free101

Hey everyone, I don't post on here much, but have been a Scion enthusiast since last year.

Last Saturday my 2010 Scion tC was in about 2 and a half feet of rain water, and about 7 inches of water got inside of the car Engine stalled.
The wrecker tried to start the car after the water went down, but it wouldn't start. Had the car towed to the dealership and they were able to start the car a couple of days later!

But, Insurance company (State Farm) didn't declare it totaled. From what I've been reading, I thought insurance companies usually declare flood cars totaled, since it's a risk not knowing what sort of electrical damage could've been done?

My concern is the electrical wiring and electronics could be messed up in the future, and since the insurance company didn't total the car, and the car was repaired at the dealer, it's probably going to show up on the Carfax report as flood damage vehicle. Then, I won't be able to sell it or trade it into any dealer...

Anything I can do to persuade the insurance company to total the car? I heard filing a Diminished Value Claim could be a start. Anyone have any information?

Thanks in advanced!

1GreeKtC

iTrader: (3)

Holy ____ man, that actually sucks major b___s.
I've had my car filled with a little water before but nowhere near your situation. Unfortunately I'm not insurance savvy, but you should definitely ask your agent,
don't know the relationship you have with him/her, but you need an expert's opinion. Hopefully there's a loop-pole and you could luck out.

Either way best of luck and sorry to hear.

MuD3

wait wait wait... you want them to total your car? so you can get an insurance pay off or what? because a salvage title is going to ____ you over way more than a ding on a carfax report ever will.

youngflyer

your only other option other than totaled is filing a claim for diminished valued which can help cover some of your losses when you go to trade-in/buy a new car.

free101

If they don't total it, I'm stuck with a car that would be problematic in the future, not to mention all the electrical stuff they run along the floorboard and under the seats that could've gotten damage from the water...and possibility of motor problems. Plus, Carfax will be dinged, I wouldn't be able to sell it or trade it in, unless I sell it at less than half the value. No one's gonna wanna buy a car that's been marked "flooded". So I was hoping it would be totaled, so I can get rid of it now and not have to worry about trying to sell it later. Either way, I'm loosing money because IF they totaled it, I will probably get less than what I owe on it.

free101

I will try this! But, once a car's been marked "flooded", I wouldn't be able to trade it in, right?

TotalChaos

This situation totally sucks dude! Like someone said, talk to your agent and then if you don't like your options or what they say, work your way up the food chain and talk to supervisors or management until you get real answers. You will at least get a diminished value check. My friend got one for a limb hitting his car and it was like a 1.5 - 2 year old car. Since the dealer got the car started, you might be screwed in the since of having it totaled. Not sure, just do some digging and see if anything comes up!

jjmor1296

Damn man, my girlfriend is an insurance agent and i know that most cars that get flooded are usually declared write offs so they wont have to pay anything for it, just bring it to a shop and get them to look at your electrical stuff and see if they have been damaged and all your dash stuff still works, and just look to see if you can see any rust on the engine. If it wasnt in water for a lng time you should be fine, hope i could help

free101

I finally got to look at the car today. They took out the carpet and all of the seats, only the bare metal was showing. I was surprised, but there are actually a lot of electrical wiring underneath the carpet. The advisor told me that even though water got into the car, it should be okay since the wiring has plastic tubes over it and the connections didn't have any corrosion. I'll have to check out the engine the next time I see. One thing though, it smelled really funky, even without the carpet and seats.

Thank you all for your help!

turd.ferguson

fyi to people... never try to start your car after its been flooded, esp if it was high enough to get in your intake. You need to change your oil/transmission fluid before driving it, and depending on how severe the flood, alot of the lube/grease in various places could have been washed away... I know the OP's car was taken to a dealership, just some wisdom for people who didnt know (like me, when my wife's car got flooded.) Her clutch started to go a week later.

TTCCC

Flooded car = junk.

Get rid of it.

Dizzzle

Fking fail with out photos

egobuster1

im pretty sure you can tell your insurance adjuster you want the car totalled out after something like that and they have to do it. i know when my honda got hit i told them i wanted it totalled and they didnt even ask why they just did it

hermo

sux bro i feel for ya, work that ____ out between u and the insurance company

schmolls

My TC got ruined when I stupidly drove into a flood puddle. They flushed my transmission and I got a used engine and now it idles funny and my steering wheel is hard to turn. I would of asked for the insurance company to total it but now i am stuck with a ____ty TC now.

tcturbo07

Sucks to hear, but your car will never be the same after the water damage.