Help! Car submerged in flood

kablu · 22nd December 2015, 17:33

Thanks for the quick response guys.

Latest update:

Got connected to a person known to my uncle at MSS Kumbakonam. He says that there is bandwidth to do preliminary engine checks/rust prevention steps right away if the car reaches them today or tomorrow. I've arranged a truck to transport the car. Transport charges are close to what arvind mentioned.
The MSS Rep also added that, the expenses will be around 20K if the ECU is not damaged. Fingers crossed

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWind

Are you sure of the water level? Asking since you were busy with being with your family and hope are not relying on information from your neighbors.
If so,open the bonnet and check for damages due to water. Do not start the car!

Dwind,
I saw the car at the mentioned water level on 2nd Dec early morning. Only the roof and a small part of the window glass was visible. That was the maximum water level we witnessed in our area. And the water receded completely on the same day evening. I am a bit sure on the water level as I checked the car immediately after the water has receded and found the interior roof lining dry.

varadha_r · 23rd December 2015, 16:32

My t-jet got submerged too at bonnet level but thankfully no water has entered the engine. Given the volume of claims, a lot of insurance companies are not giving out total loss but are suggesting repairs instead to lessen the burden. However, much as I hate to say it, it looks like getting a total loss is going to be nigh impossible given the sheer volumes of cars totalled and the fact that insurance companies will pay only after these cars are auctioned to scrap dealers - scrap car prices have fallen 50% because of this volume and this is an unique, once in a life time situation where volumes are so high that no one wants to pay IDV and are instead asking for a settlement - where they pay Rs. 1 -2 lakhs and are asking us to get this settled outside. you can of course contest this in an insurance ombudsman but it will take you 6-24 months to resolve this until which your car will be literally gathering dust.

Seems a difficult time ahead - I wanted to claim IDV but they said they will pay only 50 % and after the car is auctioned which is at least 3 months away - so I have agreed for a repair where their liability is capped at 75% IDV. I have no visibility if it can be done at all but then this is what it is.

In any case, I wanted help from team bhp to figure out :

- what all checks should I do post delivery of repaired vehicle to check that vehicle is in good condition - esp. things like air bags, ABS, alternators etc.

- how do I get interiors cleaned again to remove fungus that's accumulated.

callvvijay · 24th December 2015, 19:46

Guys,

My friend and also his friend own a Hy.Accent (1st gen) each.

Just a week or two before the Chennai flood, my friend's friend changed his car tyres to brand-new ones. Unfortunately, the Chennai-flood has rendered his car a total-loss (by insurance guys) now.

Can the tyres of his car be used now by my friend in his Accent? I'm not asking it from the insurance-logistics point of view - but from the usability and safety aspects.

TIA!

PatchyBoy · 24th December 2015, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by callvvijay

Guys,

Just a week or two before the Chennai flood, my friend's friend changed his car tyres to brand-new ones.

Can the tyres of his car be used now by my friend in his Accent?

I don't see why not. I am certain that a day or two of being submerged in water will not affect tyres, unless there was some chemical in the water that could erode rubber and weaken the tyre

baskar · 25th December 2015, 07:00

Friends,
My Passat is damaged in the chennai floods. While the water was up to the tyre level, I could see water coming from the glovebox. VW Service is quoting a number which is double the cost of a new Passat. Obviously this is likely to be declared as a total loss, all parts including Engine, gearbox, turbo charger, ECU to be replaced !!!. I am unable to open the driver door (and hence unable to access the bonnet opening lever) , trunk (to disengage the battery). All the doors and windows are jammed. Even the manual plastic key is also not opening the driver door. Any ideas how to open any of the doors so that I can take out some of my personal belongings? The front passenger window opened on its own as a safety feature.

I am not very confident that the car will come back to its glory whatever be the reparis. Mentally prepared to loose the car. But at least I wanted to check how much water entered in the engine compartment.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I researched the vehicle manual, there is no mention of this situation anywhere .

anandtheleo · 25th December 2015, 12:10

Completely fed-up with the Insurance people and the A** support, had to daily call and beg/cajole them to take up my case. Finally just decided to sell of the car on a as-is condition and posted on various online portals.

Got a buyer and the price was reasonable (mine was a 2008 i10 Magna (O). Got a price lesser than 40000-50000 from market price, but I reasoned that would be my repair cost contribution given its depreciation and if I had to sell it later too, the tag of flood-affected will still linger on.

So with a heavy heart I let-go my car of more than 7 years, was sad to see it go this way

vigsom · 25th December 2015, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by baskar

VW Service is quoting a number which is double the cost of a new Passat. Obviously this is likely to be declared as a total loss, all parts including Engine, gearbox, turbo charger, ECU to be replaced !!! But at least I wanted to check how much water entered in the engine compartment.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I researched the vehicle manual, there is no mention of this situation anywhere .

