458 Italia

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Coupe

Following the tragic events and destruction of Hurricane Harvey, there's been several warnings out there, from us as well, about flood-damaged cars hitting the market. Of course, those once water-filled cars have been "repaired," but the truth of the matter is that they should have been declared totaled. Don't fall for one of those scams. And then we stumbled upon this: a flood-damaged Ferrari 458 Italia. Is it a scam? Doubtful. This 2011 458 Italia is up for sale in Long Island, New York, courtesy of Copart.com.

It has an estimated retail value of $199,315, but it is actually up for auction. As of this writing, the highest bid was $83,000, but the reserve hasn't been met yet. Unfortunately, there's only the vaguest information regarding the damage, simply stating the primary damage is "water/flood." It does come with a salvage certificate claiming the car is re-buildable but, again, no specifics as to how the damage occurred. From the the photos, at least from the exterior, things are looking pretty good, but it's the interior that's problematic. Note the bottom of the center console, right next to the passenger seat. That's water damage, and what we can't see could be an awful lot worse.

The leather upholstery could possibly even be ruined; you simply can't tell from photos alone. It could smell moldy inside, who knows? As for the 4.5-liter V8? Again, it seems to look fine, and it should considering it's been driven a mere 2,627 miles. But water damage is a nasty thing. If water got into the engine bay, then, well, it could be all over. In any case, even if a Ferrari 458 Italia, with flood damage but also with a re-buildable salvage title, sounds too good to be true considering its price, then it probably is. And, for the record, there's no indication this Ferrari was anywhere near Houston, Texas, in recent days. So that's something.