Flood damage question...is this a total loss? (Not Camaro) - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Yellow Camaro · 07-29-2014, 09:40 AM

I know a lot of people have dealt with flood damage in recent years with Superstorm Sandy and whatnot, and on a forum full of "car guys" I'm sure a few of you have been down this road and can advise.

One of the other cars in my household had an incident yesterday with the major storms in Boston. It was in the bottom floor of a city parking garage, and the sewers backed up and then the garages pump failed. I think the whole thing was handled pretty negligently actually....once the pump failed the property management company would not let my girlfriend get to the car to remove it. It sat for hours while the water rose....at the end of the day, they insisted on trying to move the cars for people. They took her keys, tried to start it, and it was a no-start. There's about 10 other cars in the garage that had the same fate. I went down there last night to assess....they had trucks pumping out most of the water, but the car was still inaccessible. I tried to take a pic of the water line, I don't know if you can make it out but it starts at the spoke on the front wheel that's closest to "3 o'clock" and goes across the door. Definitely above the exhaust. We did put rubber boots on and trudged over to the car, and it's inside and all over the carpets.

Is this a no-brainer total loss, or am I in for a headache? It's a 2010 Venza with about 40k.

NJBourne23 · 07-29-2014, 09:46 AM

it's a total loss. I would contact your insurance and tell them exactly what happened, of how you tried to remove it prior to water filling up to where it did but you were not allowed by the garage company. They will be held liable because you tried to prevent damage and they stopped you. It's even worse because it's sewage

Yellow Camaro · 07-29-2014, 10:11 AM

That's what I'm hoping...just thinking about putting our children in the car after they suck out all the fecal water makes me ill.

I'm a little concerned that the city and the garage owner are going to have a pissing contest about accountability. I'm not a civil engineer, but my understanding is that the city's system backed up, and the garage's pump couldn't handle it.

Is there any reason NOT to just contact our own insurance company? I generally like the hold the responsible party accountable and not put claims on my own insurance, but I just want this over with.

Sheriff Justice · 07-29-2014, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow Camaro

Is there any reason NOT to just contact our own insurance company? I generally like the hold the responsible party accountable and not put claims on my own insurance, but I just want this over with.

Wild weather yesterday indeed Yellow Camaro. Notify your insurance company so they can document it. With the storms came heavy downpours and a tornado in Revere, they must being receiving a ton of calls today. Good luck.

Yellow Camaro · 07-29-2014, 10:27 AM

Yeah Sheriff, wild indeed. This happened in nearby Somerville.

Ringo64 · 07-29-2014, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow Camaro

Is there any reason NOT to just contact our own insurance company? I generally like the hold the responsible party accountable and not put claims on my own insurance, but I just want this over with.

You should always contact your own insurance company when you're vehicle is (critically) damaged. One thing that you pay your insurance company to do is to delegate and control the dealings with the other party's insurance company. Leaving them out of the loop may hurt you in the long run.

If you need said car, they might be able to "fund" you so you can go get another and then they'll go after the responsible party. Especially in a situation like this where many cars may be damaged and there may be a fight between who is "responsible", best to just get on with your life and let the insurance company fight to recoupe their costs than to have you "wait and see."

fsrtwo · 07-29-2014, 12:17 PM

It happened to me with my Jeep Wrangler in Sandy. I had 26" of water. the insurance company totaled it on the spot. I did buy it back from the insurance company for about 30% of the value. It runs fine, I changed the fluids as a precaution, I expect there will be a few sensors to replace down the road due to corrosion.

If you like to work on cars, then keep it. If you have to pay somebody to fix it every time something goes wrong, it might be more trouble than it is worth.

Demon War Horse · 07-29-2014, 12:35 PM

Probably a total loss. I would almost insist on it if I were you to make sure you do not have any electrical issues down the road. Also if they tried to start it and the tail pipe was under water, it may have sucked water back up into the engine as well when they tried to fire it up.

I would be upset for sure. But let insurance fight this out.

