Water damaged car, clean title, with factory warranty?

[jujaku]

i am looking for another SUV and found 2017 Chevy Equinox LT.
Less than 5000 miles, good options, good price. ($13k)
(KBB says $21k at retail)
however, carfax report says water damage. (original titled was Houston area)
also the report says clear title
chevy.com and chevy dealer say warranty is still intact.
haven't got a chance to see the car in person.

never had any experience with water damaged / flooded car.
anyone had experience with such damage?
will my bank or insurance won't accept for loan/coverage?

 

[sumo]

See if you can find out exactly what kind of water damage. If something like windows left open and stained seats and carpet and dealer replaced it from a rain storm I’d say it’s ok. If it was a flood car, I’d stay away

 

[swathdiver]

When was that last hurricane to hit Houston?

 

[Rocket Man]

It says flood damage in the Carfax. Not water damage but flood damage. But it's hard to tell exactly what was damaged. I'd be very wary but who knows.

 

[sumo]

Don’t. Once water gets into connectors and wire harness, corrosion and electrical problems start happening. It’s not a fun time tracing electrial problems in an single main wire harness that run spans the length of interior.

 

[jujaku]

checked the car.
equinox has aux fuse box in passenger side bottom of center console and it showed water level.
water was at bottom of seat cushion. roughly, 60~70% of tire height.
short test drive and it start, drive well and they did pretty good cleaning.
but it has check air bag light on. selling dealer (small, individual) said they ordered parts(module?) and they will fix it.

Chevy said it has warranty.
afraid if chevy finds out flood damage, warranty will be voided?

 

[Rocket Man]

No way would I buy that. It will have problems as time goes on, I guarantee it. Even if they honor the warranty it will spend so much time at the dealership getting things fixed it will be extremely frustrating. Run away is my advice.

 

[David Smith]

I have seen a lot of the flood cars come in from the hurricane over in Texas at my moms work. Some are garbage, but some are just fine. If you are truly interested in it, I would take it for a very long test drive. Have them throw in an extended warranty. Check ALL the fluids for water. There will probably be no way to tell how high the water got, because they have already cleaned it several times since the flood damage.

As an example, my moms job got in a mustang with flood damage. The water rose about halfway up the tires. It got inside in the floorboards. Once it got to her job, we started it up and it ran great. Let it run for 2 hours. Nothing happened. Drove it around. Nothing happened. Obviously, there is always a chance that you could pull away and it take a shit, but if the warranty is not voided due to the flood/water damage, then it may not be terrible to consider it. Just do a very thorough inspection yourself. Test EVERYTHING. Heated seats. Electric pedals. AC. Heat. Cruise control. Anything that can be turned on or off needs to be tested.

OR, you just just stay away from it. Sometimes, not all the time, if it is too good to be true, it is. If you are a gambling person, give it a shot. As long as the warranty is still fully intact.

just my thought

There will be no right or wrong answers here lol

 

[sumo]

I’m telling you don’t. I’ve seen flood cars were people try to repair a problems and more problems keep popping up. One flood car a customer had electrical problems, radio stopped working, intermittently working directionals, engine harness replaced, and finally they gave up when all airbags deployed while driving.

 

[09_4WD_YUKON]

That dude was in Hurricane Harvey and most likely completely submerged. Water + electronics = No Bueno!!!! Pass and save your money and a heartache!!!