With the recent flooding, and now snow that is spreading across the UK, car dealers need to be wary that consumers may wish to trade in vehicles which have been damaged by such adverse weather conditions.
Whilst insurers may write off some vehicles that are affected by such damage, some may not be bad enough to warrant such treatment. Furthermore consumers who do not wish to claim on their insurance policy may just patch up the damage and bring their car to a dealer in part exchange. It is therefore critical, as ever, to thoroughly inspect and test any vehicle before you take it in part exchange.
The AA have published some tips on their website, as to what to look for when trying to check for flood damage
http://www.theaa.com/newsroom/news-2012/aa-insurance-warning-flood-damaged-cars.html
Whilst it may take a little more time to evaluate the price of the vehicle, in the long term it will pay dividends. Remember if you take a vehicle in that has been flood damaged and you sell it onto another consumer, you may be liable for misdescription of the vehicle, even though you did not know of the flood damage.
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