Let's play a game of would you rather....

by "Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
Published 02/01/2017 at 10:38

Tags: Would you rather ; Let's play a game ; difficult decisions
STARS: 1

A fellow gear head and I were discussing the recent purchase of a 911 Turbo with a salvage title. It lead to this interesting question:

If you were in the position to pick up your dream car. The one you have longed for since you were a child. The only condition is that in your price range your choices are limited to salvage titles. Do you pick one up with flood damage or one that was crashed?

Would you rather buy a car with a salvage title from a crash or water damage?

Assume you have the means to eventually deal with the issues associated with both. You may have to let the car sit while you scrape together the cash for repair bills, but you are allowed to do the work yourself.

Crash headaches or flood headaches?

Buying a shell that has a salvage title due to parts being stripped is not an option. That’s just cheating.

Replies (39)

"Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow" (chriskf)
02/01/2017 at 10:42, STARS: 10

Crash.

I’d rather deal with chassis straightening and reinforcement than electrical gremlins.

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
02/01/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 2

I would do salvage from a crash. There are body shops out there who do damn good work with wrecked vehicles. Even minor flood damage can come back to haunt you.

"E90M3" (e90m3)
02/01/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 4

I think it comes down to a case by case basis, some flood damage cars might be totaled cause the entire interior needed to be replaced, while minor body work might total another car. I’d probably go for a flood car.

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
02/01/2017 at 10:45, STARS: 2

Not to mention possibly mold in carpets and seats.

"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
02/01/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 2

If I have the means to fix it, Flood. Crash damage can be repaired pretty well, but it’s never the same. If I have the means to repair the flood car, I would just replace all of the electrics, computers, etc.

"Tripper" (tripe46)
02/01/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 1

99% of the time I would say crash>flood. The only time I would take a flood car over a crashed car is if the crash damage was major and the flood damage was very minor.

Our ex Cooper S was never the same after it got wet inside, and that was only rain!

"SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie" (sidewaysondirt)
02/01/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 1

What if it’s aluminum or has advanced bonding techniques used?

"Tripper" (tripe46)
02/01/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 1

Yea a car is never 100% after water damage

"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
02/01/2017 at 10:49, STARS: 7

I would argue the same for crash damage. The structure will never be what it was when it left the factory.

"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
02/01/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 0

True but you could swap those components out with nice, shiny new ones.

"SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie" (sidewaysondirt)
02/01/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 1

Depends on which would be easier to fix. Hydrolocked engine can be more expensive than fixing the chassis, but many advanced chassis are impossible to fix correctly. I might just want to drop the engine in my MR2 though, which would mean taking the crashed one.

"TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
02/01/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 2

Flood damage.

Don’t want to deal with chassis damage.

NOW BRING ME MY LEXUS LFA

"Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig" (AndySheehan-StreetsideStig)
02/01/2017 at 10:52, STARS: 1

Flood damage. Strip it down and fix it. A crashed car might never be straight and could have structural issues.

"punkgoose17" (punkgoose17)
02/01/2017 at 10:53, STARS: 0

I am thinking crash damage especially a newer car. A pre ~1975 car would be easier to deal with flood damage, easier to strip the interior and simple electonics.

"Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap" (ddadragon)
02/01/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 0

I say flood. Because whatever I want will probably have electrical gremlins before the flood so may as well have an excuse to replace it all.

"E90M3" (e90m3)
02/01/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 2

That’s what I was thinking as well. Replacing all the electrics would require extensive work, but it’d be something you could do yourself.

"Tripper" (tripe46)
02/01/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 1

Agree, but water damage will likely cause more frequent and more direct problems.

"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
02/01/2017 at 10:55, STARS: 3

Gut for race car.

"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
02/01/2017 at 10:56, STARS: 0

Lets ask Tavarish... oh wait he already bought a flood car.

"Flyboy is FAA certified insane" (flyboy396)
02/01/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 0

If it’s a sports car? Flood damage for sure. The chassis will never be as strong or rigid as it was from the factory after an accident. Besides, most damaged electronic parts are modular. I’d rather work with that.

Now trucks on the other hand, I can work with an accident.

"Meatcoma" (mastapoof)
02/01/2017 at 10:59, STARS: 1

Agreed, not to mention that the water damage would cause immediate as well as future issues. The crash only causes immediate issues for the most part. Obviously there could be future issues but they are somewhat less likely.

"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
02/01/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 0

Crash 100%

"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
02/01/2017 at 11:02, STARS: 0

Both move the guts from the crashed car to the flooded car.

"Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow" (chriskf)
02/01/2017 at 11:03, STARS: 0

Right, but you can add a roll cage and reinforcement. I’d rather do that than completely rewiring/swapping the electronics.