You could check the engine oil quality by pulling the dipstick out- if it is emulsion,it has to be just drained and replaced.

Same with transmission oil.

Engine,gearbox and turbo can all be restored without much fuss.

Not sure about the mechatronics in the DSG but replacement of the transmission valve body would definitely work.

My personal view is to transport the car to Mumbai and have it done up as there is the knowledge,skill attitude and experience there.Private garages are the way to go.Mumbai tbhpians can help.

Since water was seen only till the tyre,I think you can take a gamble and have it done up .

I feel your ecu would have just escaped damage.

srinath.s · 25th December 2015, 20:46

I've been hearing that there is an ongoing scam at insurance companies after the Chennai deluge wherein customers are being forced to settle for anywhere between 70%-85% of their vehicles' IDV in cases where they are declared 'total loss' (especially category A - fully submerged vehicles). Customers are basically bargaining to extract maximum possible amount from their insurers. From the information I came across at several places, this practise is not correct and customers are entitled to 100% of the IDV (less mandatory excess, of course) in total loss scenarios.

I just wanted to know if anyone else here whose car's been declared total loss came across such an offer from their insurer.

Also, insurance gurus, please advise how to act in case such an offer is made.

madbullram · 25th December 2015, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by srinath.s

I've been hearing that there is an ongoing scam at insurance companies after the Chennai deluge wherein customers are being forced to settle for anywhere between 70%-85% of their vehicles' IDV in cases where they are declared 'total loss' (especially category A - fully submerged vehicles). Customers are basically bargaining to extract maximum possible amount from their insurers. From the information I came across at several places, this practise is not correct and customers are entitled to 100% of the IDV (less mandatory excess, of course) in total loss scenarios.

I just wanted to know if anyone else here whose car's been declared total loss came across such an offer from their insurer.

Also, insurance gurus, please advise how to act in case such an offer is made.

mine is classic case. Have an honda civic that was flood hit till steering. L&T guys came and took all photos and said total loss and asked me to get an estimate. Got it from ignite and it was around 8.9 lakhs, another Civic had same estimate for 10.5 lakhs. My car has IDV for 4.96 and L&T is not willing to settle more than 4.5 lakhs.

If I dont accept, they are saying they will revisit the estimate and see if it can be rapired. For example, seats being changed will removed and made as seats being services etc.

So I am the verge of taking 4.5 with a 10% loss on IDV.

Krishnan V G · 25th December 2015, 21:03

Our 4.7 years old skoda yeti higher end model got submerged in Chennai floods almost upto the dashboard level. Skoda engineers after examining the car clearly said that the cost of the repair would be equal to or more than a new Yeti and gave an estimate for Rs. 24.7 Lakhs. It's a total loss declares car now. Have my insurance with Future Generali with an IDV of 9.95 Lakhs with a zero depreciation cover. Today went to their Chennai office and signed and submitted the relevant docs, and handed over the keys to their staff. Was told that they are trying to get a buyer quickly to get some value out of the car, and if it does not happen within the next few days, they will pay me the full IDV minus a nominal Rs. 2000, and deposit the same into our bank account. So far the entire process of dealing with Future Generali staff here in Chennai has been very efficient and outstanding too. Have been assured by their claims officer from Mumbai who is here to settle the claims that the entire issue will be settled within the next 3-4 working days at best. If they cannot get a buyer for our Yeti immediately, they would take away the vehicle to a hired yard in Chennai, and auction it along with other such vehicles. Happy to be dealing with Future Generali at this juncture. Their team here has been working on weekends and holidays too without a break!

anandtheleo · 25th December 2015, 21:29

That's great to hear varied experience with insurers. Mine was Bajaj Allianz, absolutely horrible experience, nil accountability and no response from anyone. Calls to CC are useless as they are completely clueless of local Chennai office happening's. My future insurance will never be with them. I had 2 cars and 1 bike insured with them, now none will be ever.

kablu · 25th December 2015, 22:51

Update on my car : car diagnosed at MASS kumbakonam. ECU and all related stuffs are gone. estimated bill amount is around 60K. Post that, there is tinkering works on damages caused while transporting the car. ICE totally gone. My contact at MASS suggests to go for a new car (MY 2015) from Maruti stable, So That he might workout on some good buying price for my car along with exchange bonus. Confused now. Going to talk to him in direct tomorrow to discuss about the deal he is talking about. will update the details after the discussion.

rajamuneeb · 25th December 2015, 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by kablu

Update on my car : car diagnosed at MASS kumbakonam. ECU and all related stuffs are gone. estimated bill amount is around 60K. Post that, there is tinkering works on damages caused while transporting the car. ICE totally gone. My contact at MASS suggests to go for a new car (MY 2015) from Maruti stable, So That he might workout on some good buying price for my car along with exchange bonus. Confused now. Going to talk to him in direct tomorrow to discuss about the deal he is talking about. will update the details after the discussion.

