Should flooded license plates be made public?

Recently, images of valuable cars submerged in water in Da Nang were reported by several newspapers. However, immediately after that, there were many conflicting opinions about this story. There were quite a few opinions agreeing with posting the license plates of flooded cars, but there were also quite a few opinions that it was not right to publicize such personal information and that if posted in the newspaper, the license plates should be covered.

Public image of flooded license plate.

After this information was shared, almost immediately, someone argued against it: “Why cover the sign? Natural disasters, storms, floods, or bad luck will come naturally and we have to bear it. Later, we will sell this accident-free, flood-free car at an exorbitant price. Will the next owner have to bear the burden!?”

The debate continued when some people in favor of blurring the license plate asserted: "The car is not yours, if you do not cover the license plate, you are invading other people's privacy."

It is unclear whether this statement is true or false, but many opinions say that license plates are not personal information, but are created to publicize identity if there is a traffic violation or an accident.

Supporters, naysayers

Some people were even upset because they had seen many people being tricked into buying flooded cars. More humorously, some people even “hoped” that whoever supported the idea of ​​covering the license plate would be able to buy a flooded car.

What is the damage to a flooded car?

Mr. Khuong Lee - owner of a used car garage in Nguyen Chanh (Hanoi) said: "If a car is flooded up to the hood, the engine and air intake will be flooded and may be water-hammered."

“When a car is water-hammered, at the very least, the engine will have to be “opened” and the connecting rod replaced. If the engine block is broken or cracked, the engine will have to be replaced,” Mr. Khuong added.

The car was severely flooded.

In particular, the electrical part will be affected the most because according to Mr. Khuong, if the car gets wet, the electricity will be unstable, and the mold will cause the electrical wires to rust. High-end cars with many smart features will be affected even more.

Having met many customers who brought flooded cars to sell, Mr. Khuong shared some experiences such as: “Flooded cars will still have a bad smell of leather. Water entering the door can also affect the speakers, making the speakers sound distorted and muffled.”

“In addition, the transmission system may be affected, water will rust, making the car unstable. Some details such as the car ceiling and panels must be removed and dried, any damaged parts must be replaced, making them look inconsistent... There are many more details to see if the car is flooded. However, only a mechanic or a professional can see everything,” said Mr. Khuong.

With many years of experience in the profession, Mr. Khuong shared: "A flooded car after being handled very neatly and beautifully, just need to be advertised for sale at a price a few tens of millions of dong cheaper and will receive a lot of attention."

Most flooded cars have to have their engines opened for repairs.

“However, to avoid suspicion, some people still use their cars normally, waiting for the flood season to pass before selling them. Such cars only show problems after a while, and they cannot be detected immediately upon purchase,” Mr. Khuong added.

However, according to Mr. LTP (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi), the owner of a used car store, the mechanical problem is still the most important because: "If the car dies due to flooding, water has entered, the engine must be "repaired" and rebuilt before it can run."

“If I come across these cars, I have to carefully check every screw and gasket to see if there are any signs of removal. I have to “tease” the owner a bit to know the real condition of the car. If I find it cheap, many shops will still buy it, repair it, and sell it to customers,” said Mr. P.

According to Mr. P.: “A “grass” car costs about 300 - 400 million VND, if it is flooded and needs to have its engine repaired, the price will be reduced by about 60 - 80 million VND, while the cost of repairing the engine will be 30 - 50 million VND, depending on the severity of the condition. Cars priced the same as Vios will cost more than 50 million VND to “repair” the engine.”

“As for luxury cars like Mercedes, if the engine needs to be rebuilt, the purchase price, which should be 700 - 800 million VND, will only be around 450 - 500 million VND. Because the price for rebuilding the engine will be 4 times that of Vios, around 180 - 200 million VND. Even luxury cars worth several billion VND will have to spend 300 million VND to rebuild the engine,” said Mr. P.

The price to repair a car engine also depends on the condition. The person who repairs the engine to continue using it will repair it carefully and “well”. But many mechanics will do it at the lowest possible cost, even lower than the numbers that Mr. P. gave, with the purpose of just getting the car running, and then it is up to the customer.

Everything can be repaired or redone, but the license plates of flooded cars are difficult to repair without re-registration. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why many people support the public disclosure of license plates of flooded cars./.