I have seen a seller of a car that is in excellent condition but has been flood damaged. Attempts have been made to turn the car over and it does try to start but fails to every time.

1. I assume that turning the car over makes the situation worse?
2. Should I purchase a car that has been flood damaged?
3. What is the worst case scenario in terms of repairs?

Should I invest and repair or run a mile?

Any advice warmly welcomed.

Thanks

 

if you are asking these basic questions then you don't have the mechanical ability to asses and repair the car yourself , so yes you should run away

 

Run, Forest, run!

 

That would be a difficult and expensive rebuild for even a skilled owner.

Being submerged in fresh water destroys much of the electronics on the car - being submerged in salt water is far, far worse. The usual engine, transmission, brake, trim, etc., etc., damage is on top of the electronics.

Walk away and don't look back...

 

Run a mile, and then keep running never look back!

I would Run Forest Run ����

From what I've seen of flood damaged cars, is the they can be nightmares. My friend was buying flood cars fixing them and reselling, and some were sold and never returned others were like boomerangs. As a matter of fact one was parked at the lot the night before the inspection, the morning of the inspection they opened the lot and noticed the car interior as full of smoke. During the evening a electrical fire began to smolder in the interior.

 

Don't forget pulling all the interior out to let it dry. Also drain and flush all fluids.

If you can easily get your money back in parts for what you paid to get the car and are up for the challenge. Sometimes you get lucky with flood cars sometimes you don't.

There is no guarantees it's a quick fix.

 

I'd ride a horse to work before I'd own a flood victim car let alone a S with flood damage..

 

flood damaged S class cars are always written off by the insurance companies

 

You don't want the headache, given how cheap these can be had in perfect running order. By now, quite a number of them have been in the hands of abusive owners, so shop carefully.

 

Too many potentially corroded electronics to deal with. Not worth the headaches.

 

I always look at flood damaged cars on copart auctions. You have to know what to look out for.

Do you know for sure how far the water level was up to? In many of the W220 S-Class models, the TCU which is the transmission controller sits on the foot level. Any water up to there, then your TCU is toast.

Did the water level reach up to the intake?If so, then your engine sucked up water. And if the water reached that high, it took all the electronics up to that level including, I assume, the entire harness that goes to the back end of the car with it.

If you don't know about how water can damage electrical components, look it up. Look up the long term effects of water damage on electric components. Mercedes heavily relies on many electrical components.

Unless you wanna be like this guy eventually and have some money to spare as a project to see if you can fully repair a flood damaged car, then run away...

 

Hi, if you pass on it please send me the information on the car/ seller in a private message. I have two spare W220s (collision damage) in my driveway for parts and would be interested in purchasing as I have the parts to try and fix.