flood damage to cars - how bad can it be?

gussieg

excuse the ignorance, but could flood damaged cars be up for sale, look ok and then fall apart from rust or is this an unnecessary worry?

Stheno

Flood damage meant my OH had to replace the engine in one of his cars a few years ago

colm_mcm

Water plays havoc with electrics as well.

Avoid.

bazz26

Would not touch a swimmer with a barge pole - cosmetically they can be cleaned up and problems hidden but electrical problems, corroded wires & circuit boards, rust, etc. would eventually rare their ugly heads.

No pun intended but you might as well flush your money down the drain.

gussieg

so how would you know if the car had been in floods? any telltale signs?

RustDaz

I drove through a flood last year and the ECU got damaged. Eventually the immobilizer just locked up. A new ECU kit costs 450 new, but i was very lucky to a find a second hand kit for 100.

bazz26

If it is a UK car and was written off because of flood damage then it should be recorded by the insurance company and a history check should reveal it.

Physical checks may include rust in odd or unusual places that are not exposed to the elements, stained/smelly carpet trim that is not that easy to replace, etc..

RustDaz

gussieg wrote: »

so how would you know if the car had been in floods? any telltale signs?

I had warning lights come on now and again in the dash. The engine would start missing the odd time. It got progressively more difficult to start the engine and near impossible when the engine was hot.

Mech1

Get out of that car as quickly as you would if it was flooding!!!