Flood damaged 4wd ambulance for sale on eBay

[John E Davies]

So, it's a 2008 Quigley E-350 with only 16K miles, but it appears to be a flood damaged truck that has been rescued. There is no description of the water damage on the page. However, the truck is in a town 70 miles north of NYC, so you can may make your best guess My guess is Sandy in October 2012...

Would anyone here ever consider buying a flood damaged truck, and how much of a value reduction could one expect for a professionally repaired vehicle like this one? How much would the decision be based on whether it was fresh or salt water?

I would sure worry about hidden drivetrain damage and corrosion behind the aluminum panels.

BTW I asked the seller to please provide more information about water damage and what was done to restore the affected areas.

Here's the page: .... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-E-Series-Van-E-350-4X4-CITIMEDIC-WHEELED-COACH-AMBULANCE-2008-Ford-E-Series-QUIGLEY-4X4-WHEELED-/380618860226?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item589ea6e6c2

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[mgmetalworks]

Speaking from personal experience... I'd only buy another flood damaged vehicle if I could see the extent of the flooding and I knew what was submerged or exposed to excessive water. Either first hand or through extensive video/photo documentation. There are A LOT of opportunities for electrical gremlins with flood cars and if you don't know what happened, you'd have no idea where to start looking.



There is a term in the salvage business called "detailed and pickled". A lot of flood damaged cars are sold at salvage auctions and they're detailed so well you'd never be able to tell by looking at them that they were completely submerged. But drive one around a while and little things start to pop up that just aren't right. In my case, I bought a flood car so cheap they practically gave it to me but I had more than a few problems getting it to run right and a few things went out prematurely/unexpectedly. As a bonus, when it got really hot outside, the interior would smell like a dairy farm (Tillamook, OR flood car).



Flood cars are a gamble. Sometimes they are a score but sometimes they're just a big headache. And at that price...that's an expensive gamble in my opinion.

MG

 

[Arctic Travelller]

Seems pretty expensive even if it wasn't a salvage title. As was said, flood vehicles are just trouble waiting to happen, mostly electrical, but depending on how long it was under water, and what was done to flush the transmission, engine, diff's, and everything else, and how quickly it was done can have a big effect on reliability. Then add in the cost to ship cross country, strip the interior, fix all the little problems that come up, and your talking real money. I wouldn't touch it, but that's just me, I'd rather spend my time and money on something I could use now, and for that kind of money you could get something spectacular. Still, I'd like to have the wheels and tires...........Arctic Traveller

 

[John E Davies]

Still, I'd like to have the wheels and tires...........Arctic Traveller

Speaking of which - those sure are wide tires for an ambulance.

It looks like a rig that has been set up for beach rescue (soft sand), which would explain:

1: the low miles
2: the flooding

I'm betting this thing was sitting in a lot near the coast when Sandy came through. For you guys who live along a coast - how common are beach ambulances with flotation tires? Here's a Sportsmobile:

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[java]

Very cool, but my wife said she would never sleep in an ambulance......

 

[John E Davies]

I got a PM at eBay from the seller:

"This vehicle was flooded from hurricane sandy , I am not sure how high the water got I purchased them from the insurance company , the steps to get it running we replaced the starter, batteries and all the fluid."

Possible salt water flooding, no idea how long it sat, no idea how high the water reached ....... no way anyone should buy it, especially for the asking price....

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[hobietony]

No way you would ever chase down all the electrical problems when they start happening. Run away!

 

[Itsavanman]

the water was high! high enough to get salt water in the batteries.. I would run away from that, being an ambulance with tons of extra wiring, its fine now but all the salt that got places you cant clean out, and then the corrosion starts.. unless you want to replace the whole harness and all the modules.. then it would be okay.. but still it can start growing mold places you cant get to, and then you breath it in, black mold in the air can kill ya.. yeah I would run away...

 

[r_w]

If they knocked about 50k off the price, MAYBE.

I have dealt with fresh water flooded vehicles with minimal electronics (old tractors and dirtbikes) and they are a PITA. Salt, aluminum, and lots of crevices you can't get access to? NO WAY.

 

[copescobra]

are you kidding me ???

The company and people who bought the Ambo and now selling of course know the exact location due to water marks as to where the water level came up to inside and outside the vehicle.

I would not believe anything this seller said as in my opinion they have already lied about the extent of water damage. It might not have been much damage but my point is that they know exactly
where the water line came up to.

good deal at $10K perhaps then you can plan on rewiring and other engine issues down the road perhaps.

There are a lot of out there in GOV auctions with prices under 10K and sometimes low miles and 7.3 engines.

good luck don't despair

 

[AeroNautiCal]

I would avoid that at all costs!