rs10

I found out a car I’m interested in buying had some water damage 6 months ago. Assuming they just left the roof open, any ideas what could go wrong / what hidden problems there might be that I should watch out for?

And my guess is that it was indeed just an open roof, and not flood damage, because there was still some visible damage to a trim piece at the top of the dashboard. Which is either good news, or very bad news. Any ideas how to tell if it was the later – if the car went for a swim?

Thanks for any advice about this!

JD ARTHUR

If he left it outside in the rain with the roof open then maybe he wasn't so good with less important things like maintenance.

Fast40th

Considering how many other good buying options are out there I'd move on... Why settle?!? Not worth your time, money and effort to get pregnant with a water damaged car (regardless it was flooded or not)...

Gulliver

Sunroof left open in a downpour may not necessarily deadly if properly dealt with.

That said, you absolutely do not want a vehicle that has been submerged in any way. Doesn't matter if it's fresh or salt water, how deep or for how long. It will be a complete waste of time and money and a source of endless frustration for a buyer.

johnireland

There's a targa on ebay, the seller says he doesn't know how it happened...has the rain and the open roof story. But the title says Flood Damage. Seems there is a ten thousand dollar invoice proving repair but the owner didn't keep the car and sold it to the insurance company that then auctioned it off to this dealer. Everything may be 100% honest and the car might be great, but is this the kind of tension you want to go through. Water damage can include mold, electrical corrosion, rust, corruption of seals and gaskets, etc.

Sarki

Yup, exactly what the others have said.....pass, pass and pass as the list of potential issues is endless and timeless!

mharrison

Pass.

kromdom

I thought you already bought a 996 last year. Will this be your 2nd?

P.S. Personally, I will go for a car WITHOUT any stories/mysteries (the IMS paranoia/drama/hysteria is more than enough for me already). Best of luck.

Schnell Gelb

I have a business connection with a repair shop & we bought such a car on a whim. The mechanics are very,very sharp on electronics. Certified for working on Aston Martin,Jaguar ,Range Rover. The flood 'damaged' car was cosmetically perfect.
The saga of repairing one thing after another has gone on for over a year.We lost our collective shirts on this car and it still is not right. It goes to the dealer auction next week with a full declaration. Because it is shiny and a good color, some fool will buy it ! You only need one fool - make sure it isn't you !

Augustomf

Water Damage, pass. It is always " just a sunroof open in the rain" and never "a car was parked by the beach on low tide and tide came in filling the car with salt water".

Since you can't really tell which one is true , pass. I have a BMW 530xi Wagon, notorious for water getting into the truck (bad sunroof guters), mine got filled with water, there are many eletronic controllers ther, replaced them all, and I still get crazy thinks such as the backdoor working only when it wants. Dealer thinks the contacts on the harness should be replaced. I feel car should be replaced soon.

I would easily buy a 1970 911 with flood damage, very few eletronics, would not buy any modern car with flood damage.

eastcoastcab996

I looked at two flood damaged / salvage - 996 and a 997, both from a salvage specialist car lot in CT, I spent some time with the owner... I didn't have a problem with the salvage title as they don't buy 911's that had water hit the fuse panel.. looks like they sold the 996...
Here is the link for 997 - they don't accept offers.. so at $27,900 I went another route, I believe the resale would have been tough -
http://www.luxurycars.com/2006-Porsc...7/Details.aspx

rs10

OK, pretty clear message about flood damage! I wouldn't buy it if I knew it was flood damaged, and now I won't buy it unless I know it wasn't. In the best case, by the way, it's not open sunroof, it's open roof. The water damage was repaired by a Porsche dealer. Unless they tell me they are sure it was not flood damaged, there was no water in the frunk, engine area, fuse box, etc., and I believe them, I will walk away.

Schnell Gelb

Read post 9 above.Our guys are just as good as the Porsche dealer.We fix their mistakes !
"The water damage was repaired by a Porsche dealer" Oh, really ?That is very unusual work for a Porsche Dealer to do. Indie, maybe. Foolish one ,sure !
We have repaired that same flooded car quite a few times because new faults keep occurring. Several times we almost sold it to a regular customer because it seemed to be 'finally' fixed. Nope. A few weeks later,sometimes without even starting it, a new fault would occur. Corrosion chemistry is like gravity - it never sleeps ! Finding the new fault may take a few minutes or a few days -you have no idea.
If you must have a salvage bargain, get a vandalized one or a lemon-buy-back?

Barn996

Look for any dead fish or crabs under the seats.

Soaringman

Back in high school I had a 1969 bmw 2002, floor was always wet from various leeks . I used to smoke a fair bit of weed and roll joints in the car and I guess the seeds fell to the ground, I was down by the gas peddle one day and there were 3 or 4 little pot plants sprouting .

So that's one thing to look out for, pot plants growing in your floor boards