flooded cars

davoxx · 25-10-2011 3:39pm #1

wanted to start a thread advising those who have had their cars flooded what to do.

i know several cars that have gotten water into their cylinders, but am a loss at what to tell the owners other than disconnect battery and call a mechanic.

so any words of wisdom would be nice

Edit: Inform their insurance company as soon as possible. If they do decide to claim, any significant delay could create issues with it being accepted. (Cuddlesworth)

If no insurance, or not going down that route:
1) remove spark plugs, check if oil is contaminated, check air filter.
2) if water in cylinders, try to start car with fuel fuse removed, this should fire out the water.

Cuddlesworth · 25-10-2011 3:53pm

davoxx wrote: »

wanted to start a thread advising those who have had their cars flooded what to do.

i know several cars that have gotten water into their cylinders, but am a loss at what to tell the owners other than disconnect battery and call a mechanic.

so any words of wisdom would be nice

Inform their insurance company as soon as possible. If they do decide to claim, any significant delay could create issues with it being accepted.

IrishZeus · 25-10-2011 3:55pm

Do insurance companies cover acts of god?

ciarsd · 25-10-2011 3:59pm

IrishZeus wrote: »

Do insurance companies cover acts of god?

Do they cover anything come claim time?!

Master and commander · 25-10-2011 4:11pm

i'd imagine most modern cars would be as good as shot if water gets into all the electroicery. Many would probably be insurance write offs as replacing and reprogramming all the computer equipment would cost oodles.

Probably end up being used for mechanical parts salvage.

Compton · 25-10-2011 4:11pm

what if you don't believe in god? do they cover you then?

Master and commander · 25-10-2011 4:12pm

shblob wrote: »

what if you don't believe in god? do they cover you then?

what about acts of allah, or budda? are they covered?

07Lapierre · 25-10-2011 4:15pm

Dont drive the car.
have the car towed to a garage and checked over by a Mechanic.

If he gets the car going....Sell It!
If he can't get the car going Sell it!!

Nissan doctor · 25-10-2011 4:16pm

shblob wrote: »

what if you don't believe in god? do they cover you then?

Hmmm, that could be an interesting court argument. Could be considered as the insurance company forcing religious beliefs on you??

Compton · 25-10-2011 4:23pm

07Lapierre wrote: »

Dont driver the car.
have the car towed to a garage and checked over by a Mechanic.

If he gets the car going....Sell It!
If he can't get the car going Sell it!!

why would you driver the car? no need to hit the poor thing with a golf club

Cuddlesworth · 25-10-2011 4:24pm

shblob wrote: »

what if you don't believe in god? do they cover you then?

Act of God is a accepted term for Act of Nature.

Cuddlesworth · 25-10-2011 4:26pm

07Lapierre wrote: »

If he gets the car going....Sell It!
If he can't get the car going Sell it!!

You ever been in a Flood damaged car? They stink, they stink so bad it makes you gag. All those crevices, all that cloth, all those electric cables with a bad seal at the end. They all hold smelly **** filled water.

Nissan doctor · 25-10-2011 4:27pm

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Act of God is a accepted term for Act of Nature.

But if your insurance cert, a legal document, says act of God rather then act of nature then you have a case I'd say.

07Lapierre · 25-10-2011 4:36pm

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

You ever been in a Flood damaged car? They stink, they stink so bad it makes you gag. All those crevices, all that cloth, all those electric cables with a bad seal at the end. They all hold smelly **** filled water.

Good Point... Maybe i should have said, "sell it (if you can)".

Cuddlesworth · 25-10-2011 4:37pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

But if your insurance cert, a legal document, says act of God rather then act of nature then you have a case I'd say.

I'd say you want to have very very deep pockets to give it a test.

liamo · 25-10-2011 5:01pm

Nissan doctor wrote: »

But if your insurance cert, a legal document, says act of God rather then act of nature then you have a case I'd say.

I was going to post a response suggesting that insurance companies would probably use the term "Force Majeure" not "Act of God".

However, a little Googling turns up that "Act of God" is, in fact, a legal term in at least some jurisdictions.

Linkies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_majeure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_God

And just because I thought it was an amusing read I include this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_against_God

slimjimmc · 25-10-2011 6:00pm

According to some insurance honcho Matt Cooper was interviewing on his show this evening flood damage is deemed accidental damage, not an act of God and therefore is fully covered if you have comprehensive insurance. I presume "accidental" rules out people who intentionally drive into floods and end up getting stranded.

Bumpstop · 25-10-2011 6:15pm

The last time there was a flood. I was helping someone clear out their flooded house. Across the road I had sort of noticed 2 guys at a Merc. My friend said it was up to the bonnet in water for a day.

After a while I heard this noise on the street, I went out to have a look. They had the bonnet up on the Merc and four dancing jets of water straight up in the air, in the firing order so to speak. They were cranking out the water. There was also pulses of water coming out the exhaust.

Good luck with that, I thought. A little while later I looked out and wraithed in clouds of steam was the Merc, purring away. It took them the whole day but they got it started.

I don't know what the interior was like however.

flooded cars

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