Advice needed, please
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 9
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Advice needed, please
I have a 1999 with 38000 miles on it and the garage I store it in for the winter flooded. The only water damage appears to be the carpet and perhaps the BCM. I have pretty much traced the problem to the BCM and then called the insurance company. They took the car to a body shop and now they want to total the car! Needless to say my wife and I are distraught because I had the car running by jumping out the TDR as per something I saw on a forum. SO, with that said I will have the opportunity to get the car back and there is absolutely no other damage as the car is immaculate, there was no damage to the seats and I am looking for some advice from you folks out there. I somehow feel like I am being set up by the body shop as they would benefit from sending this thing off to auction.
Any help would be deeply appreciated.
John
Any help would be deeply appreciated.
John
Pro
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 519
Likes: 65
From: South Salem NY
I have a 1999 with 38000 miles on it and the garage I store it in for the winter flooded. The only water damage appears to be the carpet and perhaps the BCM. I have pretty much traced the problem to the BCM and then called the insurance company. They took the car to a body shop and now they want to total the car! Needless to say my wife and I are distraught because I had the car running by jumping out the TDR as per something I saw on a forum. SO, with that said I will have the opportunity to get the car back and there is absolutely no other damage as the car is immaculate, there was no damage to the seats and I am looking for some advice from you folks out there. I somehow feel like I am being set up by the body shop as they would benefit from sending this thing off to auction.
Any help would be deeply appreciated.
John
Any help would be deeply appreciated.
John
If you do this they will pay you the claim minus the amount of money they would get from the yard.
Be careful though. Water damage can be sneaky and not show up for awhile. Takes time for wet electrical parts to corrode. I would get it checked out by a pro before deciding to keep it.
Then there is also the issue of possibly having they title reissued as a "salvage " title.
Last edited by Ducati Guy; Apr 27, 2016 at 08:07 AM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Apr 2016
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Thanks
You can usually keep the car for the "Salvage value". That is amount the insurance company will get from a salvage yard when they take the car.
If you do this they will pay you the claim minus the amount of money they would get from the yard.
Be careful though. Water damage can be sneaky and not show up for awhile. Takes time for wet electrical parts to corrode. I would get it checked out by a pro before deciding to keep it.
Then there is also the issue of possibly having they title reissued as a "salvage " title.
If you do this they will pay you the claim minus the amount of money they would get from the yard.
Be careful though. Water damage can be sneaky and not show up for awhile. Takes time for wet electrical parts to corrode. I would get it checked out by a pro before deciding to keep it.
Then there is also the issue of possibly having they title reissued as a "salvage " title.
Thanks for listening, John
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 4,820
Likes: 34
From: Ravensdale WA
The floor is made of balsa wood. That is part of the structure of the car. Sitting under water I would fear water got into there, that would weaken the whole car. Plus there will be other problems. I had a pick up that ended up in water. I took it all apart right away and dried it out right away. It was almost new at the time. I talked the ins company out of totaling it. It was nothing but trouble after that. Just let it go and find another one.
1/4 mile/AutoX
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 11,439
Likes: 2,184
From: Buffalo Texas
it's too bad you called the insurance co. before you found out what is all wrong ??????? If it was mine (I do all my own work) I would take off door panels and ck to see where ever water might have entered??? I take it the battery was hooked up, if not and it was dried out I would suspect less damage ??? where are you located ???
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 920
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From: Stoneham, MA
Ouch that hurts. You can hunt down & buy used parts for the car if damaged by water. Yes, you will have to pay a premium for them. It's going to be your call if to repair and who knows what will show it's ugly head in 6 months. It also depends on what the insurance company will give you for a totaled 1999 C5.
Unless the body shop is owned by family, you know they're looking to make a fast buck also.
What would a water damaged/totaled 1999 C5 be worth from the Insurance Co.
Unless the body shop is owned by family, you know they're looking to make a fast buck also.
What would a water damaged/totaled 1999 C5 be worth from the Insurance Co.
