Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is calling for government safeguards to protect consumers from cars damaged by hurricanes.
Cars flooded by hurricanes are being fixed up and sold at used car lots throughout the nation, New York's WPIX television reported.
"In 1985, Congress passed a law that said a used car has to have a sticker on it that shows you what it had gone through, it's history but guess what's missing? Hurricanes and that it was flooded," Schumer said.
Schumer claimed a "hurricane car" can be cleaned up for as little as $2,000 and sold off, according to the New York Post.
"Last year, more than 600,000 cars were damaged from floodwaters during hurricane season, some of which were without insurance," Schumer said.
"Many of these vehicles have since ended up in used car lots. Because these cars did not have insurance, there is a high likelihood that potential buyers are purchasing flood-damaged cars without a full knowledge of their operating history."
He said the cars could have a number of problems, including rust or electrical malfunctions. Schumer maintained the Federal Trade Commission needs to do more than just issue warnings to consumers about the dangers of buying a hurricane car.
"I'm calling on the FTC not just to issue hurricane warnings, but to require that every car that went through a flood be noted on the sticker, and how the car was fixed," he said.
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