Out of curiosity, I've been looking at salt water flooded vehicle on eBay from Hurricane Sandy... some of them are being sold as low water floods, thus upto the bottom of the seats and thereabouts.... and a lot of these still run, though some of the electronics are fried....

If it can be had for cheap, would it be worth it? Pull it apart, oil it up, replace any computers and wiring?

Risky gamble....only if its cheep,real cheep.

I would not risk it. Saw lots of salt water damaged things try to be salvaged after Hurricane Ike--very little success. You have to get the salt out of every crack, crevice, void, casting pore, suspension bushing bore and dimple, and with an automobile, that is all but impossible. It would have to be something I really really wanted and they'd have to give it to me.

I agree with Don. Not worth it unless it's worth a TON of money and they're giving it away. Even then, you'd need to have a LOT of time, money, talent and patience to get it back to road worthiness. To do it right, you'd need to replace all the wiring and electronics, disassemble all the body and suspension parts and sand/sandblast them all down to bare metal, replace all the carpet, upholstery, etc, replace the entire exhaust and maybe the motor/tranny. You'd basically need to rebuild the entire car from the ground up. Unless you're rich and bored, it's not worth it. If you bought it to flip, you'd need to tell prospective buyers that it was a flood vehicle. It's illegal (and immoral) if you don't.

a normal modern car has miles of wires and connections that will corrode
let alone body and mechanical rust

I have seen boat motors saved but only if quickly pickled after it is gotten out of the water
and most cars sat for days or weeks before anything was done to them
so no

There's a place around me that specializes in those types of cars, focusing on exotics and higher end stuff.

As was explained to me, much is salvageable. Their process is to replace any harness that was wet, and clean everything very carefully. They also do fire damage recovery of exotics. Obviously, they pick and choose carefully what they will buy, as some cars simply aren't worth the time.

I've seen the cars 'in process', and they really do a thorough job of it.

Interesting place. The local Mercedes dealer goes to them when they have electronics issues that can't be resolved through 'factory' methods - for instance, an ECM that needs a reflash or theft-recovery delete. Yeah, it can be done, but Mercedes WON'T do it, and they can and will.

quote Originally posted by dsnover: There's a place around me that specializes in those types of cars, focusing on exotics and higher end stuff. .

This kind of says something. They are saving high dollar cars, they are then reselling them.
If that is what you found and what you plan to do you have something in common with them, however you probably dont have their resources or equipment, or financial resources.
I wouldnt do it in most cases.

However something like a 69 GTO or Chevelle or something, maybe because the car is alot simpler, that and I would like to see the car saved.

What about a fresh water flood? Say, upto the bottom seat cushions....

Yep--especially the wires and connections--as RayB pointed out. Copper and even aluminum quickly turn to crap when exposed to salt water.
Now, I did watch, as my father re-conditioned a neighbor's old early 50's something Chevy that had slid down into the Houston ship channel while launching a boat, but 50's cars were very simple in nature as far as the electrical system goes. The smell of the upholstery and general interior tho, always had a nasty odor to it. This would have been about 1960-61, and of course, the metal used back in the 50s was better (thicker) steel. Ship channel was brackish too--salty at high tide, not so much at low tide when the fresher water from the river displaced the salt water from the gulf.

Another issue to consider - either if this is a vehicle you want to keep or attempt to sell - is flood damage cars with titles to reflect the damage work a lot like salvage titles. That is, it can be difficult to some places to actually insure the car properly. Some carriers will make you place the car separate from your normal policy or put particular stipulations on having it insured (i.e., you may end up paying more to insure it).

I'll echo the sentiments above - this has to be REALLY something you want to pursue. Flood damage vehicles are not all that sellers hype them up to be, despite very often being able to acquire the vehicles so cheaply and sell them for next to nothing. I personally would never purchase a flood damaged vehicle, regardless of the degree of flood damage.

Salt water = junk it. You never get all of salt out of wiring etc.
"Minor" Fresh water is very hard to fix.
Remember that "Fresh" and "Salt" water floods are often full of gas/oil, Sewage, etc. Treat Flood cars as HAZMAT items is a very good plan.

And Trying to dry, you often dealing Mold etc problem. Expect to Junk the interior... Seats, anything padded/foam filled, Insulation, etc.

If you want to play... Only deal when you can see the car. Owner often lie about flood cars.
"Minor" flood can cause big problem depending on model.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

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quote Originally posted by 1985FieroGT: Out of curiosity, I've been looking at salt water flooded vehicle on eBay from Hurricane Sandy... some of them are being sold as low water floods, thus upto the bottom of the seats and thereabouts.... and a lot of these still run, though some of the electronics are fried.... If it can be had for cheap, would it be worth it? Pull it apart, oil it up, replace any computers and wiring?

NO. Sorry didn't mean to yell. You can take a piece of s&!#, Paint it and it is still a Ford. Not intentionally trying to piss off Ford owners, just making a point.

