florida, he may have re-titled it there. Suppositions. I probably can't find out, but I'm curious. My VA title has no branding on it and the last owners title (also VA) was the same. A couple of dealerships owned the car between 2013 and 2017 when the owner before me purchased it. I'm going to call the dealership in NY that serviced it two weeks after the flood to see what info I can get. I suspect the car was originally sold there since they are located on Long Island. None of this may help with pricing the car, but since it appears the title is questionable at this point, I'll see what I can find out. I did go into the Florida DMV site today and noticed that they showed the title as 'cancelled".

 

[GeorgeMack]

Brax - I just re-read your post, I see you were saying the same thing about the insurance money.

 

[Brax]

Thanks Brax for your thoughts. It appears that the loss was turned in to the insurance company (hence the carfax report). Perhaps the original owner decided to keep the car and take a reduced settlement. If he was a snowbird and had a residence in Florida, he may have re-titled it there. Suppositions. I probably can't find out, but I'm curious. My VA title has no branding on it and the last owners title (also VA) was the same. A couple of dealerships owned the car between 2013 and 2017 when the owner before me purchased it. I'm going to call the dealership in NY that serviced it two weeks after the flood to see what info I can get. I suspect the car was originally sold there since they are located on Long Island. None of this may help with pricing the car, but since it appears the title is questionable at this point, I'll see what I can find out. I did go into the Florida DMV site today and noticed that they showed the title as 'cancelled".

If it was salvaged in NY it would have a flood title you are most likely correct the owner took less than replacement value and the flood certificate was not issued.