Used car bargain may be all wet

Waterbury Republican-American ^ | September 17, 2005 | James Prichard (A.P.)

[Graybeard58]

A frog in the glove-box can also be considered a major clue :^)

I'd be more concerned about water moccasins under the seat.

[Sender]

Seriously, a car that's been underwater for days will never be the same again. Mostly it's all those electrical connections and sensors. Even if you manage to clean it up and get that fishy smell out, things will just stop working at times, from windows and door locks to the engine. It is possible to WD-40 every single connector and plug, but even then you will have strange problems. And that fishy smell always comes back in the summer.

[1FASTGLOCK45]

Graybeard58 wrote:"
A lot of Corinthian cows will pay for this disaster with their lives. We'd better alert PETA."

--I wonder how they take the flood smell/stains out of the leather seats?

[LibWhacker]

But some unscrupulous dealers and wholesalers buy flood-damaged cars at scrap prices, clean them up, retitle them and resell them.

But not all flooded vehicles go that route. Plenty of individual operators will be fixing up these cars and selling them on the side, side-stepping the insurance companies, Car Fax, etc.

I always laugh when "they" tell you to have a mechanic check out a car before you buy it. Whatta they think, we're gonna convince a seller to let us have the car for a day or two and pay a mechanic $120/hr (or whatever the heck it is nowadays) to pour over every car we're thinking about buying? No thanks.

Personally, in the future I think I'll just avoid all used cars up through model year 2005.

[investigateworld]

I would never touch one. The vehicle computer which controls everything can run $1300 in a common type domestic vehicles, more in an import.
The sheet metal would work for repairing other cars, okay...but that ain't my biz.

[rockrr]

"--I wonder how they take the flood smell/stains out of the leather seats?"

Usually they gut them and replace the interior with junkyard parts.

Years ago I had a friend who came across a "great deal". A Z-28 Camaro who's owner died in the car. My buddy completely gutted the interior - every piece of upholstery and fabric that might hold the lingering oder of death, and replaced it all - to no avail.

On warm days the car reeked. There was nothing he could do about it and ultimately had to part the car out, because he couldn't find a buyer.

[StuLongIsland]

The tv show on Discovery Channel, Myth Busters showed how you just can't recover a car when a person dies in it. They put meat (whole pig) in a fancy late model car and had the experts try to recover. No one could, hazmat suits had to be warn to dispose of the car.

[Brainhose]

I realize you were quoting someone else.
I though I had made that apparent in my post.
I'm sorry you misunderstood. Following is your original post:

"The steel mines could almost be closed down for several months"
Steel mines?
End of your post.

I thought I was merely agreeing with you that there is no such thing as a steel mine.
I guess I'll just throw myself on my sword.
I apologize again for offending you so much. I hope that you can find it in your heart to possibly think of entertaining the thought of possibly considering the possibilrty of taking into consideration this heart-felt apology.

[Graybeard58]

maybe

[goldstategop]

That's why one should run a Carfax check on any used car prior to purchase to check the title. Extended Warranty companies will not warranty a car with a rebuilt or laundered title. I would never buy a rebuilt car - why risk your kids' life? And it goes without saying to have an independent mechanic check the car for any expensive problems - these are the ones that typically show up after a purchase of a used car. A used car can be an excellent value for those who do their homework - don't count on the salesman doing it for you.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[yarddog]

My Daughter and her husband bought a car which had been flooded and restored. Now they were told up front that it had been restored.

I told them it was probably a bad buy but they had both just graduated from college and were starting out without much money. They bought it, and to my surprise, it never gave them any trouble. Apparantly it can be done if done correctly.

[Graybeard58]

After careful consideration, I being the magnanimous and gracious fellow that I am and in the interest of comity, have decided to accept what you said and do so without delving into any underlying or sinister motives on your part.

I did check your resume and references but I don't call that "delving", just being careful, as are most self respecting members of this forum.

I'm off to an arts and crafts fair now with my wife. I asked her if I could just take a beatin' instead but she says she wants my opinion on myriads of items and "works of art".

If you were only here, I could explain to her the utter necessity of we two scholars retiring to the local bistro to solve the worlds problems and more mundane issues as well, if we only had the time.

[Rakkasan1]

Ebay shyster ping

[RichardW]

Anytime one buys a used car you are taking a chance. I've bought my share over the years and even if they are checked by a "mechanic" and are not flood damaged they can still have significant problems. That's why I buy them new.

There are going to be a whole bunch of pissed off used car buyers in the future from these flood cars. They'll even have a "60 minutes" piece for sure.

[toddlintown]

Everytime a section of the country floods, we get this "warning" from the press. Lazy reporters, dusting off an old story.

[N. Theknow]

Ho-hum.

Bush's Fault.

[KneelBeforeZod]

carfax had a free trial a few months back. a bunch of people on another forum who had cars that had been in a major wreck put there cars in and they came up clean.

they can't know everything, but I guess its better than nothing

[ozzymandus]

There will be a boatload of flood cars on sale all over the country. Many years ago, a friend of mine got a "real deal" on a 74 Caprice, only to find it smelled like rotten fish whenever it rained.

[RipSawyer]

Are Naugas only useful for the hyde or is the meat tasty?

[mwyounce]

The tv show on Discovery Channel, Myth Busters showed how you just can't recover a car when a person dies in it. They put meat (whole pig) in a fancy late model car and had the experts try to recover. No one could, hazmat suits had to be warn to dispose of the car.

Ahh... but in the end, they were able to sell the car (for parts).... so the myth of a "car too smelly to sell" was busted.