With Sandy thankfully out of the area, many Car Talk fans are asking us whether their cars are totalled And, if not, what should they check? Here are Tom and Ray’s tips , but we’d like to throw it your way, too! What are your suggestions? Share your thoughts right here-- and we’ll share this discuss…

How about buying a boatload of Shamwows? Seriously, if electronics have been submerged for any length of time, there’s a good chance the modules are toast. You can try cleaning them with distilled water to wash the crud out and then dry them but 9 times out of 10 (guestimate) they are done for.

Call your insurance company. And do not be optimistic. The truth is that it’ll depend largely on the car, how deeply it was submersed, AND THE WATER. For example, jeeps are designed to be washed out with a hose; Mazda Miatas are not. The jeep would fare far better if partially submerged…although I …

+1 to mountainbike’s comments, and I want to add that prospective car buyers would be wise to NOT trust Carfax and similar services when trying to determine if a particular car was a “flood car”. Carfax is only as good as what is reported to it, and there are always flood-damaged cars that appear o…

Truely sorry to hear that you got hit by Sandy, but glad to hear that the damage was minor. Here in NH we lucked out. Stay safe. We need you.

DRY FIRST. If you’ve made the choice to attempt to save you vehicle…DO NOT RUN OR OPERATE ANYTHING ! untill after you disassemble and DRY . Far too many electronics will zap instantly if you try to operate anything. – Most computer modules , fuse boxes, radios, amps, etc can be opened up…circuit…

Electronics can survive wetness even if on when they get wet. My Nokia phone was once submerged in pool water (luckily for only about 10-15 seconds). I let it dry in the hot sun and put it in some rice later. Good as new! However, car electronics, with relays, motors, and all that jazz may probably…

It isn’t like these vehicles were/are still…dunked and dried immediately. Most or all are still sitting under water. There will be some unscrupulous dealers looking to unload some of them down the road…Beware ! As far as the people of the area are concerned, I worry that their problems have only ju…

Unfortunately, there will probably be tens of thousands of them. According to the U.S. census bureau, there were about 6.7 million people and 1/2 million businesses in the areas declared disaster areas. According to the NY Daily News, 250,000 cars are expected to be scrapped. It’s very important at …

I have resurrected 3 Flood vehicles in total. I have driven each of them for over 5 years with little to no issues. The way I got one of my flood cars was the worst case scenario…It got flooded while on the street with Brackish water…probably more salt than fresh water… AND THEN…IT SAT… The sitt…

Tips for Sandy Soaked Vehicles

Maintenance/Repairs

texases November 4, 2012, 7:05am 9

Big issue here is that much of the flooding (storm surge) was salty water. That can quickly corrode and damage things.

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Tips for Sandy Soaked Vehicles

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