Dear friend.
If you are able to get a good discount and can afford a new one my humble suggestion would be to go for it. My experience from last year's floods here is that even vehicles repaired are prone to breakdowns. So if you can opt for a new one it would be a better choice.

Thad E Ginathom · 25th December 2015, 23:53

Our Insurer is Royal Sundaram. We got a phone call from some guiy telling us that we have to get an estimate and pay 5% of the estimate as estimater fee but they will settle for 5k. This seems to be some sort of scam, as a real Royal Sundaram guy visited yesterday and said they will write off the car and pay us, without waiting for sale. He said we should give car to him, or to a couple of his colleagues he named, and not to anybody else.

I guess there are some tricky games going on out there.

I am still utterly disapointed, even devastated, at the "impossibility" or repair, which seems entirely down to VW and their policy of not holding, or being able to get, the necessary electronic spares.

COMMUTER · 26th December 2015, 00:19

Gentlemen, I am taking delivery of A Figo 1.5 base in the next couple of days. I booked the car on the day it was launched and the dealer always cited low stock and delayed delivery. I was having alternate rides and played along. But suddenly after chennai floods he urgently called me and informed that a base figo of different color is available. The dealer is a gentleman but still I have a faint suspicion that the vehicle might have been at chennai and should have been affected by the flood. How can I verify that the is not damaged in the flood.

The VIN reveals that the Date of manufacture was two months before the dealer contacted me with the news of the cars availability.

23rd December 2015, 16:32	#332
varadha_r BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 56 Thanked: 91 Times	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood My t-jet got submerged too at bonnet level but thankfully no water has entered the engine. Given the volume of claims, a lot of insurance companies are not giving out total loss but are suggesting repairs instead to lessen the burden. However, much as I hate to say it, it looks like getting a total loss is going to be nigh impossible given the sheer volumes of cars totalled and the fact that insurance companies will pay only after these cars are auctioned to scrap dealers - scrap car prices have fallen 50% because of this volume and this is an unique, once in a life time situation where volumes are so high that no one wants to pay IDV and are instead asking for a settlement - where they pay Rs. 1 -2 lakhs and are asking us to get this settled outside. you can of course contest this in an insurance ombudsman but it will take you 6-24 months to resolve this until which your car will be literally gathering dust. Seems a difficult time ahead - I wanted to claim IDV but they said they will pay only 50 % and after the car is auctioned which is at least 3 months away - so I have agreed for a repair where their liability is capped at 75% IDV. I have no visibility if it can be done at all but then this is what it is. In any case, I wanted help from team bhp to figure out : - what all checks should I do post delivery of repaired vehicle to check that vehicle is in good condition - esp. things like air bags, ABS, alternators etc. - how do I get interiors cleaned again to remove fungus that's accumulated. Last edited by Gannu_1 : 23rd December 2015 at 17:37. Reason: Formatting post.
	() Thanks

24th December 2015, 19:46	#333
callvvijay BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Chennai Posts: 323 Thanked: 469 Times	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood Guys, My friend and also his friend own a Hy.Accent (1st gen) each. Just a week or two before the Chennai flood, my friend's friend changed his car tyres to brand-new ones. Unfortunately, the Chennai-flood has rendered his car a total-loss (by insurance guys) now. Can the tyres of his car be used now by my friend in his Accent? I'm not asking it from the insurance-logistics point of view - but from the usability and safety aspects. TIA!
	() Thanks

25th December 2015, 07:00	#335
baskar BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 144 Thanked: 97 Times	Re: 2012 Volkswagen Passat Highline - The beast finally comes home! Friends, My Passat is damaged in the chennai floods. While the water was up to the tyre level, I could see water coming from the glovebox. VW Service is quoting a number which is double the cost of a new Passat. Obviously this is likely to be declared as a total loss, all parts including Engine, gearbox, turbo charger, ECU to be replaced !!!. I am unable to open the driver door (and hence unable to access the bonnet opening lever) , trunk (to disengage the battery). All the doors and windows are jammed. Even the manual plastic key is also not opening the driver door. Any ideas how to open any of the doors so that I can take out some of my personal belongings? The front passenger window opened on its own as a safety feature. I am not very confident that the car will come back to its glory whatever be the reparis. Mentally prepared to loose the car. But at least I wanted to check how much water entered in the engine compartment. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I researched the vehicle manual, there is no mention of this situation anywhere .
	(1) Thanks

