A flood has come through your neighborhood and now you are left with flood damage - a flood-damaged house, household items, clothing, and of course, your car. Since the car is an outside item, it usually gets the bulk of the flood damage. Before you get completely devastated and allow garbage collectors to pull it out of your garage, consider other options first.
There are many things to do with a vehicle that went through flood damage, but depending on your situation, some are better than others.
The first thing to do is to see if flood damage is covered in your insurance policy in either the automotive section or the personal property. In places where floods take over a large area, sometimes the insurance assessors will blanket all of the vehicles in the area as "totaled". When there are many cars, such as in Hurricane Katrina, this is a lot easier than going out to each individual car. If you are granted compensation for the loss, then you are done. Go ahead and buy a new car.
However, if you are not fortunate to be granted a write off for flood damage, then there are other options for that extra piece of machinery sitting outside. One of these is to fix the damages yourself. Handy people may choose to fix the damages themselves if repairs are minor or they feel equipped to do the task.
Another way to get it fixed is to take it to a qualified mechanic. This can be very costly, especially when the flood-damaged vehicle needs a lot of work to be done but worth every cent if you have an irreplaceable classic car or one with sentimental value. Usually, the damage extends to mechanical parts and the interior. Additionally, any surface that is soft and porous can hold water and grow molds which can lead to health problems. If it is difficult to get the car back after the flood, such as those that have been displaced from homes, rust must have set in and chances are, it will be much harder to fix.
Another option is to take the car to a salvage yard. Yards usually take in damaged vehicles. It may not pay much, but it's definitely better than let the car rust in your garage because of flood damage. The salvage yard can take the usable parts or sell them as is. Notably, there are people that buy water-damaged vehicles because they are immensely cheap and some cars aren't as damaged as they seem.
You can sell the flood-damaged car on your own too, to make more money. Make sure that you state to the buyer that the car has been damaged by flood to avoid any argument later on. This transaction is quite complex and not recommended for cars that are still bank-owned and with pending amortizations.
Good news is that flood-damaged cars are a lot cheaper to replace than severely damaged houses. If you live in a flood prone area, the best move is to get an insurance coverage against flood.
Many times these card are sold through salvage auctions, taken to far off locations, and cleaned up for re-sale. It is not often the case that these cars that are being re-sold are identified as having been flooded before.
There are a lot of things you should know about water damaged vehicles. Any vehicle that has sustained water damaged is susceptible to mold growth in the vehicles interior, especially if the vehicle was allowed to sit untreated in warm temperatures and dry naturally.
If the doors to the car or truck have been left shut and its been let to try naturally, the musty odor inside will be very prevalent and you will not have to have any kind of training to detect it.
Some dishonest car dealers (or private owners trying to get rid of the car) will try to mask the smell of the water damage with all manner of air fresheners and if you smell anything pleasant while looking inside a car that obviously is not brand new, you should probably walk away because they are hiding something.
Look for any kind of rust in the interior of the car and the trunk, especially near the taillights and check the carpeting for signs of damage.
Carpet that has soaked up water and has not been properly treated will most likely stink, especially if it has been submerged in the sewer water thats often brought to the surface by flooding.
You might think that if the water dries out, the engine of the vehicle will be just fine, but this probably is not the case if it has not been restored by a professional. Sewage, sand, and other debris could have seeped into it and cause misfirings and blown gaskets.
Water damaged vehicles can also suffer electrical problems, especially in newer models where most things are monitored electrically like timing on headlights, the radio, when the oil needs to be changed, and all the way down to how many miles are on the car.
Unless the carpet and its padding were removed and the interior cleaned by a professional and the car was submerged in sewer water, high levels of bacteria and mold are very possible, too.
Paying for a vehicle history from Carfax.com could be beneficial if you get the cars VIN, but please be aware that the car will only show up as having been flood damaged if an insurance agent has looked at the car and it was recorded.
If the vehicle history report does not show it was flooded, but it appears to be water damaged, back away. You are likely to find a better deal somewhere else
Both Barney Ruch & Jim Corkern are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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