Attorney General Kelly Ayotte warns consumers about the danger of flood-damaged cars coming to New Hampshire in the wake of massive flooding caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“There may be half a million vehicles that were severely damaged in the hurricanes,” Ayotte said. “There is a potential threat that a vehicle may be repaired only cosmetically, moved to New Hampshire, and offered for sale without any indication of the prior damage. Flood- damaged vehicles could be dangerous and subject to failure of brakes or air bags, computers or other systems.”

Ayotte wants consumers to know about a new tool being offered by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) which offers a free way to check vehicle identification numbers (VINs) to see if a vehicle has been affected by the hurricanes. NICB is a non-profit group that works with insurers, law enforcement and the public to fight insurance fraud and vehicle theft. NICB is supported by the insurance industry.

NICB has assembled a registry of over 165,000 vehicles which have been damaged by floods and high winds of the hurricanes. If consumers are considering purchasing a used vehicle in the months ahead, they can go to www.NICB.org and enter the VIN to see if it is on the registry. If a vehicle is on the list, most consumers should avoid buying it.

Frank Scafidi, a spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, said of the NICB registry “By creating this registry now, before the vehicles are salvaged and distributed around the nation, and by having it automated, a vehicle that is branded from Katrina will be ‘front-loaded’ into the system before scammers can do their thing.” (Contact information for Scafidi: 800-447-6282, ext. 4441, fscafidi@nicb.org ).

Carfax is also offering help to consumers by enabling them to check for free if a vehicle was registered in any of the counties declared a federal emergency disaster area. Consumers can access this information by logging onto www.carfax.com/flood .

Ayotte emphasized that consumers must still closely examine a vehicle for flood damage even if it does not appear on the NICB registry. Although the list is growing rapidly, it will never include all of the damaged vehicles.

The following are tips to look for signs of flood damage:

• Check inside the trunk, including around the spare tire, for evidence of moisture, silt, or corrosion.
• Check the engine for signs of moisture damage, such as rust or silt or grass.
• Give the vehicle a smell test - inside and out - if it smells musty, it could have been flood-damaged.
• Examine the underside of the vehicle for signs of excess moisture.
• Check inside dome lights, glove boxes, and other places where water might have been trapped for signs of moisture, mold, rust, or silt.
• Check the interior for signs of mismatched items such as carpeting or seat covers.
• Test all electrical components, including lights, signals, switches, and audio system.