ChrisBlair · 07-29-2014, 12:54 PM

Co-worker here in MA is going through same thing. Bizarre, freak huge deep puddle, swallowed his car to the hood. Crazy.

Yellow Camaro · 07-29-2014, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo64

You should always contact your own insurance company when you're vehicle is (critically) damaged. One thing that you pay your insurance company to do is to delegate and control the dealings with the other party's insurance company. Leaving them out of the loop may hurt you in the long run.

If you need said car, they might be able to "fund" you so you can go get another and then they'll go after the responsible party. Especially in a situation like this where many cars may be damaged and there may be a fight between who is "responsible", best to just get on with your life and let the insurance company fight to recoupe their costs than to have you "wait and see."

The only reason I disagree, and was unsure how to proceed, is that at least in Mass you can claim Diminished Value against third-party insurance, but not your own. In the unlikely but terrifying scenario where they "fix" the car, but we have to keep it with "flood damage" on the CarFax, I would hate to have taken that off the table for the sake of convenience.

Angrybird 12 · 07-29-2014, 02:26 PM

You should contact your insurance company, even if they don't pay for your car they have the clout to get the city ( or responsible party) to pay for it if they try to wrangle their way out.
Whomever tried to start the car made a big mistake. In my opinion It should have been towed to a garage and dried out first.....make sure no water got into the engine or air box or the electronics. It could have fried the ECM.

mth35115 · 07-29-2014, 02:58 PM

I don't know about the rest of you but even if the car runs fine I would be worried about what was floating around inside that car if it was sewage backed in there.

Russell James · 07-30-2014, 11:56 AM

Document everything. Get the names and times of who would not allow the vehicle to be removed by the owner. Names and times of who tried to start a water damaged car...

Contact insurance company for their guidance. Yes, that is a total loss. But it will probably wind up on the road again in some used car lot. If the end result is not satisfactory, law suit.

My opinion would be the storm and flooding would not be negligence, so I'd concentrate on the actions of the garage owner as negligence. A flooded car should not be attempted to start until inspected by a qualified technician.

If it was flooded with sewage water, might have been the right thing to do to prevent people from walking in it. Dangerous crud.

On the plus side, one more Toyota off the road. Buy her a new Chevy!

Good luck, hope all resolves itself in the long run.

07-29-2014, 09:40 AM	#1
Yellow Camaro Drives: 2010 Rally Yellow 2SS/RS Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 417	Flood damage question...is this a total loss? (Not Camaro) I know a lot of people have dealt with flood damage in recent years with Superstorm Sandy and whatnot, and on a forum full of "car guys" I'm sure a few of you have been down this road and can advise. One of the other cars in my household had an incident yesterday with the major storms in Boston. It was in the bottom floor of a city parking garage, and the sewers backed up and then the garages pump failed. I think the whole thing was handled pretty negligently actually....once the pump failed the property management company would not let my girlfriend get to the car to remove it. It sat for hours while the water rose....at the end of the day, they insisted on trying to move the cars for people. They took her keys, tried to start it, and it was a no-start. There's about 10 other cars in the garage that had the same fate. I went down there last night to assess....they had trucks pumping out most of the water, but the car was still inaccessible. I tried to take a pic of the water line, I don't know if you can make it out but it starts at the spoke on the front wheel that's closest to "3 o'clock" and goes across the door. Definitely above the exhaust. We did put rubber boots on and trudged over to the car, and it's inside and all over the carpets. Is this a no-brainer total loss, or am I in for a headache? It's a 2010 Venza with about 40k. Attached Images

07-29-2014, 09:46 AM	#2
NJBourne23 Master of Nothings Drives: 2010 Chevy Camaro 2LT/RS Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: PA Posts: 691 View My Garage	it's a total loss. I would contact your insurance and tell them exactly what happened, of how you tried to remove it prior to water filling up to where it did but you were not allowed by the garage company. They will be held liable because you tried to prevent damage and they stopped you. It's even worse because it's sewage __________________ 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2LT/RS

