Flood Damaged Cars

[wandrinstar]

Have the Makers of the New Cars we saw underwater made a clear statement of what will happen to them . Will they be Re Built or what . ?...We have a right to know , dont we.

[katabeachbum]

depends on the maker I guess

the lowest point in Chryslers history must have been when one year old K cars, used as rentals, where reconditioned, odo set to zero and sold as new cars. 30 years ago?

a friend bought a TH chev colorado in 2006, brand new, took off from dealer, odo displayed 30km or so but not working, went back, and they said oh we forgot to connect odo after we drove it here from Krabi..............

Honda and Toyota will not be allowed by their japs mums to sell these VIN code cars in TH, but possibly in a market they have no brand name, 2 decades that would be on the african continent, but cant say today

I ordered a proton Savvy a month ago. white highline, asap delivery sure. been told cant ship due to bkk floods. for 30 days. now they say only have black and silver. wondered what happend to the white ones? will demand my 5k baht refunded tomorrow

I would be very careful buying a grey import the next half year, if manufactored before floodings

[wandrinstar]

Thats good to know, i didnt fancy a Soggy City later on , or a Moist Mitsu . As for the Proton ive yet to meet a dissapointed owner , jolly little ride they recon. As for G.M. ive no time for their Sparing with the Truth attitude , over the Korean Crap they flog off as a Chevy. Lotus have done a fair bit on Proton handling , i tried the big one but the traffic was awful , for the money its on par with most id say. Why don't they put a Lotus Badge on it, play G.M. at their own game. .I Would..

[undercover]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

[MoonRiverOasis]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Wow!

Buyer beware.

[caphant]

I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Not remotely suprised, reading your post it felt as if i was there, anyone whos lived in thailand has heard these assurances many a time. Im suprised they didnt try to coverup the reality but i guess he was confident his assurances would allieviate any concerns. Thats pretty shameful though selling soaked stock.

[MJCM]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Wow!

Buyer beware.

Maybe worth a post by KTB or MRO or other "Oil Slickers" to tell the not so Car savy among us how to tell if a Engine / Car was flooded

And please do not start with Wet Seats and Bad Smell

Edited November 17, 2011 by MJCM

[connda]

I wouldn't buy a new or used car or truck in Thailand until I'm sure the inventory has been rolled. Once a vehicle is water damaged, it's good as scape metal -- unless you enjoy taking your vehicle to the shop all of the time. Your chances of picking up a water damaged used vehicle is probably better than 50-50 now, and new cars and trucks -- I just don't trust car dealers.

Edited November 17, 2011 by connda

[caphant]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Wow!

Buyer beware.

how to tell if a Engine / Car was flooded

And please do not start with Wet Seats and Bad Smell

Yes the bad smell is a good indicator, goes under the "take a sniff" criteria"

here is a more comprehensive list of tips, looks like new car buyers should be on alert!

http://trucks.about.com/od/autobuying/tp/flooded_cars.htm

[MJCM]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Wow!

Buyer beware.

how to tell if a Engine / Car was flooded

And please do not start with Wet Seats and Bad Smell

Yes the bad smell is a good indicator, goes under the "take a sniff" criteria"

here is a more comprehensive list of tips, looks like new car buyers should be on alert!

http://trucks.about....looded_cars.htm

Thanks for that :jap:

I especially like Nr 6 (Let Your Technician Examine the Vehicle)

It's about the same as in Windows 7 where it states "Ask a Friend"

[wandrinstar]

All Valid Points. I will add if my Wife's Old Mom n Pop,had seen the Nissan Mr Undercover mentioned and it was the right Colour and Price, they would have bought it , as would any trusting Old Person. Im sure Nissan Management would love to Vist the Dealer in question. That aint funny at all.

[MoonRiverOasis]

I'm the "new car" guy, so others will have better input than me

That said, I think there's some pretty easy tell-tale signs to look out for.. Flood water is putrid, so always leaves behind dirt/grime as it dries.

The first thing I'd do is look at the inside of the wheels - i.e. the back-side of the wheel dish where 99.99% of car detailers will never clean as it requires the wheels to come off. This might even be able to tell you just how deep the water was

Next I'd be popping the hood open, and looking in all of the "hard to clean" areas, such as: the plenum chamber (where the air enters the HVAC system at the base of the windscreen), in all right-angled corners in the engine bay, between the radiator support and the front bumper, underneath the back of the headlights, and lower-down areas like the underside protectiion panel - all of these will collect dirt from flood water, all should be absolutely pristine on a new car, and most of them are incredibly difficult to clean thoroughly without stripping the car down..

