I Bought a 'Flood Salvage' Mercedes S-Class. Am I Crazy? (Flagship Mercedes Sedan)

I bought a flood salvage 2012 Mercedes S550 at auction for only $4,100. Can I restore it and use it as a daily driver?

[mikeFPS]

i purchased a salvaged 2014 Tesla Model S from Texas for $8k, it was stolen and “flooded” in a field also the CPU and many dash parts were “missing” when i got it to my house i opened the truck and nothing was there and then i opened the front truck (frunk) and all the parts were there some of the parts were even labeled in zip lock bags 😂 after i installed the CPU and fixed some broken wires it started right up, it’s my daily driver and i charge it for free at work!

[pskin]

It looks like you found yourself a nice lil hidden gem. Look forward to part two. Would also enjoy the process of registering a salvage title.

[jundialhaqiqa]

$4, 000 is a steal. I worked at the Mercedes dealership when these were new and this would have been over $100, 000. If not it would have been close to that price.

[johnmccanntruth]

Definitely show us how hard it is getting it back out of salvage. Also curious how much you’ll have in, and then the approximate value after. Sure looks like a big win.

[Pete_Finch]

Absolutely love stories/videos like this - so many of these cars deserve a second chance. I bought myself a flood salvage Cadillac XLR-V at auction and she's been better than I could've ever hoped even before full restoration, unfortunately I'm not a YouTuber or else I'd document bringing her back to perfect

[rhettsalsbury]

You struck gold with this one Waldo. Other car guys can only dream of getting a deal like this

[itsjustme]

Congrats Waldo on your new S class. I think you have got yourself one hell of a deal on that!!! Great to see you are going to do a COMPLETE fluid and filter service like you usually do on all your purchases! You look like the local Barrister riding around in that! Excellent purchase!!

[rochditidjani]

You are an accomplished Mercedes Benz mechanic and your knowledge enabled you to own one of the finest piece of automotive engineering. This knowhow is worth $26, 000.00. Great job!

[TheRoadhammer]

Very surprised a Mercedes "flood" vehicle wasn't snatched up for resale at some shady car lot. After Katrina, there were literally thousands of flood cars and I mean sediment, silt, debris and rust type flood cars being trucked all over the country. Great score Waldo, you are big pimpin now. An Adidas track suit, a gold chain and your best Russian accent is required when driving the S class, 😂

[toolwarrior]

Nice to see the good guys win sometimes. Looks like a real score. I would have never thought about a "process" to get a salvaged vehicle back on the road, so I would be interested to see what actually is involved in doing that. Keep up the great vids.

[daveh]

Nice find! If you haven’t already, make sure you read up on the quirks and features of the M278 engine. First thing you want to do is immediately check the cam position sensor plugs and the cam actuator magnet plugs for oil intrusion and replace them as part of normal maintenance to prevent oil from traveling through the engine harness and damaging other components including the computer. Also get some Ceratec from LiquiMoly in there ASAP. Passenger side cam actuator cover is prone to leaking oil into the alternator and causing it to die prematurely.

[gregholloway]

Great video, Waldo. I guess Mercedes thinks that if you own an S class, you park it in a garage; therefore those hood vents don’t need to keep out the leaves. Seems like a great deal of a car. Looking forward to part 2. 👍

[JasonLiagre]

Congratulations, Waldo. After the rover I'm so happy to see you get a win. I don't see how it could get any better than this. I hope you enjoy it!

[sukeshkohli]

You’re very good with fixing these expensive cars by yourself saving you tons of money. I wish, I had auto maintenance skills like you. Where did you get your training? Congrats for fixing this salvage vehicle, this “S” class is in good hands.

[trumanhw]

For one thing, he is either a MB tech, or, is insanely proficient at diagnostics (my guess is the latter). What's even more impressive is that the PN on a part he needed matched the SINGLE VEHICLE'S PN for the same part! That just never happens. Great work, great video, and even better results.

[johnjanota]

dude you are like the best mechanic i've ever seen. i wish i had you for my 1996 rolls royce silver spur. only 23000 miles and no one in las vegas has the balls to touch it!

[morstyrannis]

Filament from a weed trimmer is useful for clearing sunroof drains. You'll need the thicker filament used on a gas trimmer. The thin filament used on electric ones is too flexible.

[nikla]

I had the same issue clean the corner drains and you are golden, what a steel 👍.
mine is diesel on 250k I've seen one on 480k

[rajdhaliwal]

Its a joy hearing your calm and soothing voice

[MercedesMechanic]

I have a modification on my channel to keep those drains from getting clogged again. Its an easy solution Mercedes engineers should have figured out and implemented. Needless to say if you park one of these anywhere near trees, that modification is extremely important.