Lost my car in the Houston flood
 

missed work yesterday. had a foot of water in my car. wife's car is OK. oh well....

damn! that's fucking rough.



the upside of that was no vieja cotorra yesterday. count your blessings, as they say.

Ah man. That really really sucks. I'm well aware of the destructive power of water and you have my full sympathy. You're taking it much better than I would. Fucking nature.

Colin Crapernick don't care yo... on the plus side with the raise at your new job you can upgrade from the Instagator Truckster you been whipping

so what kind of damage did it take? is it completely dead or just stinky? did water get in the engine? is it new/old/insured vs. flood?

old car, paid off years ago. electrical system woks. water in exhaust and maybe in engine. letting it dry out before I see what's up. only had liability insurance on it cuz it was so old. Maybe renter's insurance will cover it.

at least my wife and I were looking to get me a new car anyways.....

hey, glad you're okay, though

damn, those cars are THE BEST because you don't have to pay for them. fixing is always cheaper than buying unless the car is completely shot. i mean, even replacing the engine and transmission beats monthly payments.

do NOT try to start it though! you're going to need a mechanic to take it apart but i bet those are busy right now. check exhaust, transmission, engine, electronics.

renters insurance won't cover that unless you have flood insurance which is federal-- so probably you don't have it (do you have flood insurance?).

can i ask what make/model? manual or automatic gears?

ps lemme ask one more thing

when you say flooded in 1 foot of water do you mean it was sitting in a foot of water? or was there 1 foot of water INSIDE the car?

It sat in maybe 2 feet of water, and had about 8 inches of water in car.

It is a 1999 Toyota Camry LE, automatic.

we shall see.....

oh damn. toyotas are cheap to fix-- but that's a lot of water. have it towed to a shop & give it a good inspection-- or have a mechanic friend look at it.

if it's totalled and nobody covers you, you might wanna sell off some parts on ebay... people don't like buying flood-damaged cars, and scrap metal is very cheap right now. :(

Last wek I got a note on my car asking if it was for sale. I thin the guy wants it for parts. it may be for the best. I just hate the idea of carrying a car note after 5 years without one....

That sucks, man.
Got this awesome error while driving down Allen Parkway on Saturday


My engine is fucked after 2,000 miles, but it's still under warranty and BMW is taking care of everything

I talked with a guy who knows a good deal about cars / owns a car lot. Change your oil and let it dry out and it should be ok......at least ok enough for you to drive it to a shop for further inspection.

The fact that your electrical works in H U G E!!!

Was your car parked on the street and affected by rising water or did you drive thru high water?

no need to carry a note-- just buy another used one that's reliable and has good mileage and it's easy to repair (honda, toyota, etc). new cars depreciate the fastest in the first 2 years. you could probably get a 5 year old car for a song.

pay cash and stash all future "payments" in a car fund. you just need transportation to work-- yeah? just make sure it's not a car with flood damage :eek:

99 camry? Let that shit go

lolol californios

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@robigator:

i found this thing:

http://www.carmudi.com.ph/journal/th...hrough-floods/

some of these asian name models (it's an article from the philippines) might require translation/don't exist here, but the ford ranger (same name as US model) seems like the real good value in that list-- it's a compact pickup with good fuel economy, and the wading depth of 80cm (~32 inches) is pretty great for a vehicle that size. my electrician drives one with over 300K miles on it-- this is only anecdotal evidence of a good value but still. compare vs. subaru with only 50cm wading height.

i'd check that list vs. american models & see if specs match.

AGREED - paid $3000 cash for a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 160k miles three years ago and it now has 210k miles and it's running like a champ.

By rule of thumb, any car worked on due to flooding "must" be repeated to carfax as being flood damaged.

that's a sweet deal on the jeep. i've been ogling pre-1998 4x4 jeeps (easier to fix) and they were around $4K in my area. gas hogs but infinitely repairable though.

carfax yes, if reported by insurance. but if it's self-insured (i.e. liability only), and repaired by owner--who will keep track?

I'm guessing NO ONE! However, most people probably don't realize this. I believe when faced with such a problem, people will take their vehicle to their regular mechanic. Some only use "shade tree" mechanics who don't report while others use certified mechanics who do......just something to think about when purchasing a used vehicle.

ROB - your car has had enough time to dry out!