[shekar.ca]

Hello all,

I wanted to post on an evolving situation - Chennai has seen persistent rains for the past 2 days and due to resultant floods, the basement of my apartment complex is under water. Amongst other vehicles under 6-7ft of water are my Jeep Compass 2.0 MT Diesel and Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

Compass is just over 1 month old and has been driven around 1,200 kms so far. The Interceptor on the other hand is 2.5 years old and in good condition, last ridden a couple of days ago.

I parked the Compass in the basement at 10 pm last night when there were no signs of flooding. I was woken up by the ringing doorbell at around 2.30 am this morning, saying water was flooding into the basement. By the time I went down, the water was at too high a level for me to enter the basement and its been that way for 12 hrs now.

I have in the meanwhile reached out to a service advisor at VTK Jeep (the dealer) to understand the process I need to follow. He asked me to wait it out and once water recedes, ask for the Jeep RSA to tow the car away, post which the damage assessment, claim processing, etc. will start. I guess a similar action needs to be initiated with Royal Enfield as well.

While I am helpless for the moment and am waiting for rains to subside, water to recede (or pumped out of the basement), there are so many questions running in the mind. Request help and inputs/ tips from the members in this forum on the following:

1. Once I get the vehicles towed away, what happens then? Would this be a full loss kind of situation?
2. If the insurance company insists on repairs, how do I handle it? Isn't it unlikely that both vehicles won't have a long term impact from this kind of exposure under water?
3. If approved for a total loss, would I get the IDV paid out by the insurance company? Am I eligible for a proportionate refund of the life/ road tax?

Thanks in advance!

[xotiq]

Originally Posted by shekar.ca

I wanted to post on an evolving situation - Chennai has seen persistent rains for the past 2 days and due to resultant floods, the basement of my apartment complex is under water. Amongst other vehicles under 6-7ft of water are my Jeep Compass 2.0 MT Diesel and Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

While no words will provide relief, I can understand your situation, having had friends in Chennai who went through the same routine many years back. Is your parking below ground level? From your description of 6-7 feet, I reckon the vehicle is completely under water which means no amount of refurbishing / replacement might really ensure reliability. I am sure you would have taken photos of what you described, just in case. Please wait for the insurance survey to complete.

I hope you have a return to invoice cover active for the Compass, as without that there would a substantial gap between IDV and Invoice.

[shekar.ca]

Thanks for your kind words. Yes to both, the parking is in the basement and I do have the return to invoice cover. The below photos are all I could manage to give an idea of the situation.

Approach into the basement from the ground floor:


Basement view:


There must 6-7 cars and around 10 bikes parked inside - nothing is visible right now and its dangerous to attempt entering the basement until the water recedes at least a little.

I have contacted the dealer, who says the car will be fully repaired, but I am not sure if I should even consider accepting that. Or do I even have a choice?

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by shekar.ca

I do have the return to invoice cover.

Since you have RTI, you are looking at almost 0 financial loss (maybe barring some processing charge / deductible). A two year old X1 in my extended family was submerged (a little over half) in the Mumbai floods a few months back and was deemed total loss. They had RTI as well and got the entire amount back.

I have contacted the dealer, who says the car will be fully repaired, but I am not sure if I should even consider accepting that. Or do I even have a choice?

Looking at the pictures, it seems that the entire vehicle is under water. So, there is high possibility of it being declared total loss. But it really depends on how much the ASC calculates as repair cost. Whether it can be repaired - everything can be repaired, completely mangled or submerged-in-mud vehicles are repaired/restored. Whether you have a choice - unlikely. If the ASC comes up with a repair cost that is <75% of the IDV, there is nothing you can do to reject repair.

Work with your dealer and push for total loss.

That said, completely submerged cars are more often than not repaired and sold. Whether that's a good idea or not - is individual choice.

[irdevanand]

Originally Posted by shekar.ca

I parked the Compass in the basement at 10 pm last night when there were no signs of flooding. I was woken up by the ringing doorbell at around 2.30 am this morning, saying water was flooding into the basement. By the time I went down, the water was at too high a level for me to enter the basement and its been that way for 12 hrs now.

1. Once I get the vehicles towed away, what happens then? Would this be a full loss kind of situation?
2. If the insurance company insists on repairs, how do I handle it? Isn't it unlikely that both vehicles won't have a long term impact from this kind of exposure under water?
3. If approved for a total loss, would I get the IDV paid out by the insurance company? Am I eligible for a proportionate refund of the life/ road tax?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Shekar,

Sorry for your loss but where in Chennai are you staying and what is the name of the apartment? I thought this time it is not so severe as i had relatively light showers only. I am in Guduvanchery. Asking this info here instead of PM as it might help others in nearby area in the next 2 days.

