Hi. My sister recently lost her '04 HCH CVT due to the flooding in southern Indiana last week. It was completely submerged for at least a day or two.

I inquired about the salvage price to buy it back from insurance as a possible project car. They said around $2300. I have no problem rebuilding the engine and otherwise fixing it up, but I am wondering if it would be worth it. Are the batteries in a sealed compartment? I am reading they are $1000-3000 to replace. If not, would a rebuilt CVT be worth anything on the market? That is the only thing people seem to have problems with besides the battery packs.


Also-I have found very little technical data on the web. I was jsut going to buy the Helms service manual. Is there perhaps another more technically-oriented forum than this one?

Thx
e

I would say that there's a more technically oriented forum in the sense that the member base are active, very technical and pretty familiar with the details of the architecture. I'll PM you the site.

However, I would discourage any attempts at performing electrical work on the HCH unless your are not only well versed and confident but also well equipped with the resources to make the repairs. The shop manuals/DVD literature are also an unavoidable expenditure. Neglecting or overlooking this detail can not only be fatal but also a monumental waste of time & money.

I suggest you take a page from the OEM book and consider the car permanently lost and only good for the "crusher"... as no amount of repairs short of a complete and expensive retrofit is going to make it trouble free for whomever ends up with it.


Cheers;

MSantos