Victim of Flood, need help.

[NoSpeedLimits]

Unfortunately, my ride was overtaken by the recent NE flooding and is now at the mercy of the insurance appraiser. Having never dealt with a car that was filled with water, I wanted to get your thoughts before they make me an offer. I am concerned about the potential damage to the car's electric system and drive train, but am hoping that they would be okay after drying.

I recently had Kirt rebuild the valve body, which btw rocks, and have proudly invested alot of time, money & sweat to keep my ride as new as possible, therefore I really would like to save my ride; if at all possible. Or, should I be looking at this as an opportunity to upgrade??

Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated.

TIA
Steve

[saj3n]

My personal opinion on insurance claims, it can go 1 of 2 ways. The first, they give you more than enough money and you decide to upgrade; a new vehicle or one without the damage, and potentially less problems to deal with. Or, you keep the same vehicle, and end up continually pouring money into it for repairs as a result of the flood, as well as the normal repairs/upgrades planned for the ride. In my case, rear ended by a Drunk driver, recieved $3000 for the car damage, ended up draining me for almost $4500, by the time I was done repairing all the related problems.

[CharlesAFerg]

Thats a really, really good point.

[Rigmaster]

Not sure how it is in your state, but in NC the insurance company totals a car if the water comes over the door sills. Doesn't matter if the car is still running and working just fine, they still total it.

You would still have the option of buying the car back if the insurance company totals it, but it would have a salvage title.

Best bet is to see what they say about the damage and how much they offer you IF they decide to total it. Good luck.

Bret.

[bigmuthatrucker]

heres what I would do Buy it back from the insurance company. DONT try to start it or let the insurance try to either.. Drain all fluids change the plugs see if it starts.. If it doesnt part it out.. by the time you get done parting it out and getting what the insurance company gives you. You should be able to replace you car and then some...
my two cents... I am in NE PA as well but mine was spared any damage..
good luck
jim:D

[TheEndIsNear]

I agree with Jim, did that same thing with my Mustang when we had the flooding in Western Oregon.

[TheEndIsNear]

Pardon my second post... But DO NOT start it till you have made full sure theres no water in the intake/top end of the motor!!! Water in the motor will cause hydro-lock!

[Airborne001]

Keep in mind also that even if you do restore it completely, the flood damage is always going to show on your Carfax report.

[joshua43214]

My experience with flood cars is that they are always a problem. Once water gets in the harnesses, its abuot impossible to dry them out and not have electrical ghosts start to pop up and cause endless headaches down the road. As much as I hate to say it, if the water filled the floor, especialy if it got under the back seat, demand the insurance company total it out.

[Toomas]

The wires will start to rot over time, you might get severe rust problems.
Its not worth to keep her, you would have to take her completely apart, replace all the wires and brackets and stuff that are not meant to be in contact with water, all the carpeting, sensors and i dont know what else.
It will cost you times more than the market value of your car if you restore her properly.

[tim s]

tim s.

[VentoGT]

The Vultures are circling...

:)

[mholbrook]

I'd rather have the car burn than be in a flood. No question of what to do then. As many others have said, it is going to be nothing but problems. Get as much info as possible on its value and receipts for recent repairs to bolster your case in getting as much money as possible from the INS company and then buy another car.

[NoSpeedLimits]

Conversations I've had w/ the insurance company reps would lead me to believe that PA has similar rules to those in NC; they are considering it totaled (sight unseen) mainly because the level of the water, which was at the level of the radio. I believe policy (maybe state law??) requires them to send an appraiser out to assess the car before they can make an official offer – part of the CYA policy. In the mean time, I am stuck waiting on them & it’s driving me nuts. I hate leaving my ride w/ water soaked carpets, seats, etc. especially if I am going to salvage it.

Not knowing what to expect is so frustrating. After checking KBB, NADA and Edmunds it appears that the value of my ride could be anywhere from 3K to 10K depending on the appraisers interpretation. And since there are so many claims being filed as a result of the floods, I fear the insurance company won’t be in a generous mood. Hopefully, I will be pleasantly surprised and my decision will be made easier. I do have all my receipts, so I will be sure to share them with him.

So is my ride salvageable?? I suppose it is, but at what cost. I love my car, but definitely don’t want to spend more than what it would cost to purchase a similar replacement. Nor do I want to be forever plagued with electrical headaches. I suspect the electric costs could easily run into the thousands and that doesn’t even consider the interior or drive train…

I don’t mind if I end up with a salvaged and/or reconstructed title because I planned on keeping my ride till death. Unfortunately, I think death has come sooner than expected.

