wasabe918

What a week it has been for my RL and I?! Everything just happened all at once and now my RL is ruined. i got into a few minor accidents within the last week and now for this weekend I drove up to Sacremento to spend the new year with my gf. she insist for me to parkthe rl on driveway cuz its has been raining cats and dogs for the past few hours and there has been flood warnings. but being my stubborn self, i parked it on the street where i always parked. The next thing i know her housemate knocked on our door the next morning on his way out to work and informed us about that flood outside and i better move my car. once i got out of the house the water has reached up to the bumpers. i was in shocked since i never seen such a bad flood ever. I got into the car and realized i was a lil late, the floor has filled with water. i was able to turn on the engine but the transmission wont shift. so i called onstar and requested for a tow truck to pull it out of the flood water but they said it has been really busy around the area and its going to take awhile. So after staying in the car for around 10 mins, i tried opening the door to get out since the water level is rising. and you know what? the door wont open. I was like, oh damn and i start panicing. i tried kicking both front doors and no luck. so i called onstar back and ask for help to get me out. I kept trying pushing the door open while i wait for help. i knocked on the window and no one heard me as my gf was inside house. I triedlowering the windows but the battery was dead. i cant find anything to break the windows so i went back to kicking the doors and after so many tries it finally open. i left the the car as the floor water is getting to the top of my seats now and went back into the house and called onstar back telling them i got out and dont need help anymore.
The floor water has now retrieved and the interior is all soaked with mud water. So anyone have any idea if my car is automatically totaled or still depends?
I dont think i want the car anymore after all this, but i would like get the same car again. So any advice?










Edit: Mod vp911

03CoupeV6

What extremely bad luck you've had! I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune, but yes, your RL is now totalled because of the flood. The insurance company will pay for it and hopefully you've got gap insurance (or you paid down/cash) and you can get you a new RL.

Warren803

Holy $#!t that must have been scary as hell. How would we get out of our cars if it plunges into water or is filling with water? The equilibrium wont allow the doors to open till the cabin is filled with water and power windows probably wont work underwater. Just kick the windows out?

dmtza

What a scary thought! Trapped inside your RL without a way out. Sorry to hear about your loss. Hopefully in a month or so, you'll be driving a new '06 RL.

03CoupeV6

You can wait until the water level on the outside and the inside equalizes.. yes that will be nerve racking, but once it happens you will be able to open the door.

Or you can carry a metal object with a sharp point, such as a small phillips head screwdriver. Take the tip and put it against the center of the window and press hard, the window will shatter.

wasabe918

This is Wasabe's gf. Now you know to ALWAYS listen to females because we are ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!

vp911

Sorry to hear this. Your RL will be totaled now without any questions, that is very unfortunate. What do you plan on getting next?

hondamore

The RL can (and will) be replaced - the most important thing is that you and your girlfriend are ok.
I've seen the emergency hammers that they sell for breaking windows in an emergency and never even considered buying one. Your experience makes me think that having one in the glovebox wouldn't be such a bad idea.

vp911

Good point hondamore. I actually bought one a couple weeks ago to put in the RX330. I will probably pick one up when the new car arrives.

wasabe918

Thanks for the support. yeah i guess we are fortunate that we are safe. the water reached so high that it got into the garage so we had to go get some sandbags with the help of neighbors canoe.
i really dont know what to get now since i just got the RL not too long and i really enjoyed it a lot besides the few rattles and few other minor issues. also, I am very skeptical that they are going to total the car so i have to wait till tuesday when they tow it away and the adjustor will let me know whats going to happen.
can anyone help upload pics, i got quite a few interesting pics to show.

vp911

As far as being totaled, most insurance companies will total the car if the water has reached inside the cabin. The car is undoubtedly going to rust and mold/mildew will become a factor - so they won't want to deal with it. IS350 Only if you don't mind something smaller of course.

wasabe918

actaully, i was going to get the is350. but i waited more than 2 months before the purchase and decided to go with the RL since its a bigger car. is350 looks great in every way but just a bit too small for me. i will have to do some research and see what other options i have. but i dont want to keep my hopes high if they are not going to replace my car. how do you like your is350 compared to the RL?


can someone tell me how to upload pics?

vp911

PM me and I will send you my e-mail addr and I will post the pics for you.

1HOT NSX

I don't understand the logic of parking it on the street after all the flood warnings and your advice to park it on the driveway. I hope Wasabe learned his lesson and will now listen to you. Females are not ALWAYS RIGHT but many times they display more common sense than us. I'm sorry for Wasabe, what a bad day that was!! I can only hope he eventually gets over the pain and frustration of this ordeal and ends up with a spanking new 2006 RL or IS350 or something just as nice that will make him happy again.

Steve C

Maybe WASABE was just trying to be first to garnish the Darwin Award for 2006!

hondamore

Real nice!! Kick a guy when he is down!!

wasabe918

first of all, flood warnings are so common in the area, and they never experience this degree of flooding before. second of all, all the driveway spaces are taken except the one that access the garage. ppl in the house go to work hella early so do i want to get up at 6:30 on a saturday morning to move my car so they can move their car out. i really dont think i need to explain myself but for those who wants an explanation here you go.

hondamore

No explanation is necessary. If we all knew when and where accidents were going to happen, we wouldn't call them accidents. Hindsight is always 20/20 (feel free to mention that to your girlfriend as well).

vp911

I edited your original post and put pictures in there.

It is definately totaled. Sorry about the car! Glad you are OK though. Get the IS350

gbriank

I second that....it's in the drink. He's definitely got water in the electrical and air intake. It would take weeks to dry that thing out, not to mention the electrical problems ....and the leather!