Coming to your questions. I lost my Honda city in 2015 Chennai floods and this looks like a repeat of 2015. No words to console you man. I know how it feels . Take a look at the water level in my car and you will instantly realise your car will a declared total loss. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post3870430 (Help! Car submerged in flood)

1. YES
2. Forget repairs. My half flooded car had repair estimate that was above IDV. Yours is fully submerged. So forget repairs.
3. Yes your entire IDV will be given to you. But i am not sure about road tax etc and i don't remember enquiring about that. Mine was 5 year car at that time but i think you should get it back as it is really high nowadays.

Regards
Dev

[shekar.ca]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Since you have RTI, you are looking at almost 0 financial loss (maybe barring some processing charge / deductible). A two year old X1 in my extended family was submerged (a little over half) in the Mumbai floods a few months back and was deemed total loss. They had RTI as well and got the entire amount back.

That's good to know.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Looking at the pictures, it seems that the entire vehicle is under water. So, there is high possibility of it being declared total loss. But it really depends on how much the ASC calculates as repair cost. Whether it can be repaired - everything can be repaired, completely mangled or submerged-in-mud vehicles are repaired/restored. Whether you have a choice - unlikely. If the ASC comes up with a repair cost that is <75% of the IDV, there is nothing you can do to reject repair.

Work with your dealer and push for total loss.

That said, completely submerged cars are more often than not repaired and sold. Whether that's a good idea or not - is individual choice.

Thanks for a clear explanation, I understand. On individual choice, I am most concerned if long term reliability of the car is compromised when repairs are done under this kind of scenario. I guess I have wait for the process to start to see how this pans out. Fingers crossed really

Originally Posted by irdevanand

Sorry for your loss but where in Chennai are you staying and what is the name of the apartment? I thought this time it is not so severe as i had relatively light showers only. I am in Guduvanchery. Asking this info here instead of PM as it might help others in nearby area in the next 2 days.

No problem, I live on Seethammal Road, Alwarpet. Showers have been persistent all through Saturday night/ Sunday morning and I believe the release of excess water from the reservoirs has worsened the situation here. As of this morning, water yet to be drained out of the street and apartment compound, leave alone the basement!

Originally Posted by irdevanand

Coming to your questions. I lost my Honda city in 2015 Chennai floods and this looks like a repeat of 2015. No words to console you man. I know how it feels . Take a look at the water level in my car and you will instantly realise your car will a declared total loss. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post3870430 (Help! Car submerged in flood)

1. YES
2. Forget repairs. My half flooded car had repair estimate that was above IDV. Yours is fully submerged. So forget repairs.
3. Yes your entire IDV will be given to you. But i am not sure about road tax etc and i don't remember enquiring about that. Mine was 5 year car at that time but i think you should get it back as it is really high nowadays.

Thank you much for your answers Dev. I saw the water level that you experienced and good you got it declared as full loss. The car (and bike) is now 24+ hrs under water, hoping the water recedes/ is pumped out today, so the long process can be initiated. It does feel very sad and shocking, but need to just manage this phase calmly

[windrider]

There is no way your jeep can be repaired. My cousin lost a 7 month old polo in the 2018 kerala floods. It was submerged upto the window level for 3 days and it was declared as total loss. At that time VW showroom was only trying to repair cars which were submerged upto a little above the axle. Cars that were submerged in deeper water were declared as total loss. He lost only about 40-50k off the purchase price. Rest of the car value was paid back to him by his insurance. His 1991 re 350 was also submerged, but he was able to fix it completely and only spent under 2,000. Unfortunately since then, a lot of rust has appeared on various locations and he is trying to sell it off. If your 650 is repairable, get it fixed and sell it. There is no way that bike is going to last even if repaired since it has been completely submerged. The electronics and wiring might work fine for now, but eventually you will run into trouble.

[kiran_aithal]

Sorry to hear about the your car and bike :( ...
Since you have an RTI and, by the looks, the car is completely submerged - will be declared as a total loss, you would be paid the amount on the invoice(including the road tax and everything associated) minus the insurance cost.
Better is to call the insurance helpline and see if they would confirm this.

[IamNikhil]

Firstly, really sorry to hear about your car and the bike too. Plus, I'm sure it pains much more considering the car is almost brand new.

I think your case warrants Total Loss without a shadow of a doubt. Push this with the dealer for sure. 24 hrs+ of being submerged under water is enough to cause long-lasting damage to any vehicle.

Since you have opted for RTI, you will get the entire amount refunded. If I'm not mistaken, road tax is part of the Invoice as well.

Many such cases might crop up in Chennai considering the floods, hence insurance companies might not have too much maneuvering space to play hardball on Total Loss claims.

[RJK]

Feel bad for you, shekhar. This situation brings to light, a glaring discrepancy/avoidance/callousness from the builders/housing developers while constructing towers/apartment complexes. Since they will never improve, onus is upon us to do due diligence going ahead, regarding flood preparedness or rather likelihood of the tower flooding. I'm not pointing fingers at you but just a thought to bear in mind next time.

