Things You Should Do When Your Car Is Flooded

Floodwater can wreak havoc on your car, from the engine bay to the interior bits. It’s never a pleasant sight to see your car being stuck but you would have to experience it at least once in your lifetime, especially during the peak monsoons. If your car has been unluckily immersed in flood, this can spell many lakh in repair costs. However, if you know what to do after such cases, you can easily reduce the amount of money you have to pay. There are always steps to follow when your car is flooded to avoid digging your pocket deeper. Let’s find out.

1. Contact The Insurance Company

No matter how the flood does harm to your car, the first thing you need to do is to make an immediate phone call with the insurance company. It is quite fortunate that flood damage along with fire and theft are often covered by the insurance whereby the repairs and replacements of the components could be paid by the insurance company. However, the company might be overwhelmed by the claims so it’s the best idea to contact them early.

2. Never Start Your Car

In fact, it makes sense if you turn the key to see if your car is still working. However, it can’t be a poorer idea to start the car with a pool of water around as water could break the engine beyond repair. Water could short-circuit the car’s electrical system, enter the engine bay as well as other radical components and results in irreversible damage. So don’t take a risk!

Also Read - Flood Driving Safety Tips On Indian Roads

3. Assess The Flood Damage

Before taking any further action, it is very necessary to take a good look at the case and know how bad the flood is. It is good to determine if it is worth to fix the water-damaged car or not. Some minor water that enters the floorboard is okay but if the water level touches the dashboard or higher, it could cost you an arm and a leg to repair, of course, if that’s even possible. Worse as it is, if your car faced with corrosive saltwater, it has a very little chance to ‘survive’. In such cases, your car will more likely to be a complete write-off that’s not worth spending money to repair.

Also Read - How To Escape A Car That Crashes Into Water

4. Dry Out The Interior

If you’ve confirmed that your flooded car is worth saving, the next step to do is to keep the interior as dry as possible. It is not an easy task and in some cases, it is likely to take much time and power. Regardless, if you do not want it to be mouldy and rusted away, you have to make every effort. Also worth noting, these moulds and odour can be a sign showing that your car was once hit by water in case you want to put your car up for sale. All that leads to a steep decrease in the resale value of your vehicle then as virtually all buyers will never want to buy a flood-damaged car indeed.

Open up the doors and move out everything you can, unwrap the towels and soak up the drenched corners. Even with all these attempts, you might have to replace some parts like seats or carpet, still.

5. Check The Electrical System

When your vehicle got stuck in torrential rains or monsoon flood, the electrical system of the machine might be hurt badly. If so, your car is highly likely to be a goner. Look through all the electrical bits like air-conditioning, interior lighting, wipers, powered seats, power locks, radio, headlamps and so forth. If they work, you have a piece of good luck.

6. Check The Oil Fluids and Air Cleaner

Have an eye on all the fluids of the car to ensure that water did not sneak in. If there’s water mixed with the oil or in the air filter, under no circumstances should you attempt to start your car. You need to have it changed before pushing the engine start button or it could cause some malfunction. This job can be best left done by a mechanic or in case you are a hardcore DIY, you can try to change them on your own.

Also Read - Luxury Cars that Faced the Wrath of Mumbai Floods

7. Have A Professional Inspection

After completing all the above steps, you still need to book an appointment with a trusted workshop to have your car inspected comprehensively and professionally. There could be some things wrong you missed that might cause serious issues sometime. Besides, if you need anything fixed, replaced, the professional mechanic can help you get on track.