"Why, that's a racing stripe, boy, not a high water mark!" --- authfriend <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> ...read this, from the New York Times this morning: > > A Used Car or a Katrina Biohazard? > By MARCIA BIEDERMAN > Published: October 17, 2005 > > TO the sorrows and losses wrought by Hurricane > Katrina, add the > unprecedented potential for fraud - and peril - in > the resale of cars > damaged by the storm. > > Since the hurricane struck on Aug. 29, auto clubs > and law enforcement > officials have warned consumers to scrutinize used > cars for water > damage and investigate their histories. Because a > damaged car's title > can be "washed"- varying state laws make it > relatively easy to obtain > a clean title in one state for a vehicle branded > with a "flood" > or "salvage" title in another - such warnings are > routine after major > storms. > > But Katrina's automotive losses were hardly routine. > Cars that sat in > sewage- and fuel-contaminated floodwaters in New > Orleans could pose > unprecedented risks to anyone who handles the > vehicles or their > parts, according to the Coordinating Committee for > Automotive Repair, > a nonprofit organization that provides advice on > pollution prevention > and worker health and safety issues to segments of > the auto industry, > including repair businesses. > > "This is not just another flood vehicle; this is a > whole different > animal," said Robert Stewart, the group's president. > > > The coordinating committee has posted a report on > the Internet > (www.ccar-greenlink.org) warning that contaminated > sludge may lurk in > doors, frame rails, rocker panels and gas tanks, and > that interior > trim and carpets can harbor pathogens. The flooded > cars should be > regarded as biohazards, the group says. > > "We can't tell you whether a New Orleans car would > ever be safe," > said Lirel Holt, past chairman of the coordinating > committee. > > Carfax, the nation's leading provider of information > on the history > of individual vehicles, estimates that 570,000 cars > may have been > damaged by Katrina. Louisiana officials say 300,000 > of those may have > been in New Orleans. > > An ambitious project to help consumers identify at > least some > hurricane-damaged vehicles became available online > Friday. At the Web > site of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, > www.nicb.org, one can > enter a car's 17-digit vehicle identification > number, or VIN, to find > out whether it is among the 60,000 listed so far in > a database of > vehicles damaged by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita.... > > More details here: > http://tinyurl.com/b5hhc > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > --------------------~--> > Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make > Yahoo! your home page > http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > __________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
