Flood damage. What to do now?

1999 996 cab, 24K miles, good-to-excellent condition, "sunday driver", flooded by hurricane Ivan (river water) halfway up the windows. Engine, dash, everything exposed to the water. No insurance. No FEMA. Is the rule of thumb to have it repaired, or just sell it as "totalled"? One local independent Porsche mechanic said he wouldn't touch it, that it would never be reliable. Another local independent Porsche mechanic said it didn't look bad at all, and he was very confident he could repair it to be a reliable machine. Mostly labor, he says, could cost $5-10K. Worst case, he says, if electronics, control modules, etc. were destroyed, it might cost closer to $20K tops. Battery was disconnected at the time of the flood. I'm assuming salvage/auction would bring me $5K. If repaired, I may have to register it as a flood car. Even if I am able to avoid that, a close inspection by a future buyer might detect flood indications. Any advice appreciated.

Clean it up & sell it. I don't have any firsthand experience, but from what I hear, flood damaged cars are a nightmare. You could shell out $20k and still have lots of problems that are difficult to diagnose. Why risk throwing good money after bad? Maybe you can sell it to the guy that thought it was fixable or a friend of his...

A more interesting question is why wasn't it insured? Did you not have it registered? I thought it was pretty much the law in all 50 states that to drive a car it has to be insured...just curious

After it had been in storage for a year, I dropped everything but liability. Penny-wise, and pound foolish.

Id part it out. Don't sell it to anyone unsuspecting because that is just plain wrong. Bobby

Thanks Bob. That would probably be the best cost/benefit solution, but the logistics seem daunting. Where to store the car/parts? Who to disassemble it? Where to advertise the parts. The time to communicate/negotiate/ship to the buyers.

auction it as a flood car, take what you can. the opportunity cost for the other options simply outweigh the nominal gain over this solution

clean it and sell it!!!!!???? it is unethical you would never want to be in HIS situation....the guy who will buy it... trade it get whatever u can..... good luck

How is trading it any different than selling it?

Since the battery was disconnected, you may not have ECU (or other electronic box) damage. Clean it up, do whatever you have to do to get it cleaned out and dry. Drive it and see what other problems you encounter. You could sell it as is, or get it running, but you need to disclose what has happened. Maybe a good candidate for a track car for someone who is looking for one?

Find a Ford dealer.......they will buy/sell it and provide us with countless hours of reading pleasure when "you know who" buys it........Kidding, find a wholesaler/parts depot and dump it.....too bad..good luck. Cheers

How is trading it any different than selling it? all i had in my mind was that you shouldn't clean it and sell it in a way that you would try to hide something... trade or sell means the same o me if you do not cheat.... generally speaking though, you trade with a dealer and you sell with a private buyer. cheating a dealer is in general far more difficult.... harris p.s. thats my opinion of course and you should never ever take it personally. no offence...

Sorry to hear of your bad luck. I often wondered how many vehicle get totalled as a result of hurricanes and bad weather. Please let me know if you decide to let it go as a flood damged vehicle.

In no way did I suggest or imply that he should hide the history of the car. Whether someone buys it to fix or for parts, the process is much easier for the seller if the car is clean.

lol carbon...

Similar thing happened to me last 10/19......insurance ended up totaling the car. Still lost a few $$$ but much rather it be taken cared of this way then putting it back together.

best bang for the buck is to clean it up and keep it for yourself. If you don't have any operating issues then the car's history is between you and the car.....kinda like marrying a lady of the evening...... well, maybe not, but you get the idea.....

santicua - How far up did the water go? It doesnt look like its got too high up in the pic ?

At the highest point the water almost covered the entire wheel. Was flooded inside till the top of the seat cushion.

Did you try to start it? I might be inclined to change the oil and see if it will run prior to any decisions. Since it wasn't running when it flooded, it's not entirely certain that it will be hydraulically "locked" A former friend had a 928 that was driven into 3 feet of water and left sitting while he waded out. That car was successfully resuscitated with minimal expense. If you got it running and it worked reliably for a while, it might impact your options. AS

Ha Gretch! That's is basically the approach I was taking. Just give me my toy back. I don't care about resale, I just want a "rocket" to drive when the mood strikes. And yes, I would be the kind of guy who would marry a "reformed" lady of the evening (technique, technique, technique). LOL.

Alexander, thank you. That information helps me.

I'm looking at that picture and thinking why didn't you just back (or push) it up out of the drink. The other cars behind are not flooded.