If you see any signs of dirt in a new, locally produced car, in any of these areas, it should set off the alarm bells...

Edited November 17, 2011 by MoonRiverOasis

[malcoml]

I pretty sure they will clean the cars out, replace a whole load of stuff and then sell them as new.

I worked int he auto glass industrya nd there were some real idiots working in this industry.

Often I went to panel shops to remove glass from cars that had been damaged in transit. Panels would be repainted, I would put the glass abck in and the car would be sold new.

The problem was if fittig the glass was not done properly and certain primas were not used then the car would rust under the glass.

[katabeachbum]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Wow!

Buyer beware.

yeah, there is always a risk of dealer inventory cars beeing flood damaged

[katabeachbum]

I'm the "new car" guy, so others will have better input than me

That said, I think there's some pretty easy tell-tale signs to look out for.. Flood water is putrid, so always leaves behind dirt/grime as it dries.

The first thing I'd do is look at the inside of the wheels - i.e. the back-side of the wheel dish where 99.99% of car detailers will never clean as it requires the wheels to come off. This might even be able to tell you just how deep the water was

Next I'd be popping the hood open, and looking in all of the "hard to clean" areas, such as: the plenum chamber (where the air enters the HVAC system at the base of the windscreen), in all right-angled corners in the engine bay, between the radiator support and the front bumper, underneath the back of the headlights, and lower-down areas like the underside protectiion panel - all of these will collect dirt from flood water, all should be absolutely pristine on a new car, and most of them are incredibly difficult to clean thoroughly without stripping the car down..

If you see any signs of dirt in a new, locally produced car, in any of these areas, it should set off the alarm bells...

and in addition

trunk, most cars have a water run off in bottom of sparewheel compartment, if water can escape, water can come in. Lift carpet, check tool kit and the general condition of trunk, back side of tail lights

remove gaskets and plastic covers at door sills lower part. any sign of sand/dirt, its been flooded

stored cars with ac set to recycling will float longer than cars with ac set to fresh air

[undercover]

I pretty sure they will clean the cars out, replace a whole load of stuff and then sell them as new.

I worked int he auto glass industrya nd there were some real idiots working in this industry.

Often I went to panel shops to remove glass from cars that had been damaged in transit. Panels would be repainted, I would put the glass abck in and the car would be sold new.

The problem was if fittig the glass was not done properly and certain primas were not used then the car would rust under the glass.

...........................

I would just like to add this.... reading what malcoml has said about ( they will clean the cars out, replace a whole load of stuff ) That is exactly what I feel they had done to that March. the carpets did not smell neither did the seats but many of the parts just did not seem right for a brand new car, the general look of the underneath and engine compartment suggested a car that had been submerged in dirty water, even my Thai wife said to me this car does not look new ?

I think anyone who is in the market for a new car at this time must be very careful

[wandrinstar]

One would think if they have no intention of Selling A Soggy , they could issue the Serial Numbers of all those we saw on the News . No Joke being done over . Its put me right off. No Spokesman reassuring us we have no fears, just bleating their hard luck tales. .

[undercover]

One would think if they have no intention of Selling A Soggy , they could issue the Serial Numbers of all those we saw on the News . No Joke being done over . Its put me right off. No Spokesman reassuring us we have no fears, just bleating their hard luck tales. .

Yes. I think even if there are no signs of the car ever being a soggy at the time of purchase a couple of years down the road and things will start to show. things you can not see like window mechanisms inside the doors ect ect.

[WarpSpeed]

I went along to the Nissan dealer on highway 36 just after Makro the other day to take a look at a new Nissan March as the dealer in Pattaya has nothing in stock.

To my shock when the bonnet was opened it was clear to see it had been in water, all the aluminium fittings, aircon pipes, engine brackets, and electrical brackets were stained and turning powdery leaving the tell tale white deposit on your hand if you rub it. I said to the sales man this car has been in water ! he just smiled and said ... we clean for you. I showed him the nuts on top of the front suspension struts as they were particularly bad and his reply was if you buy the car we will change the nuts for you.

On moving inside the car I noticed tissue paper stuffed into the 4 corners of the wind screen ? when asked ... what's this ? the reply as expected after his previous answers was don't worry we take out.

