Subaru WRX Forum banner

flooded wrx

6K views 38 replies 10 participants last post by  TeRex 
#1 ·
hey guys,
so i bought my 2016 wrb wrx two weeks before the flooding happened in SC. unfortunately I was out of town when the flooding occurred and wasn't able to save my new car from the flooding. this happened Sunday of last week. As of now my car is sitting at the Subaru dealership with an inch and a half of water still sitting in it as my insurance adjuster (State Farm) still hasn't come to inspect the car and inform me if the car is totaled or not. now that the water has been sitting in the car for over a week on the sun I'm worried that there will be mold growing in parts of the car. what should i be looking for and say when the adjuster comes to look at that car? should i expect the car to be totaled. I'm worried if its not totaled they will miss parts that may have mold growth that can be a problem down the line. Any help and advice will mean a lot.
 
#2 ·
I would definitely fight to have it totaled. You don't want any part of that car in the coming years. Flooding issues can happen immediately or become big headaches down the road. I hope the insurance company doesn't give you any trouble.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#8 ·
That really sucks, sorry to hear about your bad luck. I don't have any experience in this area but I agree that your best bet is to get it totaled and replaced is possible. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I'm not sure if the car ran. My insurance told me not to start it so I had it towed to the Subaru dealer by me. The car is sitting at the dealer with water still sitting in it now on day nine. I'm positive mold had started to grow. With so many cars and homes destroyed during the storm the adjuster has yet to come inspect the car and state farm doesn't know when they will come to look at it. I'm thinking with the mold growth the car will be totaled. I'm just hoping I find out soon. I HATE driving the Ford focus I'm stuck with now
 
#12 ·
I know this will not help you now, but, based on that image, your car was most likely fine. After nine days? I don't know, mold growth probably did begin.

My buddies car was flooded to the tops of the wheel arches and it is 100% fine now, a year later. I remember the day it happened. He literally stripped the entire interior and cleaned everything out.

Obviously, we're talking fresh (or relatively 'fresh') water, which is what I'm assuming for you. Seawater? Forget it...
 
#13 ·
The water was almost at the top of the wheels. As for water is a mix of rain, sewage water, and probably sea water as this happened less than a mile from the beach. I visited the car the 5 days ago to get some stuff and it was the absolute worst smell ever. Smelt like a sewage plant. Idk how they are going to get the smell out. Everything in the inside will need to be replaced. I'm going to go by the dealer today and take more pictures and see if any more damage occurred. But after 9 days of a car filled with nasty water sitting in the sun I'm thinking its pretty screwed. Really hoping they total it.
 
#14 ·
That sounds terrible... Like actually terrible. When sea water gets involved, state rust problems. Possible shorts in the electrical etc... Maybe they'll look at that? Idk.. That's not a situation id like to be in and I'm terribly sorry this happened to you..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#15 ·
You're going to be responsible for any damage after the flooding that you didn't try to rectify. Leaving the standing water in there is your fault and the insurance company could decide not to pay for any damages caused because you failed to remove the water.

That said, attempting to convince the insurance company to total your vehicle is probably a waste of your time. Either it meets grounds to be totaled per their policy, or it does not.

Also, the person coming to assess damages is an appraiser, not an adjuster. Adjusters determine liability.
 
#16 ·
Unfortunately, Drews is probably correct. He's an expert in moisture and insurance.
However, you can still try to appeal to them. I know someone that successfully got their WRX 'totalled' after it flooded out on the freeway (a year ago here in Michigan). His situation was a little different...water went up over the entire car...basically floating.
 
#20 ·
Leaving standing water isn't my fault nor my liability. State farm will not let Subaru do anything until the adjuster comes to look at the car. State farm knows the water is in it but wont give the oaky untill someone looks at the car. The Subaru dealer even called them to see what they can do. State farm said don't touch it or we wont cover it.
 
#23 ·
Usually when they say that, they mean don't authorize any repairs. Leaving standing water in the cabin will only cause more issues.
 
