Car buyers snap up bargains following Indian floods

For some, there's a silver lining to the clouds that brought devastating floods to southern India late last year: the chance to pick up a luxury car on the cheap.

As car owners, insurance companies and dealers dump flood-damaged vehicles, thousands of cars, from hatchbacks to luxury sedans and SUVs, are being auctioned off for as little as a tenth of their original price.

Dealer Copart India, for example, recently sold an Audi A4 for just £3,500 - a fraction of the usual £40,000 price tag. A BMW 3-Series sedan went for £6,100 and a 2012 Porsche Cayenne for £5,100.

Meanwhile, CarDekho says it's been towing away more than 50 vehicles a day, and says it will have more than 5,000 to sell.

Some of the vehicles were totally submerged for days, and most have been classified by insurance companies as beyond repair. Buyers take them on at their own risk.

"Twist the ignition key and make sure that all those warning lights on the instrument cluster come on and working properly. Features such as windshield wipers, turn signals, infotainment system, aircon should be tested several times to make things sure," says Akshit Juneja of CarDekho.

"Flex some of the wires beneath the dashboard and under the hood. Wet wires become brittle upon drying and may crack with a bit of extra force."
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Many vehicles, though, are perfectly repairable - it's just that the insurance companies don't want the hassle and cost. According to CarDekho, it's generally only the electronics that are destroyed, and these elements can be replaced for under £2,000.

However, dealers are warning that the huge number of damaged cars that have been scrapped across southern India means an equally huge opportunity for fraud. Cleaned-up cars could potentially be sold without their history being revealed, and the same could apply to spare parts that have been stripped from affected vehicles for resale.

"Most likely, if a professional is trying to pass off a flooded car to you, he would have cleaned up all those evidence and perhaps even replaced the seats and the carpet," says Juneja.

"So it's very difficult – almost impossible for an average buyer like you - to have any idea that the car was flooded. Hence, an expert advice and thorough check-up from a mechanic can significantly reduce the chances of you getting into a fraud deal."