Flood....fml

[Spicy McHaggiz]

Last night here in HR, VA we got a lot of rain. Where the house is the street ended up flooding. The car was parked in the driveway but our Trailblazer was pulled in first, putting the car near the street. I wasn't awake for any of the rain, but I know it was pouring when I fell asleep. Went to goto work today with my buddy and saw about 2" of water on top of the carpet. Spent about 30 mins sucking all the water out to find under the carpet is still like an ocean. Air bag light is now on, and there is debris clear up the engine mount halfway up the header.


Rundown of KNOWN issues as of yesterday.
-Airbag light on
-Exhaust blew out water/vapor for 10-20 mins
-Locks went crazy when unlocking (like if you pull the handle and hit unlock)
-Standing water in cabin, 1-2" above carpet. Under carpet 2 or more inches. All padding soaked. Pushing down on carpet creates a waterbed affect.

Photos. The ones with water are after it had stopped raining and the street cleared. Probly about 4-5 hours worth of not being under water.

**Edit** The water in the car photos were taken with the car sitting in the driveway on a slope of about 10-15*.

The next one is where some of the debris from the street and yards ended up settling. This is after I moved the vehicle out so I could drive the TrailBlazer.

And finally being towed away.

Click to read more...

 

[99PONTIACGP]

Dislike. Dont they total the car once water reaches the inside of the car?

 

[AlmightyBirdman]

Pretty much, once there is that much water in it there's so much that can potentially go wrong. He already mentioned the airbag light along with the locks, so that alone will probably make them total it cause who knows what else is wrong. Sucks to see that tho bro! I wish that would happen to my car.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

This was Friday night/saturday morning here in VA. Forgot to add that in since I just copied/pasted everything.

Anyways, I'm not sad about it at all, just due to the fact that a sporty (losely used) coupe is hard to get our 5 month old daughter in and out of. So if it is totalled, I'm looking to get back into a Subaru.

 

[AlmightyBirdman]

If the insurance company tries not to total it I would definitely contest it. Tell them fine then, I want the entire interior and electrical system within the car replaced. It's only fair cause with what is already wrong with it there's definitely going to be other stuff that's fried too. It would never be the same car again.

 

[Angus]

If the insurance company tries not to total it I would definitely contest it. Tell them fine then, I want the entire interior and electrical system within the car replaced. It's only fair cause with what is already wrong with it there's definitely going to be other stuff that's fried too. It would never be the same car again.

You can tell them all you want, but you really have to see what the language in the policy states...

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

I have a few other pictures showing it above the license plate, and witnesses saying it was at the hood. I talk to insurance later today.

 

[Bob Kazamakis]

Sweet. I wish this would happen to my car so I can get rid of it.

 

[GTwolf]

Totalled for sure. Enjoy your new ride.

 

[Eagle]

Good luck man! Sucks that it happened... but maybe its your lucky day (depending on how insurance handles it).

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

Update: Just talked to the insurance guy on the phone. They are going to take it to Toyota and see what they say. His exact words were "We'll have them take out the seats and carpet to dry them out and get rid of any mold that may be there. And to find out why the airbag light is on." I told him how high we have people saying the water is, and about water that blew out of the exhaust, his response. "Well the car started right up (one reason to take it to Toyota) and didn't have any problems. Water in the exhaust is common because the seals can leak. (Exhaust is almost fully welded and nothing in it ever "leaks" liquids) We see this a lot and the oil looks fine like no water got in it. If the filter was wet its dried out now." He also told the wife (was standing right there also talking to him while I was on the phone) that they hope to get the car back to us in a couple days but they won't take it to Toyota until tomorrow. She also asked about problems down the road since its very obvious that items were wet and now causing problems. His response was "Well we deal with this a lot and do a good job, and hopefully if anything does come up in the future you only have to bring it to us a few times."

I don't know if this guy is trying to blow smoke up my butt to make us happy, or if he's being serious and thinks that a car with the entire front end under water is safe. The wife also said he almost didn't seem to know what he was talking about when talking to him.....

 

[machausta]

They're either idiots or geniuses, I've never seen one that far underwater that didn't get totalled.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

They're either idiots or geniuses, I've never seen one that far underwater that didn't get totalled.

I honestly don't know how to take it. The insurance person works out of a body shop so that's something that will work for me. But then again I've never had to deal with insurance since I've never had a wreck, and I've certainly not dealt with a flooded vehicle.

 

[Angus]

What insurance company?

 

[SuperDaveGSE]

Shoulda took the ole garden hose to the intake, that would have solved your problem for sure. Theres no way they can get rid of all the mold that will start to grow once they replace the carpet and seats "if they actually do". I would push for them to total it because of the potential mold issue. If they give it back to you, I'd take a match to the damn thing a few weeks later and blame the crazy electronics since the "repair". I wouldn't take the chance with my daughter going in that car.

 

[DanJ]

It could still work out for you. We had a bad flood here in '95 and my dad drove his blazer over a bridge that had a creek running over it so we could get a second pump to control the water coming in our basement. The dealership pulled the same crap but replaced the motor, the wiring harnesses and i think the interior carpet. Months went by and it still had a new list of problems each month and eventually they just called it totaled.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

What insurance company?

Geico. And now I've read a lot of horror stories with them, especially with flooded vehicles.

 

[Angus]

Geico. And now I've read a lot of horror stories with them, especially with flooded vehicles.

After my past claim that I started with them, I dropped them right after. I luckly stopped the claim going through my ins company (Geico) and had my claim completed through the at fault insurance company.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

After my past claim that I started with them, I dropped them right after. I luckly stopped the claim going through my ins company (Geico) and had my claim completed through the at fault insurance company.

I am going to drop them after this claim, but unfortunately the Base Housing Contractors refuse to admit that it is their fault. They take care of the streets and drainage systems but think everything is fine.

 

[smug]

I like how every one is just declaring it totaled when you really have no idea what you are talking about. The only thing the owner can do is let the insurance company handle this claim and let them decide if they want to total it out of repair it. I am going to state fact for Illinois and State Farm insurance but this could be different for Virginia where this person lives. State Farm declares a vehicle a total loss in the state of Illinois at 33 1/3% of the vehicles value. I does not matter if the water entered the cabin of the vehicle, or if the air bag light it on, or if it needs a engine.

 

[99PONTIACGP]

331/3? Never knew that. Good info.

 

[Shadow99]

Not to hack the thread with my pic but just giving an example.

This happened to my car last summer with that huge ass flood we had in our area. I had about 2 inches of water in the front and back of the interior. Front of the car was under water. I filed a claim with my insurance (state farm). They towed the car away to have it looked over to see how much damage there was. They totaled my car. Wrote me a check. Few weeks later they gave me a call saying they under estimated the value of my car and wrote me another check! I also bought the car back, and parted it out. If you can id look into state farm.

 

[Spicy McHaggiz]

This was taken by a neighbor at around 1:30 am, it continued with downpours and flooding the street until 5am or so.

 

[smug]

331/3? Never knew that. Good info.

I should re-word that. It is 33 1/3% of a vehicles value on FLOOD damage only.

 

[SHOmuff]

Sweet. I wish this would happen to my car so I can get rid of it.

x2