Hi,

Bought a 2001 V70 XC, 31,000 miles. Was flooded above dash. Paid $7,600. Car is pristine otherwise. The car was still wet when I got it, which was good as no rust had set in. Interior very easy to strip out and clean up and has dried out nicely with no signs of damage to the trim, seats or carpets. Headliner is perfect. Some of the electrics still worked as did the interior lights as well as the all the exterior lights. All the relays still work after I blew them out and cleaned them up and tested them. Need to replace the instrument cluster, climate control centre and CD/radio as well as the computers, but the salvage company I bought the car from has all the electrics, consoles, etc from a wrecked 2002 XC, which I got for $2,000 for everything.Anything left over I will keep for spares.

The car was in a car lot when it was flooded so I was lucky that there was no damage to the engine. A tiny amount of water was in the oil and there was no water in the gas tank. Have changed all the fluids, removed all the relays and computers and am awaiting replacements. Have spent 3 days on the car so far and feel I have at least another 3 full days left to replace these items before I have the car taken to Volvo for a complete system check. Once that is done I will then put back the interior.

My personal opinion is that it is well worth buying a flood damaged car if you know what to look for and are willing to put in the man hours. It also helps if you have someone (my father in law!!) who knows what he is doing regarding the testing ot the electrical system and the relevant diagnostics.

The book value on the car is around $25,000 and I have calculated that I will have spent a total of $11,000 (allowing for the cost of Volvo to give me the all clear and transporting the car!). I also feel that there is a certain amount of luck involved as you either get lucky and pick up a fixable car or you end up with a very expensive garden ornament!!

POPEHEAD