Looking at a car: What are signs of flood damage?

Birdie2000

Birdie2000

Club Member
Found a car I'm very interested in out of New Jersey. I'm actually going to be there this week for work and am going to try to make it out there to look at it in person. It's low mileage, 1 owner, still has factory warranty left on it, and supposedly the carfax is clean although I haven't been able to verify yet. Price is good compared to some that are local, but not sure if it's in the "too good to be true" range.

So, NJ has had flooding lately and that's really my only concern as to what could be wrong with this thing. Is there anything I can look for that would be evidence it was flooded?
 
Pull the spare tire out and look for dirt/debris/moisture. Thats an area thats commonly overlooked. Look for mud in framerail holes etc.
 
pic_floodfiredamage_03.jpg


You will need to pull back some carpet and trim as well. If they did a great job cleaning it, you might have a really hard time finding traces of it. Check the engine bay too. If its been power washed you will have to check other places. Look on top of the trans housing for debris. Be careful. That flood water is nasty stuff. When I was at Benz, we would have tons of ppl come in trading a car with one from the south... most had flood damage.
 
Look under the I/P and see if there's any water marks on the plastic or excessive rust on metal components
 
be very very very careful.

Google the vin number to see if it was sold at auction and there is any history.

A flood vehicle can either be the best or worst purchase you can make.

If it was salt water, walk away 100% and don't even think twice about it.

If it was fresh water and not too high it can be a very good vehicle.

Keep in mind that any fuse block, electrical computer, or electrical motor will need to be replaced if it got wet.
 
Use your nose. If it smells bad or too good, ask why. Bring a female, they are good at detecting odors.
 
There is a shop up here in Lansing that always brings some of their nicer Audi and Benzs out to the local car meets, a couple years ago when NJ got slammed hard they came out shortly after with a white RS7 that was immaculate. upon closer look i noticed that in the back of the front strut towers was full of sand, tons of it. everything else in the bay was spotless and all shined up with dressing. I assumed right away that it had been flooded at some time. Might keep an eye out for sand in weird places that water doesn't usual get to.
 
chunkybs said:
front strut towers was full of sand, tons of it. I assumed right away that it had been flooded at some time. Might keep an eye out for sand in weird places that water doesn't usual get to.
Click to expand...

Nah, that's just an option the Audi dealer offers with every purchase.
 
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