"Hateful Mate" (hatefulmate)
02/01/2017 at 11:08, STARS: 0

A lightly crashed car would be prefered, but between the two above, I’d go with the water damage. There’s nothing there an aftermarket ecu, and some nice dry recaros can’t sort out. After all, the dashboard is above water.

It depends on how much electronics are in the car as well. A model T under 20ft of water for a week? Shouldn’t take much to fix. The pelican Veyron hough, is probably a bit of a nightmare.

With my dream car being a countach, I’d probably go for a submerged one over a crashed one, because I know how much of a pain it is to get a tube frame car straightened out. And well, italian wiring could do with being replaced anyway.

"Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever" (rustanddust)
02/01/2017 at 11:13, STARS: 2

Depends on the hit and the flood.

I’ve fixed both floods and totalled/branded salvage collisions numerous times. It really comes down to the make/model and severity of collision/type of flood. Freshwater flood that was parked and hasn’t had a start attempted? I’m game. Saltwater flood (regardless of engine condition)? I’m out.

You’ll typically have higher associated costs with a collision damage (more parts required, more skilled labor/equipment, paint required) than a flood. One of my favorite flood fixes was a VW. They do an excellent job of waxing inaccessible body areas prior to assembly (corrosion protection), and typically use sealed wiring connectors in exposed areas. After flushing fluids and pulling/cleaning the interior, the car gave me four years and 70k miles of relatively trouble free driving. Had to replace some vacuum hoses (common 2.8V6 problem on B5.5 intakes from what I gathered/recalled), and had a trans control module shit the bed (again, common VW fault for this model, presumably not related to it’s attempt to be a U-Boat). Ended up selling it for a profit after my years and mileage of driving it.

"Thomas Donohue" (tomonomics)
02/01/2017 at 11:19, STARS: 0

Depends on the water (flash flood, or sitting for a few days in salt water), and the extent of the damage. I’d probably go with ‘crash’ either way.

I shudder to think of all the flooded cars from Hurricane Sandy that are still ‘floating’ around the market.

"TheD0k_2many toys 2little time" (thed0ck)
02/01/2017 at 11:19, STARS: 0

Crash. pull part that i want for other project

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
02/01/2017 at 11:20, STARS: 0

It depends. I’ve owned both, but the flood damaged vehicle wasn’t deep enough to flood the interior, just deep enough to hydrolock the engine. When I was looking for a new (used) truck, I came across one that had been flooded up to the windshield. I only knew it because there was sediment inside the defroster vents, visible through the windshield. It seems the air ducts are one thing everyone forgets about cleaning/replacing.

The crash damage to my WRX seems to be fixed correctly, but I haven’t really pushed it, so it’s hard to know for sure. I’ll know more after the next track day.

"Echo51" (echo2047)
02/01/2017 at 11:30, STARS: 0

Get both, move all components/electronics/interior from crashed car into flooded car, do sick donuts.

"Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
02/01/2017 at 11:44, STARS: 0

If I’m paying someone to do the work and am not worried about the mont then flood, I can get the electrical stuff and moldy interior fixed and replaced. I feel like with wrecked it is never really the same as it was before, depending on the damage and the accident but that’s got to be pretty severe if it’s been totalled

"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
02/01/2017 at 11:49, STARS: 1

I’ve had a flood vehicle. The only way I would trust one is to replace every damn component on the car. Every. At that point, you’ve built a new car. I don’t just mean electrical/computer. Everything. Engine, drivetrain, interior, body panels. Water gets EVERYWHERE.

"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
02/01/2017 at 11:53, STARS: 0

Budget only allows for one.

"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
02/01/2017 at 11:54, STARS: 0

You only get one.

"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
02/01/2017 at 12:34, STARS: 0

a little dry time and things ought be alright........

"just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
02/01/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 0

Flood damage all the way. I can replace electricals on a McLaren F1, but I don’t trust the repairs to carbon fiber.

"kanadanmajava1" (kanadanmajava1)
02/01/2017 at 16:23, STARS: 1

It depends on the state of the crash or the flood. Completely submerging in saltwater for a month would be very different thing than getting partly dipped in cleanish river water overnight. The latter wouldn’t bother me so much.

That crashed 911 doesn’t even seem to have the engine attached anymore as I can see the bellhousing of the gearbox. Just fixing slightly bent body could be fairly easy.

So out of these definitely the wet one.

"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
02/01/2017 at 22:05, STARS: 0

Freshwater flood.

d

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/20/2017 at 10:39, STARS: 0

Wouldn’t touch either one.