[This message has been edited by Kekipi (edited 03-12-2013).]

quote Originally posted by dsnover: There's a place around me that specializes in those types of cars, focusing on exotics and higher end stuff. As was explained to me, much is salvageable. Their process is to replace any harness that was wet, and clean everything very carefully. They also do fire damage recovery of exotics. Obviously, they pick and choose carefully what they will buy, as some cars simply aren't worth the time. I've seen the cars 'in process', and they really do a thorough job of it. Interesting place. The local Mercedes dealer goes to them when they have electronics issues that can't be resolved through 'factory' methods - for instance, an ECM that needs a reflash or theft-recovery delete. Yeah, it can be done, but Mercedes WON'T do it, and they can and will.

If you find a $200k car, buy it for $20k and put $70k in to replacing stuff, it's well worth it. You can't do the same thing to a $30k car as you'd have most of that in replacing everything that SHOULD be replaced. Buy a $30k car for $10k and put $20k in it. Might as well have bought the car new and not hassled with it.

Back in the day, something like my 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme could easily be salvaged after having been dumped in the ocean.

I'd probably have to drain the lines, let the engine dry out, change the fluid, and maybe change the alternator... but for the most part, you could easily get it running again and it would be fine.

But today's cars have SOOOOO much critical electronic infrastructure in them, that it's really almost entirely impossible now.

They still make excellent parts bins though...

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Back in the day, something like my 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme could easily be salvaged after having been dumped in the ocean. I'd probably have to drain the lines, let the engine dry out, change the fluid, and maybe change the alternator... but for the most part, you could easily get it running again and it would be fine. But today's cars have SOOOOO much critical electronic infrastructure in them, that it's really almost entirely impossible now. They still make excellent parts bins though...

Yeah won't really hurt the engine or tranny, drain and new fluid should preserve the metal on the inside but the wiring will fail from the inside out. Once the copper turns green it has gained a whole lot of resistance.

I have personally got involved with two Sandy cars that had salt water damage. They slid under the radar of the insurance companies. The insurance was supposed to total them as a complete loss and have them crushed, but they wound up at auctions.
Now for the dirty.....the salt does some serious damage and the disturbing part is when you pull out the interior and find sewage under the carpet in the frame channels. Both cars had sewage in them. After cleaning that out (which you never really get it all out), I had to replace wiring harnesses and upwards of 30 modules in the one Mercedes. I think they guy bought the 2009 Mercedes for $3000 and paid me $18,000 to get it running.....and it still wasn't 100% and probably will always have its quirks. He will probably sell it because he somehow got a clean title. The other Mercedes I got involved with was a G500 which is an amazing vehicle and even though it was under water up to the seats, it drove in to my shop. It was from a beach house and stuck in the garage during the storm. We replaced most of the electrical stuff that was in the water, but it was out the door in a week with only a $5000 repair bill.
I only have experience with these two from Sandy, so I couldn't tell you about cars with less electrical systems.
Personally, I would never concider buying a flood car even if it were fresh water.
Dave

You might be better off going to a city vehicle auction (try contacting city hall for that information).

quote Originally posted by James Bond 007: You might be better off going to a city vehicle auction (try contacting city hall for that information).

Or local Police auctions.

My buddy got a sandy car. Its a 2010 audi S4 turbo. When he first got it a service steering column light would come on and stop it from running. He let it sit a few days and has been driving it for 2 weeks without any issues. The nav and everything works great. It does smell a little odd but not that bad. Once he reconditions the leather Im sure it will smell like leather again. He is selling it for 6500 bucks.

We get a lot of freshwater flooded cars around here. Older, pre computer cars arent a problem. Depending on how deep the water was, draining fluids from engine, brakes, trans, rear end and gas tank and refilling them is about all thats needed. Everything under the hood is exposed to lots of water when driven in the rain anyway. Ive know people who got them for bargains and after changing those, about all they had bad was batteries and stereos. Ive had some myself where water filled up the lights and corroded the sockets. Some I just spray down with WD40, others I just put in new sockets. Newer cars have a lot of computers and sensors that prob end up bad when theyre shorted out. I bought a 55 Ford convertible that was flooded up to its roof for several days for $200. I changed the fluids and drove it for 2 years. I just hosed down the seats and carpet, jacked one side way up so water could drain over the sills, opened the top a ways, and left the doors and windows all open in the back yard for a week to let everything dry out.

quote Originally posted by theogre: Salt water = junk it. You never get all of salt out of wiring etc. "Minor" Fresh water is very hard to fix.

quote Originally posted by bmwguru: Personally, I would never concider buying a flood car even if it were fresh water.

X3. Another consideration that I don't think anyone has mentioned is time. Hurricane Sandy occurred 5 months ago. Any "flood car" you buy today will have already been sitting for 5 months, during which time it will have incurred substantial damage, some of it irreversible, due to corrosion and contamination.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 03-14-2013).]

The other consideration to look at is mold. One flood car I turned away had mold under all the carpets and inside the seats. The only sign of it was in the corner of the headliner.