AcuraRLBlue

It is not totally a bad thing. Now you could upgrade to the 2006 RL or go with the IS350.

vp911

I would be curious what the insurance company offers you for the car. With the resale values so low, they could lowball you and say $39k. Let us know how that works out.

wasabe918

i will let you know once the adjustor notify me. hopefully they will give me enough to replace with a same car.

vp911

I doubt they will. I assume you financed the car? Did you buy GAP insurance?

wasabe918

i paid it off. unfortunately, no gap insurance.

Steve C

That is poor council, and so very untrue.
Accidents don't just happen. They are a combination of an unsafe condition(s) coupled with 1 or more (usually more) unsafe acts.

Accidents & accident prevention is a science of awareness & corrective action.
To make a comment as HM did only shows ignorance on the subject of how & why accidents occur!

You can keep yourself safe & avoid accidents if you know what to look for.
The only 20/20 hindsight in an accident is the human error that failed to heed the unsafe conditions & followed it up with an unsafe act! (That's where the lawyers come in to assess fault)!

WASABE'S case is typical & classic.
No need to digress or discuss fault. The scenario & pics speak for themselves.

In its most simplistic scenario, that RL was lost to an act of nature, not an accident!
Had WASABE been injured or killed, it would have been caused by his unsafe actions, and that would have been the accident that could have been prevented!

No one is focusing on that, instead this thread is focused on lamenting the loss of his RL, which is not the true issue from my perpective!

WASABE took more than a few risks that could have hurt him! Lessons learned?
I hope so!

Very thankfully, WASABE is OK, and will be around to discuss his RL settlement & his choice on a new car!

hondamore

So, if I've been going to hockey games for 35 years and each game they warn me that a puck could hit me, but for 1400 games nothing has happened, then one game I get hit by a puck and it is all my fault, I never should have gone to a hockey game because I should have known that I'd get hit by a puck.... Wasabe had been warned about flooding countless times and on each occasion nothing happened. Then, an act or god that is many times worse than anyone would expect occurs and his home and car are damaged and all you can do is call him an idiot and blame him for every bit of damage that happened to his car. What happened to Wasabe was an unforseeable accident and ridiculing him in this very tragic time is about as heartless an act as I have ever seen.

Steve C

Wow!
Go back & read my post. HM, you are not getting it, sorry!

I see you are a spin doctor, but really dude, you are being lame!

I am so sorry you have so grossly misinterpreted me & put words into my post.
What is your point? Why do you do this?

Read again, the damage to WASABE's car was an act of nature. Where did I say he was to blame for his car's damage?
Please quote me or apologize, Thanks!

vp911

Guys... please, give it up. His car was flooded. His fault or natures fault or my fault, it doesn't matter. The car is a total loss, we all know it. He has our sympathies and I am sure we all hope he gets a car he enjoys withouto this bad luck.

More discussion on whos fault it is and I will close the thread.

wasabe918

what is done, is done. it doesnt matter who fault it is, i just want to move on, hopefully i can get a new replacement cuz i sure dont want to keep this near brand new $50k damaged car. I will be pissed if they are not going to replace it or refund my money.

vp911

I wouldn't worry about it. There is no question that they will total it and settle with you. I would start looking at the value of your car. What insurance company do you have? You may want to check with your agent on the endorsement of the policy. Some will give you a full refund if within 6/12 months and a certain number of miles. Most do not.

Check nadaguide.com edmunds.com and kbb.com for current retail values of your car with the options/miles. Then when they end up calling you to settle, you can negotiate the price up to a number that equivalent to the current market value. Keep in mind, however, that you will not get what you paid for the vehicle. (You may, but it is unlikely).

hondamore

Sorry for getting off topic, vik, I was just trying to support wasabe through a difficult time.

lindros2

Actually - I have a question.

How does auto insurance deal with FLOODING ?

I mean - homeowners insurance doesn't cover your home if, say, you lived in New Orleans and were hit by Katrina or Rita. So does auto insurance require a flood rider? Or is it covered under flood insurance? Or under auto insurance (comprehensive?) ?

In any case - after 2005's major hurricanes there is no chance my car would have been in the street. That's just me.

vp911

It is covered under comprehensive.

NFLblitze1

lol would it have made a difference if u parked it on the driveway?i think so...that really sucks tho man....hope u decide to get a new RL...maybe u won't have the same problems uve had...

wasabe918

thanks for the support. i just switched over with Farmers so dont know how its going to come out. but i talked to one of their claims rep while filing the claim, she said it should be totaled but depends what the adjustor say. So will found out tomorrow.

i checked with KBB and it shows its retail value is $47500 with 4100 miles so I dont know what they offering me. I dont mind if they give me a replacement cuz i have to say, personally, this is the best car for that price.

vp911

wasabe918. Please let me know how the claims process with farmers goes. I am looking to switch to them right now.

As far as the retail price - if they offer you 47,500 for it - take the money and buy the car outside of them. You can get it with a ton of accessories at that price with tax. Remember it is selling below that price right now, especially on the west coast.

Sclass88

Very sorry to see your beautiful RL destroyed like that. Good Luck with the results....

wasabe918

thanks guys. will keep you posted. i went back into the car to get my stuff out and it sure smells like mud in there. and now i cant even access my trunk to get my stuff before the tow truck comes. i wonder if they will let me pick up my personal belongings later on.

dadcat1

You should be able to release the trunk manually by reaching into the trunk pass through and pulling the finger loop release handle hanging on the upper right side.