25th December 2015, 12:10	#336
anandtheleo BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 420 Thanked: 439 Times View My Garage	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood Completely fed-up with the Insurance people and the A** support, had to daily call and beg/cajole them to take up my case. Finally just decided to sell of the car on a as-is condition and posted on various online portals. Got a buyer and the price was reasonable (mine was a 2008 i10 Magna (O). Got a price lesser than 40000-50000 from market price, but I reasoned that would be my repair cost contribution given its depreciation and if I had to sell it later too, the tag of flood-affected will still linger on. So with a heavy heart I let-go my car of more than 7 years, was sad to see it go this way
	(1) Thanks

25th December 2015, 20:46	#338
srinath.s BHPian Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Chennai Posts: 94 Thanked: 119 Times	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood I've been hearing that there is an ongoing scam at insurance companies after the Chennai deluge wherein customers are being forced to settle for anywhere between 70%-85% of their vehicles' IDV in cases where they are declared 'total loss' (especially category A - fully submerged vehicles). Customers are basically bargaining to extract maximum possible amount from their insurers. From the information I came across at several places, this practise is not correct and customers are entitled to 100% of the IDV (less mandatory excess, of course) in total loss scenarios. I just wanted to know if anyone else here whose car's been declared total loss came across such an offer from their insurer. Also, insurance gurus, please advise how to act in case such an offer is made.
	() Thanks

25th December 2015, 21:03	#340
Krishnan V G BHPian Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 75 Thanked: 111 Times	Our 4.7 years old skoda yeti higher end model got submerged in Chennai floods almost upto the dashboard level. Skoda engineers after examining the car clearly said that the cost of the repair would be equal to or more than a new Yeti and gave an estimate for Rs. 24.7 Lakhs. It's a total loss declares car now. Have my insurance with Future Generali with an IDV of 9.95 Lakhs with a zero depreciation cover. Today went to their Chennai office and signed and submitted the relevant docs, and handed over the keys to their staff. Was told that they are trying to get a buyer quickly to get some value out of the car, and if it does not happen within the next few days, they will pay me the full IDV minus a nominal Rs. 2000, and deposit the same into our bank account. So far the entire process of dealing with Future Generali staff here in Chennai has been very efficient and outstanding too. Have been assured by their claims officer from Mumbai who is here to settle the claims that the entire issue will be settled within the next 3-4 working days at best. If they cannot get a buyer for our Yeti immediately, they would take away the vehicle to a hired yard in Chennai, and auction it along with other such vehicles. Happy to be dealing with Future Generali at this juncture. Their team here has been working on weekends and holidays too without a break!
	(2) Thanks

25th December 2015, 21:29	#341
anandtheleo BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 420 Thanked: 439 Times View My Garage	That's great to hear varied experience with insurers. Mine was Bajaj Allianz, absolutely horrible experience, nil accountability and no response from anyone. Calls to CC are useless as they are completely clueless of local Chennai office happening's. My future insurance will never be with them. I had 2 cars and 1 bike insured with them, now none will be ever.
	() Thanks

25th December 2015, 22:51	#342
kablu BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 84 Thanked: 25 Times	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood Update on my car : car diagnosed at MASS kumbakonam. ECU and all related stuffs are gone. estimated bill amount is around 60K. Post that, there is tinkering works on damages caused while transporting the car. ICE totally gone. My contact at MASS suggests to go for a new car (MY 2015) from Maruti stable, So That he might workout on some good buying price for my car along with exchange bonus. Confused now. Going to talk to him in direct tomorrow to discuss about the deal he is talking about. will update the details after the discussion.
	() Thanks

25th December 2015, 23:53	#344
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,199 Thanked: 28,200 Times	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood Our Insurer is Royal Sundaram. We got a phone call from some guiy telling us that we have to get an estimate and pay 5% of the estimate as estimater fee but they will settle for 5k. This seems to be some sort of scam, as a real Royal Sundaram guy visited yesterday and said they will write off the car and pay us, without waiting for sale. He said we should give car to him, or to a couple of his colleagues he named, and not to anybody else. I guess there are some tricky games going on out there. I am still utterly disapointed, even devastated, at the "impossibility" or repair, which seems entirely down to VW and their policy of not holding, or being able to get, the necessary electronic spares.
	() Thanks

26th December 2015, 00:19	#345
COMMUTER BANNED Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: India Posts: 573 Thanked: 1,037 Times View My Garage	Re: Help! Car submerged in flood Gentlemen, I am taking delivery of A Figo 1.5 base in the next couple of days. I booked the car on the day it was launched and the dealer always cited low stock and delayed delivery. I was having alternate rides and played along. But suddenly after chennai floods he urgently called me and informed that a base figo of different color is available. The dealer is a gentleman but still I have a faint suspicion that the vehicle might have been at chennai and should have been affected by the flood. How can I verify that the is not damaged in the flood. The VIN reveals that the Date of manufacture was two months before the dealer contacted me with the news of the cars availability.
	() Thanks