How many of you thing there will be alot of flood repaired cars that where insurance write offs on ebay next month?         Might be a good source for parts though.

doesnt the flood damage turn the title into a salvage title?

ive heard those are much harder to register...how's that work?

How much work would it take to bring a fully submerged card back to life?  If it's fresh water?

I would buy some trucks if they were cheap enough.  It would take some work, but I could take the driveline apart, put it back together with new gaskets and oil, sell it.

Titles will be branded.  Plus, flood damage does the most damage to elec. systems.  Might run great now, but in a couple months....a pain in your ass.

stay the hell away from flood damaged cars

Quoted: doesnt the flood damage turn the title into a salvage title? ive heard those are much harder to register...how's that work?

Has to be sold to a junk yard or something first, then a salvage title can be issued.

Depending on the state, salvage titled cars aren't any hard to register than any other.  My previous car was a salvage titled car.  Getting it registered was exactly the same as getting my current car (normal title) registered.

HOWEVER - most insurance companies will NOT provide anything more than liability insurance for a salvage titled vehicle.

The only thing that a flood damaged car is good for are the body panels. Unless you what to replace or rebuild all the hardparts like engine,transmission,rearend,and wheel bearings. Electrical parts are the worse, unless you replace the complete wiring harness,sensors,and computer, it will never be a reliable ride.

FYI, that wasn't fresh water in NOLA.  The Lake is mostly saltwater.  So was the tidal surge along the rest of the coast.  Add in the chemicals and sewage and the flood car is not a good idea.

Fritz

Hard parts might be a good idea.

I.E. A motor for a crank, block, heads, intake, etc.. Body panels as mentioned above. Water pumps. Wheels. Maybe windows.

Nothing that has anything plugged into it or has any kind of electronic stuff controlling it*.

*The engine is different, IMO. You could use individual parts, have them cleaned in a machine shop, and they'd be good to go.

I would NOT buy a complete vehicle that has been flooded. Never happen on purpose.

WIZZO

The engine is different, IMO. You could use individual parts, have them cleaned in a machine shop, and they'd be good to go.

Not always.  The last engine I helped take apart was damaged in a flood in WV.  Three weeks after the flood, the inside of the engine was ruined due to rust.  A gas leak near the car (it was parked downstream from a gas station) apparently acted like a solvent and stripped all of the oil from the top half of the engine.

I've seen several guys fix old 4x4's that were completely submerged.  I still don't know if it was worth the effort since if they were paying someone per hour for the work, they would have spent more than the vehicle is worth.

I'd stay far away from a newer flooded car.  I know three guys that work full-time on restoring late-40's to early 70's cars and have worked as mechanics all of their lives.  They literally strip each car to the frame, inspect each part, refinish everything, and put it back together better than new.  A couple of their cars have been sold at Barrett-Jackson.  They bought seven brand-new Buicks that were flood damaged while on a train in WV.  They didn't get a single one running again.  They also never did completely get rid of the "basement smell" (for lack of a better term) despite ripping-out entire interiors.  The paint looked perfect on the car after they washed-off the mud, but before the end of the summer, the paint started peeling and required expensive paint prep before they could be repainted.  After watching those guys struggle, I'm never going to touch a new car that's flood damaged.z

Well, if it's been underwater for a couple weeks, I would expect a little rust to damage stuff.



I was thinking along the lines of a car (or motor in this case) that gets flooded and the water recedes within a couple days and is torn apart quickly thereafter.

If it's been underwater that long, I sure as hell wouldn't even think about salvaging stuff. Up here in IL, we know a thing or two about rust and it defeinitely does damage some stuff up pretty bad if they have some age on them.

WIZZO

Quoted: Titles will be branded.  Plus, flood damage does the most damage to elec. systems.  Might run great now, but in a couple months....a pain in your ass.

+1 from past experience