Last edited by tmirisola; Apr 27, 2016 at 08:43 AM.
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Apr 2016
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it's too bad you called the insurance co. before you found out what is all wrong ??????? If it was mine (I do all my own work) I would take off door panels and ck to see where ever water might have entered??? I take it the battery was hooked up, if not and it was dried out I would suspect less damage ??? where are you located ???
I am in eastern Pa. Once I realized what happened I immediately removed the seats and the carpet and dried it all out. The seats were completely untouched by the water. The inside of the doors also did not receive any water. I did some reading and realized the BCM may be bad and the by replacing the TDR (theft deterrent relay) that may allow the BCM to "wake up". So I purchased a new TDR and put it in and that did not help. Yes the battery was hooked up as when I lay the car up i keep a tender on it.
Thanks for your input.
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 9
Likes: 1
Ouch that hurts. You can hunt down & buy used parts for the car if damaged by water. Yes, you will have to pay a premium for them. It's going to be your call if to repair and who knows what will show it's ugly head in 6 months. It also depends on what the insurance company will give you for a totaled 1999 C5.
Unless the body shop is owned by family, you know they're looking to make a fast buck also.
What would a water damaged/totaled 1999 C5 be worth from the Insurance Co.
Unless the body shop is owned by family, you know they're looking to make a fast buck also.
What would a water damaged/totaled 1999 C5 be worth from the Insurance Co.
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 9
Likes: 1
Good question but from an emotional standpoint this car is absolutely immaculate and has been in our family for 10 years with only 38000 miles on it and I will have a difficult time finding another one like it. Sorry to sound whiney but we loved this car black with a beige gut, well maintained and we are the second owners... Oh well enough whining on my part! Thanks for listening
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
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From: Wisconsin
So far they have offered approximately 14,000 but they are sending the case to the Specialty Division for further review and they are going to get back to me Thursday with another offer. At that time they will also let me know what I can "purchase" the car back for. Thanks for your help and input.
I would not buy a totaled flood damaged car. Would you?
Last edited by JR-01; Apr 27, 2016 at 09:12 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 17,707
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From: Aiken, SC
St. Jude Donor '13 thru '26
Good question but from an emotional standpoint this car is absolutely immaculate and has been in our family for 10 years with only 38000 miles on it and I will have a difficult time finding another one like it. Sorry to sound whiney but we loved this car black with a beige gut, well maintained and we are the second owners... Oh well enough whining on my part! Thanks for listening
It's tough to separate the two but you must. Good Luck!
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Apr 2016
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The floor is made of balsa wood. That is part of the structure of the car. Sitting under water I would fear water got into there, that would weaken the whole car. Plus there will be other problems. I had a pick up that ended up in water. I took it all apart right away and dried it out right away. It was almost new at the time. I talked the ins company out of totaling it. It was nothing but trouble after that. Just let it go and find another one.
Wow, I totally forgot about the floor as that will weigh in on my decision.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,867
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From: Kelso Washington
St. Jude Donor '09, '13, '15
Depends partly on what they are going to give you for the car and then how much more it will cost you to actually get a car you want.
Weigh that against the cost of buying back your car and then the cost of chasing down and fixing problems.
good luck.
Weigh that against the cost of buying back your car and then the cost of chasing down and fixing problems.
good luck.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
Likes: 429
From: Houston TX
at some of the replies in this thread.Buy it back and keep the difference for repairs. If it ends up acting up down the line, part it out and buy another one with the part out money plus the insurance settlement. Most likely, it'll be fine but it's not like you're going to lose out if it ends up being problematic.
1/4 mile/AutoX
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 11,439
Likes: 2,184
From: Buffalo Texas
the balsa wood is glued and pressed together and I would not suspect it would be damaged, of course I don't know how long the car was under water ????? (watched a video on this process just the other day it is also part of the structure ????) it's not like the floor pans are not exposed to water (rain ???)
Last edited by Pounder; Apr 27, 2016 at 10:50 AM.