Hurricane Katrina  had major long term implications for a large segment of the population, economy and politics of the entire United States.  By August 31, 2005, 80% of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 15 feet of water.  Included in the flood were new and used vehicles, some of which were dried, cleaned up and sold to unsuspecting purchasers.  Hundreds of thousands of vehicles damaged by the hurricane were sold across the country as used cars that have been cosmetically altered to appear almost new. 

The response to the onslaught of flood vehicles from Katrina has been the re-introduction of the Passenger Vehicle Loss Disclosure Act .  The Passenger Vehicle Loss Disclosure Act (S 164), introduced in January 2009, is designed to improve consumer access to passenger vehicle loss data held by insurers.  This bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to require all insurers and self-insurers of motor vehicles to disclose to the public, in a commercially reasonable, electronically accessible manner, for each passenger motor vehicle declared or determined to be a total loss: (1) the vehicle identification number and odometer reading; (2) the date of and primary reason for the total loss determination; and (3) whether the airbags deployed.

Title-related car fraud costs consumers up to an estimated $11.3 billion each year.  There are many who believe that this type of bill could empower consumers with vehicle disposition information, aid law enforcement and ultimately protect the environment.  If you purchased a vehicle in the past 5 years, how do you guarantee its history?