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flooded in NO, computer, electric, radio? what is savable

1K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  bkrell 
#1 ·
Well to tell my story here is a link to a blog started by my favorite radio station.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2005/09/report_from_wwo.html


I never did get around to putting in the amp, just as well. My brother who is in wildlife and fisheries went by his house which was on higher ground where I thought my car would be safe....


well he went by in a boat and the good news is that only my Saab is not insured, house is covered, my family is safe, I have yet to hear of anyone conected to my friends and family that lost anything apart form possesions.

After a couple of days of foolish daydreams about somehow getting the car to run again I know that at best it is going to be a parts car. But then again since it was a manual at what height would water make it imposible to repair the car?

I will probable look for another 1999 Saab 93 if the car is worth towing here to East Texas.

chris connolly
 
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#2 ·
hmm, well actually a flooded car can be rebuilt, im not sure that youd want it, for instance youd have to deal with stained seating and such, but you could physically get the car to work. Replace all electrical and drain out the entire motor, it would "work" again, worth the time and money tho? in certain cases it has been like with cheaper cars and such.. with a saab.. i doubt it.
 
#3 ·
Hey Chris,

First off: glad to hear that family and friends are safe and sound. Stuff can be replaced, people can't.

Electrical systems can often be dried out if immersed in water for a short time, say a car in a canal recovered later that day. Happens all the time in South Florida, where I used to live, and where a couple of times a year, someone's granny mistakes the gas pedal for the brake and zooms across a parking lot and into an alligator-infested canal. The grannies usually get pulled to safety immediately, but the cars tend to sit for a bit.

But the prospects dim after a couple of days of standing water. Based on reports of what was in the water there, you'd need to replace the entire interior and all the sound proofing to get rid of any mold and residual moisture. Basically, you're talking about gutting the car down to a shell. The engine wiring harness is actually pretty easy to replace, but all the accessory and body electrical stuff would likely need to be restrung and refitted. If not, you'd probabloy have a lifetime of annoying electrical gremlins for as long as you owned the car.

You could actually probably replace the starter and alternator, and get the engine to run. The tranny is sealed, but would probably need to be inspected and possibly rebuilt. The longevity would always be suspect, and for safety's sake you'd probably want to replace all the sensors...

It's definitely best as a parts car.
 
#4 ·
yea i think you could sell off the majority of the parts here, ebay, or wherever, and maybe making a portion of te funds for a new one, cuase the money that you would have to spend to get it running would be alot compared to getting a new one.....Its good to hear that your alright, and that most of your stuff is covered
 
#5 ·
Glad to hear you only lost material items. At least they can be replaced (Probably little comfort right now).

On the subject of material items, I agree with the others. The sum of the parts will exceed the value of the whole car.

So your into one of two options -
Many hours drying and flushing through your car, of which you may not get rid of the smell of dirty water. And the possibility of future failure due to residual moisture. And think of the future resale value, if its known to have played at being a submarine for a while.

Or (I favour this one) -
Sell items on ebay and scrap the rest. And put the cash into an out of state new car.

All the best either way.
 
#6 ·
flooded, starter, computer, a/c ...

Thanks for all the well wishes,

It is an manual trans. and I am not sure how long it has been in the water. Once again my brother lives a few blocks from me and his house hardly got any water. But how long it was submerged, who knows..

I have heard about draining all the fluids perhaps changing the altenator and starter etc. but is is the electical that most worries me. Time will tell...

A '99 goes for pretty cheap on ebay and since there is so much ranch land where I have landed for the time being I should be able to find some on to store a parts cars for a while.

Like all sad news, it helps to come to reality a bit a time. When we are allowed back into the city and there is electricity I will park a dehumidifier in there for a few days drain all the fluids and give it a shot.

If it runs I would not have invested to much time or money and will have a great Saab story to tell. If it doesn't or start to starts to fail electically I will use it as a parts cars.

Perhaps I will call the car talk guys...
 
#7 ·
Hey, glad to hear your okay and glad to see someone else on here from Louisiana! I've had a bunch of Katrina stuff in the lounge. Anyway, if you want to hang out somewhere dry, come up here to SHreveport. Plus, it's a nice drive up I-49!

I agree w/ the others. It would be difficult but not impossible. Otherwise, you pretty much HAVE to sell it for parts. I saw a guy from Carfax on the news and he said they'd be working w/ Baton Rouge to make sure all those cars got water damaged titles.

I KNOW it can be done b/c I ALMOST bought a '95 Escort one time (the salesman was jerking me around on the used car I wanted and recommended the Escort next to it if I wanted a cheaper car). Well, the guy who bought it found 4 molded bricks of green gold in the trunk lining. Seems that the car was submereged as the result of illegal activities in Houston and that fact was undisclosed at the time of sale.

The owner never did replace the interior and wouldn't have had a clue it was submereged if he hadn't found that stash. My point in bringing this up is NOT to say dry it out and sell it, but to say that water damage CAN be recovered from. It's a shame this didn't happen earlier in the summer. If you were to let it bake outside a few weeks here I promise any moisture would come out.

But you can find used seats on eBay and internet parts suppliers will sell pretty much anything else you'd need.

Glad to hear you made it out okay!
 
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