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M3 Flooded Last Week - Concerned
- Thread starter m3NY
- Start date
If your goal is to get the insurance to total the car, one avenue that can help is to argue for diminished value due to the flood black mark your Carfax is likely to acquire. That may involve getting an appraisal from a 3rd party company to make that argument, and state laws regarding diminished value vary greatly. May get your costs closer to a number the insurance will total for.
If your goal is to keep the car, you will have to ask how long your insurance company can keep the claim open for future damages caused by the water. You might actually be better off trying to find a 3rd party who can give an evaluation of the potential future issues to your insurance company vs Tesla. Frankly, I doubt Tesla is organized enough to provide what you are looking for. It’s possible someone who does diminished value appraisals may have a suggestion for what type of expert you may need to hire. Doesn’t really matter that the car is an EV, odds are those systems are sealed and will be fine - it’s the “normal car” stuff that will be problematic.
Dan203
Active Member
My thought is that it's likely fine. Since these are electric cars, and electricity and water don't mix, I'm betting that the parts sensitive to water are well protected. I know flooding isn’t quite the same thing, but it sounds like the water didn’t get that high.
If you're really worried about it you always have the option to sell it and buy a new one. You'll take a short term hit, but you'll gain piece of mind. Depends on your financial situation whether that's a viable option or not.
If you're really worried about it you always have the option to sell it and buy a new one. You'll take a short term hit, but you'll gain piece of mind. Depends on your financial situation whether that's a viable option or not.
Hell yeah, I'd be worried about the future if I was the OP. He isn't trying "blame" Tesla for some sort of defect in the car. He wants a list of potential problems that could arise due to the car being partially submerged so that he can tell his insurance about it (I imagine his insurance will fight with the insurance of whatever caused the submersion). At a minimum, he needs a complete listing of all the items that got submerged that weren't designed to get submerged (carpeting, etc.), potential rusting issues, etc. and how much they cost to fix.
3000 
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
Saying it's more flood resistant is anecdotal at best since so few of them have likely been immersed. The systems are probably better able to handle it but that's not really saying much if the car starts throwing faults and spends 1/2 its life in the shop 1-2 years from now when things that have trapped water start to corrode.
I would argue with that. IF there is no damage for the insurance company to pay out, then there is no claim against the car...at this time. That would be my view from a technical stand point...I don't think a claim is a claim until money is paid out.
@m3NY any chance this happened on a street with commercial tenants in stores that might have video footage on surveillance equipment to show the depth of water at least?
I’ve seen news stories of flash floods that affect certain streets in a town and it can be quite surprising and dramatic with some cars parked being affected and others not, unfortunate luck of the draw and slope/path/flow rate of water. Totally get your concern for your car. Can Tesla tell you what wiring/parts might have been affected that were near the floor? Sort of list of potential rust/corrosion issues? Might be the best they can do for you at this point other than replacing water damaged things they can see. I feel for you. Good luck.
I’ve seen news stories of flash floods that affect certain streets in a town and it can be quite surprising and dramatic with some cars parked being affected and others not, unfortunate luck of the draw and slope/path/flow rate of water. Totally get your concern for your car. Can Tesla tell you what wiring/parts might have been affected that were near the floor? Sort of list of potential rust/corrosion issues? Might be the best they can do for you at this point other than replacing water damaged things they can see. I feel for you. Good luck.
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What negligence on his part? Have you never seen news footage of flash floods occurring in towns with hills? Probably find a lot of examples on YouTube. It’s really frightening in some cases. Out in nature think of flashfloods coming down dry arroyos in desert areas or canyons.
Didn’t Rich buy at auction the silver Model 3 that early on was driven into a creek in Morgan Hill by a Tesla energy employee? I recall that car was partially sitting in water for a period of time before pulled out so had longer and maybe deeper exposure but he might have a better idea of what kind of long term damage you might encounter on a Model 3 as I think some time had passed before be was able to buy the salvaged car.
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Bill Foster
I'm going home!
On a s class we had that flooded about the same amount as yours, we had to replace the main body control harness. Part alone was 30k.
No cars are "water tight", ever.
Well, maybe with the exception of Bond's Lotus Espirit.
Most insurance companies will declare a total loss on a car if the water reaches the axle height, for two reasons: your body and suspension will rust from here on out, and so will your electrical wiring. The former can be replaced (not cheap), but the latter is a never-ending nightmare.
You don't need Tesla's inspection for an insurance company to act on this flooding claim. This is a standard operating procedure for any insurance shop.
12" of water will definitely be above the axles and the door sills.
If I thought that my car went for a swim bad enough to flood the interior, I would be calling the insurance company arranging a total loss.
I'm sorry, but you are being unreasonable.
Tesla is not your insurance provider, and you taking the car for a swim will not be covered by the warranty.
You are right to be concerned about future electrical gremlins.
You are nuts to expect Tesla (or any other OEM) to promise to you that nothing bad will ever happen after flooding your car.
Leave Tesla out of this. It's a flooding insurance claim. End of story.
a
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Someone has to pay. If not him and his insurance, who? Is it Tesla’s fault he parked the car where he did?
So it is a claim for diagnostics that finds nothing wrong? That doesn't mean the car should show flood damage, as there is no flood damage. If there is a claim for flood damage, then you would go for diminished value right...how would that work? Yes this could possibly turn into an interesting technical issue concerning claims and what gets reported on the car but I'll put it this way...if Tesla finds nothing wrong, I personally would eat the diagnostic cost to keep any claim off of the car. I would also keep notes of date/times of all these events so if there is something that creeps up later then a claim can be filed for damage due to a prior suspected flood event.
Edit...I also agree with the idea about fighting for the insurance to call it a total loss if the flooding can be proven and that flooding meets the insurance company's specifications for calling it a total loss.
