Water damaged vans?

[Konaexpress]

wasnt sure where to put this so.....

In another thread, Optimistic Paranoid warned about water damaged vehicles hitting the market. I didn't want to high jack the thread so I will ask here. Is it okay to buy a water damaged van if you know about it first? If so, what needs to be looked at and fixed?

John

 

[LeeRevell]

Rust is a major concern.  Depth of the water matters too.  If water gets into the motor or the tranny then you have a huge problem.  Differentials can get water into them too.  Been there, done that.  Electrical glitches will show up too.

 

[Mattkcc]

Not just no but hell no, I lost a van in a flood. The van was totaled by the insurance company because there is no way to repair it. These vehicles get sold to the public by fraudulent scam artist. I looked into buying it back for a cheap second vehicle but found out the issues will be never ending. Water will be trapped in areas you can't get to. The only thing a flood vehicle is good for is scrape. In a flood it's not just water you have to worry about, flood water will likely be full of sewage, chemicals and bacteria. Does that sound like something you would want to drive let alone sleep in. After the 93 flood we had scam artist selling flood vehicle and the people who bought them were screwed, they couldn't keep them running, never ending problems. To answer your question no don't ever buy a flood vehicle.

 

[highdesertranger]

with old simpler vehicles you could recover them from flood damage. but it's a lot of work. with newer computer control vehicles with all the electronic gizmos, don't even try you are just wasting your money. highdesertranger

 

[Rugster]

We stopped to look at a clean looking van once at a used car lot. It looked nice, sounded nice and then I noticed a small pine tree growing in the back area behind the back seat.....

 

[Lizzarro]

I can't think of a scenario where that'd be a good idea.

I mean if I was on truly hard times and it just fell into my lap, then yeah.

Otherwise thing is, in many circumstances, it's sometimes really hard to tell that a vehicle has experienced water damage. That's why you need to look in every odd nook and cranny because that's where you learn the most about a van.

Vans are, in general, cheap and plentiful enough that finding another van which is not flooded isn't a big deal. If it is, then you definitely, definitely don't need to be buying a flooded van.

 

[Wanderer]

wasnt sure where to put this so.....

In another thread, Optimistic Paranoid warned about water damaged vehicles hitting the market. I didn't want to high jack the thread so I will ask here. Is it okay to buy a water damaged van if you know about it first? If so, what needs to be looked at and fixed?

John

You just DON'T want to do that.....With todays electrical connections and the smallest amount of water can start a major failure of wiring and contacts...

Plus, the vehicle is "Salvage" and not even worth 25% of the price they want....

Have seen many with "Reconstructed title" and "Salvage" titles (Salvage ONLY gets liability insurance) I see them and R.....U......N!!!!!!!!!!