New Jersey Officials Warn of Storm-Damaged Car Re-Sales

New Jersey officials are warning would-be car buyers to be careful about buying vehicles that may have been damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

The state’s motor vehicle commission has seen a near 6,000 percent increase in flood-damaged and salvage vehicle titles processed in the past three months.

It is not illegal to sell a vehicle with either a flood or salvage title, but the status of such vehicles must be disclosed to potential buyers by law.

The Division of Consumer Affairs has added an online database to its website where consumers can look up a vehicle by make, model, year, or vehicle identification number to check for any flood damage.

The database has more than 13,000 vehicles in it so far.