Flood-Hit Cars From Cyclone Ditwah Are Already Back on the Market — Can You Tell?

Cyclone Ditwah's floodwaters swamped vehicles across Kandy, Ratnapura and other low-lying areas just weeks ago, and dealers in those areas say the damaged cars are already turning up for sale, sometimes cleaned, detailed and sold as normal used stock. A flooded engine can hydro-lock and seize, wiring and electronics can fail months later, and once it's dried and polished a buyer often has no way of knowing unless the seller is honest about where the car came from. Sellers argue a car that's been properly dried out, flushed and serviced can be perfectly fine and shouldn't be written off just because it saw water, while buyers say even a small chance of hidden rot isn't worth paying full price for. If you're shopping used right now, would you even think to ask where a car was during the floods, or just trust the logbook and a clean body? Have you personally caught a flood car being passed off as normal, and what gave it away - a smell, rust in the wrong places, fogged-up gauges? ගංවතුරෙන් හානි වූ රථ අලුත් වාගේ විකුණනවා ඔයාලා දැක්කද? ඒක හඳුනාගන්න ඔයා බලන්නේ මොනවාද?