Car Flood Damage Repair: How to Repair A Flood-damaged Car?     

Water damage is one of the worst damages that could get to your vehicle, and when a car is flood-damaged, it will be very challenging to get it repaired. Several customers reach out to us in wondering how to repair a flood-damaged car?

⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️

This article provides you with guidance about whether your flood-damaged vehicle is repairable and, if it is, how to get it repaired.

We also provide you with recommendations on what best to do if your vehicle got flood-damaged and it's beyond repairs.   

What is a flood-damaged car? 

When your vehicle gets into a flood for some reason, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a flood-damaged vehicle. This depends heavily on the severity of the damage and where the water got.

To be more precise, we can refer to The Insurance Information Institute definition of a flood-damaged vehicle, which says: “flood vehicle has been completely or partially submerged in water to the extent that its body, engine, transmission or other mechanical parts have been damaged.”

Unfortunately, when water gets into major components in your vehicle, like the engine or the electrical system, your vehicle might be beyond repairs.

Are flood-damaged cars repairable? 

There is a big difference between whether the flood-damaged vehicle is repairable or it's worth repair. 

There is a very high chance that your flood-damaged vehicle is repairable, even if the damages are severe. However, most insurance companies don't think it makes sense to spend the time and effort fixing this vehicle because repair costs exceed 75% or more from the actual value of your vehicle. 

Several factors are determining whether your vehicle is repairable, assuming that you would like to proceed with repairs: 

• Did water get to the engine 

Your engine is the major component of your vehicle, and if water gets got to the engine, it's most likely that the engine got damaged. Unfortunately, by just looking at the engine, you can't tell whether the flood got to the engine for sure unless you have a professional mechanic inspect the vehicle and tell you.

The professional mechanic will take apart the engine and look at the different components to tell you exactly where the water got. 

If you know that you tried driving the vehicle in a flooded area or a large puddle, the engine most likely affected the water. 

• How about the electric system? 

When your vehicle got flooded, it's never recommended that you turn it on. You must consult a towing service or a professional mechanic to come to pick up the vehicle; otherwise, you can make significant damages to the electrical system, and you can risk getting yourself shocked by the electrical current,

If the professional mechanic found that the electrical system turns on, this doesn't mean that the system is properly working because he must do a thorough inspection for every single electrical component in the vehicle. While severe floods damaged the entire electrical system, less intense floods can damage a couple of components, not all. 

• What about saltwater 

When your vehicle gets submerged in saltwater, it's most likely that it's beyond repairs; this is because saltwater leaves deposits causing severe damages, especially after drying your vehicle,

Thus, if there is a percent chance that your vehicle is repairable from flood, the saltwater flood doesn't have any chance. 

How to repair a flood-damaged car? 

Let's be clear about this. You should not do flood damage repairs, and a professional mechanic must complete it.

It's not a simple task, and any attempt to fix a small component might result in damaging major components in your vehicle.

However, you can do a lot of things to assess the situation of your vehicle and help reduce the severity of flood damage. These things are only recommended when the vehicle was slightly soaked by water: 

1. Using your vehicle's oil dipstick, check whether the oil got water contaminated.
2. Open the drain plug in your oil reservoir and let water flow outside the vehicle
3. Take the spark plugs out
4. Remove the oil filter and install a new one
5. Try cranking the engine without plugs. This way, you're just spraying any water out of it
6. Using a little oil spray in cylinders, try cranking the engine to kick out any water. 
7. Once the vehicle is completely dried, you can replace the spark plug in try starting the engine
8. If you're lucky and the engine started, have it running for a couple of minutes, then turn it off; using the dipstick again, test whether your oil is contaminated with water.
9. Look at the vehicle's oil and see if it looks Milky. If that's the case, there is still water contamination, and therefore, you need to change the oil and oil filter.
10. Keep in mind that if flood water got into the fuel tank, you must drain it out before attempting to crank the engine; otherwise, you might be causing a lot of trouble to the engine because this water will be pumped to the cylinders. 

On the other hand, if your vehicle got completely submerged in water, it's not worth your time getting it repaired and attempting to save it. 

What to do if my flood-damaged car is beyond repairs? 

Whether your flood-damaged vehicle is beyond repairs or repair costs will be more than 75% of your vehicle's value, you must not attempt to save it.

Automotive experts recommend that's you sell your flood-damaged vehicle as junk instead of wasting your time and effort.

For example, our company is one of the top-rated junk car removal companies in the nation.

We provide free towing for all customers despite their living location in any city in the United States.

We don't mind purchasing flood-damaged vehicles because we see value in every car, and we will evaluate your vehicles offer based on its type and condition certainly paragraph if you're interested in selling your car to Cash Cars Buyer, here's what you have to do:  

• Provide your vehicle's details 

To kick off the process, we will need some information about your car's type and condition.

You could either use our online system where you could click on our home page, and select get an instant offer, or you can give us a phone call and provide the information verbally.

We will ask you about your vehicle type, including its make, model, and year.

We will then ask about the vehicle's overall condition beyond the fact that the flood damages it. For example, we will ask you specific questions about whether your vehicle has the title or not. It also helps to get information about your vehicle status before the flood damage and the severity of your vehicle's flood. 

This doesn't mean that we will not buy your car; this information will only be used to evaluate your vehicle and provide you with a valid offer that represents your vehicle's actual condition. 

• Get your instant offer and accept it 

After we receive the information, we will evaluate your vehicle compared to all recent transactions in your city.

At this step, we use the most advanced technology that allows us to do this evaluation quickly and within a couple of seconds. Thus, there is no waiting time, and we will never say that we will give you a callback.

The offers represent the actual value of your car, and we guarantee it's the maximum number your vehicle could get around your city,

• Get your cash payment after removing your vehicle 

Assuming that you were happy with the offer and decided to move forward, we will coordinate with you and have one of our local car removal specialists come to your house or office and remove your vehicle.

The good thing about our company is that we provide free towing for all customers and we don't surprise you with hidden fees at the pickup time,

Also, we never change our offers when we meet you and whatever we agreed on in the first step is the same cash you will receive at the pickup time,

When our local car removal specialist comes to you, he will perform a quick inspection to ensure that the vehicle matches the information we have in our system.

He will then ask you to remove any personal belongings before towing your vehicle away from your eyes safely and quickly.

At this point, he will also hand you the cash payment immediately at the spot. 

Remember, if you don't have a title for your car, we will ask you to show some paperwork to prove ownership, like your photo ID and valid car registration. 

Conclusion

Flood damage usually results in severe complicated problems in your vehicle, and most of the time, it is beyond repairs.

Even if your vehicle is repairable, it might not be worth the time and effort fixing major problems resulting from the flood,

It's very important to evaluate your situation, and if your vehicle is not worth the repairs, it's recommended that you submit it as junk to reduce the hassle.