#25 ·
You can also just ask the dealer/body shop it's at what the protocol is for this type of situation


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And this would accomplish what, exactly? While the dealer or body shop may know the protocol for repairing the vehicle, they have no say in what the insurance company will decide to do. Until the appraiser comes out, OP is stuck.
 
#26 ·
Drews is right on the money TeRex, I can vouch because I myself used to do that (insurance) for a living and still hold a licence. That's just the way they operate. You didn't ask the right questions and/or enough questions, that's why you were presented with that answer. By law, they (the insurance company) are not required to tell you anything aside from a direct (and typically vague and oddly worded) answer to the question you asked.

If you ask "what should I do now" they will say 'Nothing". However, if you asked "Should I attempt to remove any standing water from the vehicle" they would most definitely say some eloquently worded iteration of 'yes'.
 
#29 ·
I'm not saying that your insurance company won't take pity on you, but, it's State Farm...so...sorry. lol I'm willing to bet that you'll come out of this just fine. If the water didn't get above the seats or over the engine completely, don't expect it to be totaled. If anything, I'd call and complain numerous times tomorrow until you get an appointment with an appraiser. Also, if they are taking this long to get you back to where you should be, I'd consider switching insurance carriers.
 
#32 ·
hey the insurance guy showed up today. ended up being only rain water and is repairable. the carpets will bet taken out and steam cleaned and deodorized. the mats underneath with be replaced. the seats and everything else will be stream cleaned. debris under the car will be removed, twigs and whatever else. the exhaust will be taken apart and cleaned out since stuff probably floated in when it was submerged. total of only $1338 to repair it. only concern now is how the claim will show up on a car fax. If it shows up as flood the car is worthless and no one would by that in which case ill just race car it. if it doesnt show flood damage im gonna try and trade it in for a sti they have on the lot. just curious as to how the claim will show up with such little damage.
 
#33 ·
Don't get caught up in CARFAX, it's a sham. The information is not accurate nor is it required for shops to report to them. My wife has had people file claims on previously totaled vehicles and the owners had no clue because it wasn't on the CARFAX. Most places don't report to them, so I'd not worry about it. The only time it REALLY means anything is if the title is branded.
 
#34 ·
thats good to know. i asked the GM st the subaru dealer if he wanted to take the car in as a trade in and ill buy the sti and he said he doesnt want it since it has a claim on it. i was just using carfax as a reference but isnt there a way to check the vehicle history and see if there is an insurance claim against the car? anf if there is a claim doesnt that harm the resale of the car?
 
#35 ·
Not as much as it used to. These days, vehicles are repaired to industry standards, so it doesn't hurt resale as much as it used to, if at all. Unless it has a branded title, you'll be alright. Since there is no standard on diminution of value, there should be no standard to the impact of resale value. I can understand why the GM doesn't want to take a vehicle that has an active insurance claim on it, that's a nightmare for them to deal with. Once your claim is resolved, you should be indemnified and your car is worth just as much as it was before the incident.
 
#36 ·
I'm curious.... if insurance doesn't total the car and a deal can be made to maybe replace the rugs, clean it good, etc... How would future warranty issues be handled a year from now if water was the culprit? What a terrible situation . I wish you the best TeRex. Hope it all works out.
 
#37 ·
You can file supplemental claims through your insurance.
 
#38 ·
I can totally understand why the GM of that particular dealership doesn't want to buy your car with an open claim or knowing what happened to it. But as soon as it's fixed take to any other dealer and it would make good trade in fodder for a new STi if that's what you want to do.
 
#39 ·
My insurance company said if any issues occur as a result of what just happened to let them know and they will fix it. My Subaru dealer said they are completely willing to take the car in depending on how the claim is filed. If it shows water damage they don't want it but if it shows lets just say carpet replacement they would be more than happy to take it and put me in a sti. They just got the limited edition hyper blue sti on that I've been eyeing. I also want to say how amazing the company Subaru is. I sent an email stating what happened and the offered me a $1000 check if I decided to buy a new car because of what happened. Make me really happy I bought a Subaru.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top