As this was only 4 days ago anybody reading this and thinking this is a joke just go down there and look for yourself.

This may well be an extream example of trying to sell a water damaged car but I'm sure its not the only place their trying to do it.

Wow!

Buyer beware.

Maybe worth a post by KTB or MRO or other "Oil Slickers" to tell the not so Car savy among us how to tell if a Engine / Car was flooded

And please do not start with Wet Seats and Bad Smell

Undercover was pretty comprehensive and accurate, having now been directly in the path of the floods and running for a couple of weeks, I can tell you personally it will not be difficult as the stains left behind will be tell tale and hard to overlook. The water has a nasty brown tannin look to it and finds every crevice available and not possible to remove thoroughly so just look carefully it's there somewhere and I don't think it will be that hard to find even for the layman.. Check the spare tire well though too there WILL be rust and potential dampness there if it's been under water..

[Kwasaki]

Ex-flooded cars etc are going to be everywhere bought up really cheap and sold as new for sure.

Friends were talking about it the other day and I said if it was necessary for me to buy a new car now the only way for me would be to start from the beginning of the assembly line with a nice shinny chassis and walk along with it as it was built on the factory floor until it was completely finished.

That way it would also enable me to check for water damaged parts as they were fitted the water damaged stuff that's going to be around won't just be limited to car only, I bet you there were plenty of parts swimming around as well.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Kwasaki

[culicine]

Well there's flooded and then there's really flooded. Last March I got caught by a flood at Muang Thing Thani - surprisingly one of the few places dry during the current flood. The carpet got soaked. I guess the water was 30-40 cm. 2000 baht to get fixed - removal of carpet, cleaned and ozone treated. Good as new. I doubt people will sell their cars with this level of damage though. Like others said, there could be a glut of sodden cars on the market over the next few months. Seems even we need to be wary of new car dealers too, but most of the flooded show rooms I saw seemed to have their stock removed. However I reckon some in Pathum Thani may have gotten caught as the flood came fast in Thai area. Quite a number of second hand dealers got caught too - saw the only decent car on- the lot, 10 feet off the ground at one near my place - a older nissan skyline:) An older benz and a bunch of vans were left to swim for it.

[WarpSpeed]

An older benz and a bunch of vans were left to swim for it.

I'm guessing they didn't do so well at treading water either?

[culicine]

An older benz and a bunch of vans were left to swim for it.

I'm guessing they didn't do so well at treading water either?

No passersby had the decency to provide them with foam floaties:)

[WarpSpeed]

An older benz and a bunch of vans were left to swim for it.

I'm guessing they didn't do so well at treading water either?

No passersby had the decency to provide them with foam floaties:)

Shameful behavior! I witnessed many other makes getting no less consideration..

Edited November 19, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[wandrinstar]

I for one have jumped the Gun.. I'm reliably informed those seen underwater on the News were Body Shells. Being a Dumb Brit i assumed they were like the Thousand of finished one i saw in fields back home in the Sixties ..

[Shipwreck]

Take a look at this newer model Corolla from the flood. Just look at the algae and sludge, how could it possibly be fixed? It would be a 100% write off...except most Thai insurance policies don't have flood protection.

[culicine]

The paint wouldn't be a problem, I imagine. The problem will be every porous surface - all the fabric and leather interior will be ruined. Mould will grow through all of the interior and is impossible to remove (personal experience from my flooded house!) All electrics would be damaged. I can't imagine you could repair that car to the point where you wouldn't detect it was flooded. And it would rust from inside our from water caught in hard-to-reach places.

[janverbeem]

All Valid Points. I will add if my Wife's Old Mom n Pop,had seen the Nissan Mr Undercover mentioned and it was the right Colour and Price, they would have bought it , as would any trusting Old Person. Im sure Nissan Management would love to Vist the Dealer in question. That aint funny at all.

I don't think Rayong has been flooded,so the car must have been delivered in this condition to the dealer by the Nissan management.

[kartman]

Take a look at this newer model Corolla from the flood. Just look at the algae and sludge, how could it possibly be fixed? It would be a 100% write off...except most Thai insurance policies don't have flood protection.

Looks like potential taxi material to me already half done .

[WarpSpeed]

It seems they either misunderstood their insurance policy and were thinking they'd get a new car out of it for which they'll likely be seriously heartbroken or they tried to drive it out too late and it stalled out and was inundated before they could do something about it.. Shameful waste of a decent car .