Is flood damage fatal?

10

Asked by pia317 Oct 23, 2016 at 08:08 PM about the 2011 Subaru Impreza 2.5i

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I got caught in a flash flood on Thursday as I was driving home (a 2011
Subarau Impreza). My car stalled out and wouldn't start. (It wouldn't crank at
all, just made a click). The lights still worked, though. The water was almost up
to my knees outside of the car, and after a minute or two came into the car
enough to soak the floorboards. Once I got out of the car, the cops who
showed up wouldn't let me try to push it to dry ground. So It probably sat in
the water for roughly an 1.5 before the tow truck could get it out. I've filed a
claim with my insurance but it has yet to be examined by an appraiser. What
I'm wondering is whether my car will be totaled? And if not, is it worth trying to
fix? (I know nothing about cars, but have been reading that cars with flood
damage can have a host of problems down the line.)

5 Answers

47,960

There may be a calculated two-fer here: seek the max insurance claim; THEN ask what the "salvage" value is. It may be shockingly low. You can then "buy back" YOUR vehicle for the salvage value and see how it goes as the months and years go by. There's a strong possibility that since you didn't fully "sell" your " TOTALLED vehicle to the insurance company you won't need to chase a new salvage Title (which may have additional bureacratic costs, inspections, and delays), but you WILL lose the sales tax payment due you since you didn't fully "sell" the vehicle to your insurance company. My daughter's Imp suffered colorful and significant hail damage a couple of years ago; following a "totalled" payoff of $8k she was able to buy back for $3k salvage, driving a wonderfully theftproof lunar-scape Imp in Chicago and pocketing the difference. But....

3 people found this helpful.
47,960

...depending upon how deep the flooding was, there's a good chance that your ECM was submerged; as well Jim's cautions are NOT to be taken lightly. Before attempting to return your car to service just by air and vacuum-drying the interior, I would pull up the right (passenger) front carpet and remove the underlying ECM, air-drying it FULLY before reuse. If your Imp won't run or idle smoothly after eventual attempts to restart with a fully-charged battery I'd remove all four spark plugs wires to dry their boots especially. If' the boots are all wet I might blow out or remove the plugs themselves to clean all water out of these ports. But if the car starts and idles just somewhat roughly you may have only ONE wet cylinder wire; use the scanned CEL to properly locate the PO30x code to dry off.... Assuming your high-mounted main harness connectors weren't submerged I'd probably not worry about tranny function; regardless, they're easy to clean off and reconnect. Let me know how it goes, as there may be a silver lining here...besides the possibility of periodic "tarnish" risks for awhile. Good luck.

3 people found this helpful.
10

Thanks so much for your advice! The shop has told me that my engine is locked. I'm still waiting to hear what my insurance is going to say...

1 people found this helpful.

Fixing a flooded car can mean a ruined engine and problems with the brakes, wheel bearings. transmission and electrical. Inside you may have mold, rust and mildew. If your insurance pays the car off be very, very glad because keeping the car would be a nightmare.

2 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Impreza

Looking for a Used Impreza in your area?

CarGurus has 654 nationwide Impreza listings starting at $5,995.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    3,490
  • #2
    Nick Eidemiller
    Reputation
    910
  • #3
    Guybrarian
    Reputation
    830
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Impreza WRX
3 Great Deals out of 21 listings starting at $7,995
Used Subaru Legacy
15 Great Deals out of 210 listings starting at $3,495
Used Subaru Forester
26 Great Deals out of 1,375 listings starting at $3,495
Used Subaru Outback
55 Great Deals out of 1,103 listings starting at $3,495
Used Honda Civic
190 Great Deals out of 4,208 listings starting at $2,916
Used Toyota Corolla
137 Great Deals out of 2,258 listings starting at $3,495
Used Mazda MAZDA3
82 Great Deals out of 1,272 listings starting at $2,966
Used Toyota Camry
44 Great Deals out of 1,140 listings starting at $3,900
Used Subaru Impreza WRX STI
14 listings starting at $14,950
Used Honda Accord
59 Great Deals out of 1,026 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota RAV4
111 Great Deals out of 2,857 listings starting at $2,949
Used Honda CR-V
157 Great Deals out of 4,953 listings starting at $440

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.