Its so sad to see a brand new car flooded in water, not even getting into the headache of dealing with insurance!

[VW2010]

First thing, relax and stay calm. There is absolutely nothing you can do now to save or salvage that car. You will get your insurance claim and this car will be sold in auction. There is no way Jeep will risk repairing this car and it is cheaper to sell it in auction for the insurance company. You can calmly wait and get the same color Jeep in 2 months time.

Cars are cheaper to make in the factory while replacing every part on the car will probably double the cost and hence repair cost will be way higher than the idv in my humble opinion.

I am on the opposite side of your road and I parked my Nano and Endeavor on the street and will take it back to my basement only after Friday. My basement is dry for that matter and yet with this picture you have posted, I am not risking anything.

Remember, it is just a car.

[shekar.ca]

Thank you all for the kind words. Its indeed heartbreaking but given this is something completely outside my control, learning to cope and deal with it as calmly as I can.

Update this evening is that the situation is still quite the same

This is how the basement entry looked at around 6 pm:


Street view showing the approach from the main road:

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

Sorry to hear about the your car and bike :( ...
Since you have an RTI and, by the looks, the car is completely submerged - will be declared as a total loss, you would be paid the amount on the invoice(including the road tax and everything associated) minus the insurance cost.
Better is to call the insurance helpline and see if they would confirm this.

Sure, will try that tomorrow. As of now been in touch only with the dealer and service centre.

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Firstly, really sorry to hear about your car and the bike too. Plus, I'm sure it pains much more considering the car is almost brand new.

I think your case warrants Total Loss without a shadow of a doubt. Push this with the dealer for sure. 24 hrs+ of being submerged under water is enough to cause long-lasting damage to any vehicle.

Since you have opted for RTI, you will get the entire amount refunded. If I'm not mistaken, road tax is part of the Invoice as well.

Many such cases might crop up in Chennai considering the floods, hence insurance companies might not have too much maneuvering space to play hardball on Total Loss claims.

Yes, I am hoping so too on the total loss. I will check on the road tax part - I read another thread in this forum where the road tax was proportionately refunded in a total loss scenario.

Its 40+ hours already and by the looks of it, its easily going to be another 12-15 hrs before I can expect anything to happen.

Originally Posted by windrider

There is no way your jeep can be repaired. My cousin lost a 7 month old polo in the 2018 kerala floods. It was submerged upto the window level for 3 days and it was declared as total loss. At that time VW showroom was only trying to repair cars which were submerged upto a little above the axle. Cars that were submerged in deeper water were declared as total loss. He lost only about 40-50k off the purchase price. Rest of the car value was paid back to him by his insurance. His 1991 re 350 was also submerged, but he was able to fix it completely and only spent under 2,000. Unfortunately since then, a lot of rust has appeared on various locations and he is trying to sell it off. If your 650 is repairable, get it fixed and sell it. There is no way that bike is going to last even if repaired since it has been completely submerged. The electronics and wiring might work fine for now, but eventually you will run into trouble.

Thanks for your feedback, will try and do what best is possible to salvage the current situation and then need to plan for next steps.

Originally Posted by RJK

Feel bad for you, shekhar. This situation brings to light, a glaring discrepancy/avoidance/callousness from the builders/housing developers while constructing towers/apartment complexes. Since they will never improve, onus is upon us to do due diligence going ahead, regarding flood preparedness or rather likelihood of the tower flooding. I'm not pointing fingers at you but just a thought to bear in mind next time.

Its so sad to see a brand new car flooded in water, not even getting into the headache of dealing with insurance!

Sad but true what you have mentioned. Never imagined this sort of situation until it struck me now - a hard lesson learnt I must say.

[VW2010]

I hope basha, the great dane opposite to your flat is safe. My kid studies in Vruksha and now I understand where you are. I am not sure why there is so much water here. This is not a low lying area. Looks like some drainage issue. The rest of the streets are not this bad and pretty much drained and dry. I don't think this is due to water release.

Considering the next wave of rain fall and how it looks ominous I fear you have Tuesday and Wednesday to pull the car out. The below picture is prediction from Wednesday night. Courtesy windy.com.

Do you need any supplies or anything. I can help. Message me or share your number.

Right now opposite side of TTK road.

[Aniruddha_Ch]

Having worked in automobile dealership for a brief period, I can say that if water goes above the dashboard, then such cases are most likely to be treated as totalled loss (Add on cover like EP, CM, RTI will come at your rescue). Glad that you're safe and protected inside your home.

[Bibendum90949]

Very sorry to hear your ordeal.

Another bhpian faced the same last year. This thread would give you relevant information. Have a look.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ia-seltos.html (Flood attacks my Kia Seltos)