So with this whole Houston flood situation there's now a shitload of cars with flood damage...

So with this whole Houston flood situation there's now a shitload of cars with flood damage. In a few months they're going to end up at auctions and then on the used market as clean, lady-driven, low-mileage NO ACCIDENT vehicles :^) The question is: how do you know a car has been flooded in the past?

theyre going to end up in the southeast

show me the carfax?

Look under the carpet or feel under it up under the dash, there will most likely be silt in the insulation. Most people who "restore" flood cars don't pull the carpets to clean under them.

Is it even worth it to restore a flood damaged car?

To quickly flip and sell? Maybe.

Long term daily? No. Especially not if it was in the Houston flood. You're guaranteed a fully swamped car. With other flood cars, the damage could be less.

Long term is where flood cars fuck you. Corroded connections and an electrical nightmare.

I wonder how many nice cars have been ruined.

Depends, if the flood was due to a storm surge, then the salt water will have absolutely ruined the metal and electronics to their core.
If the flood was due to heavy rain, it may be fine as long as no one tried to crank it. Then it's just a matter of getting all the water and dirt out.
So, since Houston flooding was due to rain, those cars should be worth restoring assuming no one tried to turn it on.

Plenty of cars for the parts market.

VIN check, if it was from hueston and sold shortly after the flood then its likely a flood car

i know, all those poor houston cars

fish inside the cabin is a fairly good indicator of it being a flood car

Wouldn't they make perfect track cars?

>Rip everything out
>New ECU, wiring loom etc anyways assuming you're doing an engine swap

Curious about it as well. The Poors mostly live in the flood plains, but Houston has a strange mix of million dollar neighborhoods right next to crack houses separated only by a street.

>what is highland village
>what is river oaks
t.user living in Houston

>Houston kids drive all the way to dallas to destroy me with their tuned up cars on wangan midnight last month
looks like they got what they deserved.

>all those shitty 1320 drag cars ruined

figured these screenshots are perfect for this thread

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Why is it that faggots who sell a car with flood damage but sell it as OK do not get into legal trouble for actually doing a fraud here?

I mean you can even prove the car is waterdamaged and he's trying to sell it as mint.
If that isn't fraud then I don't know what is.

Most states do not require you to disclose problems with a car. If you take a bill of sale that says "as is" then tough shit.

>rust inside the gap between 2 panels spot welded together
>i.e. structural rust you can't diagnose until something breaks

poor people buy them from shitty one lot dealers/craigslist/ebay and don't have the money/time for legal fees/court cases or don't know they can sue or are (possibly correctly) cynical about the legal system's ability to actually regain their lost money and time.

In a flooded car, if the battery was disconnected, the electronics should be pretty much fine, right?

all the wires that are in spots that water shouldnt be will get wet in severe flooding which will cause corrosion

never buy flood damaged cars, literally not worth the hassle you WILL go through

Do a VIN lookup. If it was in the Houston area around this time, pass on it. Don't even take a chance.

stay dry houston man