07-29-2014, 12:35 PM	#8
Demon War Horse War Horse Pilot Drives: 2017 NFG 1SS 1LE Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: N.Texas Posts: 2,458 View My Garage	Probably a total loss. I would almost insist on it if I were you to make sure you do not have any electrical issues down the road. Also if they tried to start it and the tail pipe was under water, it may have sucked water back up into the engine as well when they tried to fire it up. I would be upset for sure. But let insurance fight this out. __________________ COTW 09/07/2015 - 2014 AGM 2SS/RS - RIP 6/01/17 2017 Nightfall Gray Metallic 1SS 1LE Born 5/17/17 - *Click Sig Pic below for for Demon War Horse 02 Build Thread* SigPic by Hazman

07-29-2014, 12:54 PM	#9
ChrisBlair Buick 455 Fan Drives: 1970 Buick, 2012 1SS LS3 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Boston MA Posts: 5,957	Co-worker here in MA is going through same thing. Bizarre, freak huge deep puddle, swallowed his car to the hood. Crazy. __________________

07-29-2014, 02:26 PM	#11
Angrybird 12 7 year Cancer Survivor! Drives: 17 Cruze RS, 07 G6 GT, 99 Astro Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 21,546	You should contact your insurance company, even if they don't pay for your car they have the clout to get the city ( or responsible party) to pay for it if they try to wrangle their way out. Whomever tried to start the car made a big mistake. In my opinion It should have been towed to a garage and dried out first.....make sure no water got into the engine or air box or the electronics. It could have fried the ECM. __________________ Cancer's a bitch! Enjoy life while you can! LIVE, LOVE, DRIVE... The Bird is the word!

07-29-2014, 10:11 AM	#3
Yellow Camaro Drives: 2010 Rally Yellow 2SS/RS Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 417	That's what I'm hoping...just thinking about putting our children in the car after they suck out all the fecal water makes me ill. I'm a little concerned that the city and the garage owner are going to have a pissing contest about accountability. I'm not a civil engineer, but my understanding is that the city's system backed up, and the garage's pump couldn't handle it. Is there any reason NOT to just contact our own insurance company? I generally like the hold the responsible party accountable and not put claims on my own insurance, but I just want this over with.

07-29-2014, 10:27 AM	#5
Yellow Camaro Drives: 2010 Rally Yellow 2SS/RS Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 417	Yeah Sheriff, wild indeed. This happened in nearby Somerville.

07-29-2014, 12:17 PM	#7
fsrtwo Drives: 2013 1Lt Conv, Blue Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Rockville, MD Posts: 86	It happened to me with my Jeep Wrangler in Sandy. I had 26" of water. the insurance company totaled it on the spot. I did buy it back from the insurance company for about 30% of the value. It runs fine, I changed the fluids as a precaution, I expect there will be a few sensors to replace down the road due to corrosion. If you like to work on cars, then keep it. If you have to pay somebody to fix it every time something goes wrong, it might be more trouble than it is worth.

07-29-2014, 02:58 PM	#12
mth35115 Drives: 2010 Camaro rs/ss inferno orange Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 232	I don't know about the rest of you but even if the car runs fine I would be worried about what was floating around inside that car if it was sewage backed in there. __________________ HOT ROD SS MTH35115

07-30-2014, 11:56 AM	#13
Russell James Drives: '15 SS 1LE, '69 Z28 drag car Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mich Posts: 4,482	Document everything. Get the names and times of who would not allow the vehicle to be removed by the owner. Names and times of who tried to start a water damaged car... Contact insurance company for their guidance. Yes, that is a total loss. But it will probably wind up on the road again in some used car lot. If the end result is not satisfactory, law suit. My opinion would be the storm and flooding would not be negligence, so I'd concentrate on the actions of the garage owner as negligence. A flooded car should not be attempted to start until inspected by a qualified technician. If it was flooded with sewage water, might have been the right thing to do to prevent people from walking in it. Dangerous crud. On the plus side, one more Toyota off the road. Buy her a new Chevy! Good luck, hope all resolves itself in the long run.