Selling a flood-damaged car

If the insurer totals it, expect a branded title: 28 states name flood or water damage on the title, and most of the rest fold it into a salvage brand. Selling it as it is remains an option. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, flooded ones too, and haul them away at no charge.

Before you turn the key

• Don't try to start it. NHTSA says a thorough assessment comes first, because there could be damage you can't see. The Texas Department of Insurance says experts recommend a mechanic look at a flooded car before anyone tries to start it, to avoid more damage.
• Take photos. TDI suggests photos of the damage and, if you can, of the car while it was under water.
• Call your insurer early. Adjusters can take a while to get out after a big storm.
• Don't dry it out yourself. TDI says drying is best left to a professional, because a car that isn't dried correctly risks mold and electrical problems. Maryland's insurance regulator adds that your insurer may pay for a cleaning before it looks for other damage.

Hybrids and electric cars

NHTSA's warning is short and worth reading as written: "The batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles are highly corrosive and should not be exposed to standing water. Flooded vehicles may have high voltage and short circuits that can shock and cause fires. Do not park a damaged vehicle with a lithium-ion battery in a garage or within 50 feet of your house or other structure, another vehicle, or combustibles."

NHTSA says to contact your dealer if you suspect the battery was damaged. If you sell it, tell us it's a flooded hybrid or EV and where it's parked.

Insurance: comprehensive covers flood

Flood damage falls under comprehensive coverage, which some policies call "other than collision" (TDI, Maryland Insurance Administration). Your declarations page shows whether you have it.

• Will it be totaled? The insurer weighs the car's actual cash value against the cost of repairs. TDI says modern cars carry so many electronics that one can be totaled even if water never reached the engine.
• Maryland's rule. There, the insurer has to total the car if repairs would cost more than 75% of its value, and may total it below that for safety or financial reasons.
• If you owe more than the payout. Gap coverage pays the difference. Without it, you owe the rest of the loan (TDI, Maryland).
• If you keep the car. The insurer deducts the salvage value. In Maryland the car then has to pass a State Police inspection and is retitled with a brand, and your insurer may refuse to keep collision and comprehensive coverage on it.

Flood title brands, state by state

Of the 50 states, 28 name flood or water damage on the title, 21 have no flood-specific brand and treat a flood-totaled car as salvage, and in one, New Hampshire, we couldn't confirm a flood brand from official sources. Each source link goes to the statute, rule or agency page we read in October 2026. A brand from another state usually carries over when the car is retitled. Confirm the current rule with your state's motor vehicle agency.

Why flood cars are hard to fix

• Water gets into the electronics. Colorado defines a flood-damaged car as one where rising water came over the doorsill into the passenger compartment and damaged electrical, computer or mechanical parts (C.R.S. 42-6-102).
• Salt water is worse. The Justice Department's NMVTIS program describes how a saltwater flood made cars' electrical systems, airbag sensors included, more prone to failure.
• Problems can show up later. NHTSA says flood damage can affect a car's mechanisms for years, and may not show up as a problem right away.

That's why a flooded car that looks fine can still be a poor bet to repair, and why insurers often total them.

Selling it as it is

Tell us where the water line reached: the floor, the seats or the dash. Tell us whether it was fresh water or salt water, and roughly how long the car sat in it. We price the car from what you tell us, so the more exact you are, the steadier the number. Collection costs you nothing.

If the insurer has already branded the title, the salvage-title guide covers what comes next. If the car has crash damage too, see selling a wrecked or totaled car. If it simply won't start and was never flooded, see selling a car that doesn't run.

When a flood car crosses state lines

NHTSA warns that flooded cars and their parts can turn up for sale hundreds of miles away. States and the federal title system push back:

• Under Florida law, a flood vehicle can't knowingly be sold until the state has marked its title that way (Fla. Stat. 319.14), and Florida never lets the brand drop off the title (FLHSMV).
• Michigan's dealer manual says flood brands on out-of-state titles must be carried forward onto the Michigan title.
• NMVTIS is designed as a national record of brands, to make it extremely difficult to wash a "flood" designation off by retitling the car in another state.

If you're selling, say it was in a flood. Brands follow the VIN, and an honest description is what the offer is built on.