LOW LEVEL FLOOD INS

dutchcat

Mother in law drove into a flood this eve ,car cut out and she said the water was above her ankles while sitting in the car,it's a 06 focus 1-4 a mechanic said the car will never be right after and she should contact her ins immed.Should I just grab the car off her ,strip it out and dry it out or is there likely to be engine damage etc.she has comp, but will the ins write it off or repair it? she says that she won't want the car back if she is going to be plagued by problems forever .Anybody any experience or advice Thanks

MarkR

Up to her ankles while sitting in the car is pretty high. If the car cut out in the flood, it's assumed that water was sucked into the air intake. If it's gotten into the engine and she attempted to start the car again I think you bend piston rings. Or something like that.

dutchcat

na she didn't try and start it couple of lads pulled it up the road out of the way and left it

knifey_spoonie

The worst case is hydrolock, if the air intake took water into the cylinders it may be fubared.

What happens is the piston pushes against the water which is an incompresable liquid, it will bend con rods and that is not good.

See Wikipedia for more info

lifer_sean

Never mind the engine condition, that's relatively easy to fix by putting in a secondhand lump (it's only money ...). It's the water in the electronics that you need to worry about. Chances of it being ok is slim, can expect electrical problems forever more.

I'd chance buying cars in most conditions - non-runners, crashed, fire damaged, etc, at a price, but will never ever touch flood damaged cars.

Saab Ed

If the car was only ticking over when the water got into the engine then she might have got away with no dammage at all. Take out all the spark plugs and turn the engine over on the key for 5 or 6 seconds. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times. Replace the spark plugs back into the engine and try to start the car. After that if it starts then throw a bottle of injector cleaner into the petrol tank. As regards the water damage to the interior you'll just have to take the lot out, carpets and all and just wash and dry what you can . Might be best to get a proper valet service to do this. I know of plenty of stolen / recovered cars that are back on the road which had water damage and their new owners are none the wiser. I once saw a Merc 500 that was semi submerged in the canal after being stolen and its back on the road this years. Was in the car myself and it was fine (although it did need a good few computers replaced but then again it spent most of the night in the canal ) :)

PS If the car does start then turn it off the second it does and perform a service on the car straight away i.e oil+filter, air filter etc etc. Although the car might start , once water has got into the engine lots of damage could still be done. This is just a test to see if the engine is knackered or if it just needs to be serviced.

EPM

I remember my uncle when i was small did something similar with his weekend car. Think it was an 83 xr2i. It would get halfway to dublin before it'd cut out...no one could ever fix it right. Thats my point basically...try and get it written off...

maidhc

EPM wrote: »

I remember my uncle when i was small did something similar with his weekend car. Think it was an 83 xr2i. It would get halfway to dublin before it'd cut out...no one could ever fix it right. Thats my point basically...try and get it written off...

I think few Fords from the 80s got more than 2/3rds of the way anyway!

But I agree. Car could well prove a misery for ever more.

dutchcat

thanks ror your replies,at what point can she refuse the car back, do the ins co accept that flood damaged cars can be plagued with problems ,

dutchcat

another question , got the car towed thru aa, to a compound ,can she say where she wants the car assesed or do the ins nominate their own garage

mickdw

Insurance people know that flooded cars are real trouble and will write it off. It would be best if it wasnt starting and the dash lights were doing funny things. Dont touch it unless you know the water didnt get near ANY of the electrical components

Damien360

I did the same with my old mondeo when it flooded in a waterford industrial estate a few years ago. My engine was screwed. Sucked water in to the air intake and really did a lot of damage. Cost money to get it towed to a safe place for the night and then more money to get it to Kildare. Ford wanted to change the whole engine. It is cheaper on labour than a re-work of the engine. Boss decided against this and got a garage to re-build it. Parts were cheaper but it ended up costing more due to labour. Add to that, cost of hire car while it was off the road.

In the end, the car gave a lot of trouble which was never really nailed down. I always said it was injectors blocking due to dirty fuel but boss convinced himself that it was due to water damage. Car was quickly traded for new mondeo.

You will always have a doubt in the back of your mind if anything happens at all.

racso1975

I did this once in a yaris. Engine and electrics were fine but took a while to get rid of smell and car fog'd up a lot internally. But ran great. Best of luck

dutchcat

yeah i'd say there would be some peggy dell out of it after a few days mudder in laws smell a bit funny at the best of times:pac: