Hi. I was driving my car in this crazy rain in New York today and after the light turned red I turned right on a seemingly straight road.
It ends up that my car gets stuck on a small, poorly draining hill in the road and my car is immersed in like 4 feet of water. My car stalls out and won’t back up or go forward. I got the car towed when the water subsided.
I just put down a payment for this new used car at a dealership like 3 days ago (2001 dodge neon). I have a warranty on the car and insurance. I am located in CT. Any advice as to what to say to the insurance and/or car dealership?
The bad news:
–The car dealership won’t care–you bought it and then dunked it.
–Warranty probably will do you no good either because anything damaged by the water is not an inherent flaw in the item itself.
The good news:
–This is (usually) covered under your insurance policy
–Better yet, although one could argue that this was a roadbed-type collision (which is almost a slam dunk for a premium increase) it is more commonly coded as a flood–which is a comprehensive loss, which is not usually something that will raise your rates. This all depends on who your insurance company is.
The Best news:
–If you car is considered a total loss as the result of this flood, your insurer will pay you the market value of your car in exchange for the car and the title. Since you just bought the darned thing, you can make a very good case that the market value is exactly what you bought it for–meaning you can probably make the loan and the car go away and start all over. Again, your chances of success in this endeavor depend on who your insurer is. (Personally, I would just look at your bill of sale and pay you based on the purchase price of the car + taxes).
But insurance laws differ from state to state. Your insurance company is probably the only help you’ll get.
Best wishes.
Your warranty will not cover that type damage, nor is the dealer legally, morally or ethically obliged to do anything. Your only recourse is through your insurance company. Just tell them what you shared here.
I don’t have any help for you about the insurance/car dealer, but I did buy a car that had been thru a flood. I bought it used even though it was a brand new car (got a great deal on it). The car was ok except when I turned on the AC it had that musty, rag that was wet and not washed soon enough, smell to it and would cause me headaches. Never did get rid of that smell but fortunately I didn’t use the AC much at the time. So you need to make sure the AC/heat vent are repaired so that you don’t have that smell. But the car itself ran hunky dory. So you
My guess is that your engine is pretty well ruined. If you get any water down the intake, it can cause big problems: blown head gaskets, bent connecting ords–expensive stuff to fix.
Plus, you’ll never get rid of the musty smell. Ditch the car and get another.
-ahem- that’s “connecting rods”, not “connecting ords”. Sorry. But to expand: Your car was running when you entered the water, and the engine stalled out; that’s why I think there’s a strong possibility that it’s toast.
I personally have stalled my car in a foot of water; when it finally died five years later, the mechanic reported that one of the connecting rods was bent. Maybe that’s why the idle was rough. Or, since the cause of death was a ruptured head gasket, the con rod damage could have happened just when the gasket blew, filling the cylinder with radiator water. I’ll never know.
A friend said that I could sue the city for not having cones surrounding the 4 foot deep puddle. (I’ll have to get a good lawyer for that one.)
I don’t have comprehensive, just liability coverage so I’m basically screwed. I’ll have to wait and see what they say about the damage.
This goes to show that you can never be prepared for the unexpected.
Oh well, at least I’ll get some exercise from walking and save gas money with public transportation.
Just liability? That means you paid cash, right?, because just about any bank would dictate that you have full coverage. And often the dealer won’t let it leave the lot until the bank gives the okay, which it won’t do until you have proof of coverage.
She may not have used the car for collateral.
Actually if you drain/refill all the fluids, the car will probably run again without too much effort. In the short term it’s not that bad. In the long term, the car is going to have no end of weird electrical problems. Plus, it’s going to grow mold in places that you’ll never be able to access. You’ll need to constantly have a new air freshener hanging from the mirror to cover up the musty smell, because it’s never going to go away completely.
Agreed.
Doh! You’re right, of course.