Ideally it would be nice to know if the motor will run. But since there is no power I can’t even make an attempt. I am reluctant to toss a new battery in for fear that it will make things worse (such as shorting something out) or be a waste of money. I figure the current electric damage would prevent any chance of a start-up and will assume it would run as long as the electrical things are repaired & the moisture is removed from the intake system.

As much as it kills me, I’ll just wait till I hear my “final offer,” then I’ll make a decision. If I do keep it and decide to part it out, you’ll be the first to know. BTW exterior finish is Black, and the interior is Gray w/ a hint of mud. Hope that’s a match…

Thanks,
Steve

[tgrandahl]

My father is an adjuster for allstate, he says in your situation you will probably have a totaled car because your carrier is going to be busy with thousands of claims, and not have time to process a very very difficult claim like food damage.

I work in high end mobile electronics, during this past winter i worked on a lot of volvos that had been in floods, aparently volvos are well known for living through floods. It was not totaly aparent on the outside, the leather looked faded but besides that the car had been cleaned very well. All the electronics looked new as they had been replaced but once you started taking panels off it was obvious it had been flooded. rust was everywhere already the wiring was somewhat intact but there was sand all over, including inside the headlights and dont forget about the 3" of foam under the carpet that was still soaking wet from months earlier.

I talked to the owner about it and he said that he had picked it up not long ago very very cheep. After a few more came in and a friend of mine even picked up one of these dirt cheep volvos that had signs of flood i got suspicious and went to some friends that attend auctions allot. It turns out they were from katrina, truckloads of them brought up dried and cleaned out. New electronics and rekeyed, then reregisterd in RI and sold around the northeast were volvos are popular and sure to sell quick.

So anyways there almost all lemons, my friend got rid of hers afer it ate a couple thousand in electronics. I have had countless other come back and back again for troubleshoots. Its not worth fixing and be carefull what you even part, it sucks your in this situation good luck with whatever you do.

BTW remember your e34 has a good deal of very important electronics under the rear seat including the battery. it has a drain for your battery fumes that would let water in from the flood even if it did not come over your door sills, you should definatley look around down here.

[Booster]

I've seen the end results of many flooded cars. I can't imagine the INS. comany not totaling it.
If the "buy back" price is cheap....say 500.00$, get it for spare parts or to Ebay everything.
But by no means use ANYthing thats foam or electronic again for your new ride.
Flood cars will NEVER smell right again no matter whats replaced. "READ"> no money will make her right !
Sorry for your grief. Plan for your next color....;)
...............V'

[NoSpeedLimits]

Update: As suspected, the insurance company considers it totaled and made an offer of a tad over 8K, which includes tax (glad I opted for the $100 deductible). Fortunately, they considered my vehicle “dealer ready” and I had kept all of my receipts and maintenance records. Otherwise, I am sure the offer would have been much less. I am not thrilled with their offer because I doubt I can replace my ride with 8K. But, my plea fell on deaf ears.

The local stealer told me to forget about any attempts to salvage the car. Claimed the electrical components would cost a bunch and I would be forever haunted with electrical problems.

A local detailer, who is considered one of the best, said it would cost about 3K to have him clean the interior but didn’t think it would be worth the trouble.

After much deliberation, I agree that the car is not worth salvaging -- not having a garage or a spare car weighed heavily on my decision. I would love to strip the car down and rebuild her, but the money and potential electrical problems are hard to justify.

Unfortunately, they gave me an attractive buy back offer. Not having a place to strip the car for parts sales prevents me from keeping my ride. Plus, the neighbors and wife would frown on the site of my stripped car. So, is anyone interested in a spare car? If so, then please let me know ASAP so that I can stop the salvage company from picking up my ride.

I’d rather see someone from this site benefit from my parts. $1500 and it’s yours, plus you’ll need to take care of transporting it to your place.

While your thinking about it, I’ll put together a list of parts that I’ve purchased during the past three years I’ve owned the car. Some of which haven’t been installed. The tires were replaced in December, which cost over 600 bucks. Plus, a Kirt valve body was installed last month, which cost me over a grand....

[saj3n]

:(

Made me so sad reading your story.... :(