Buying a cheap, flood-damaged car might seem appealing since it might not have any visual damage, but the host of issues it could be hiding might cause serious problems. There are also shady sellers who might try to pass off a flood-damaged car as a perfectly good vehicle. Here, we'll tell you how to avoid buying a flood-damaged car, as well as some telltale signs to look for.
What happens to a car in a flood?
It may seem obvious, but when a car spends time underwater, a number of really bad things happen. First, the carpets and seats absorb water, which can be very difficult to fully displace. If the car isn’t fully dried out properly, it can lead to mold growth, and some mold, like black mold, is extremely dangerous. In addition to absorbing water, there are plenty of small nooks and crannies for water to collect and pool in, and again, if these aren't properly dried, the issue will lead to increased humidity in the vehicle and more mold growth.
The odds are good that if your car is caught in a flood, you wouldn't have had time to disconnect its battery beforehand, which means that water can get into the many electrical connections and modules inside the car and cause short circuits, which can lead to a seemingly never-ending parade of electrical gremlins that are time-consuming and expensive to track down. If your car was flooded with saltwater, it's even worse since that will likely cause widespread corrosion throughout the vehicle's wiring loom and control modules.
Other issues, like water getting inside the engine or fuel system, are serious but more easily rectified in all but the most extreme cases, provided someone doesn’t try to start the flooded engine.