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

=====

@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!

here's some fun reading for these difficult times

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/how-ca...gra-1639660981

I sure hope the Insigators have their vehicles in high dry places. Houston is getting pounded right now.....reports of 2" falling in 15 minutes. Street flooding happening all along South Texas.

LA hasn't seen 2 inches of rain in 15 weeks let alone 15 minutes...

@NWSHouston: Here are some miscellaneous rainfall stats for some locations across SE TX. http://t.co/Xae9ZOyCiO

I am going through D&M Auto Leasing. I will be looking at the finance contract today. Hopefully, if all is good and I feel I can sign it, they will deliver a 2014 VW Passat Wolfsburg Edition 1.8 Turbo to my home.

New job, new(ish) car, and I may be able to afford NFL Sunday Ticket? shyeah!

noooooo! avoid!!

leasing is the fucking worst.

ask joaquín. he leased a volkswagen. i warned him about it but it was too late. then it was tears upon tears.

anyway it's your money to do whatever you want but first you might want to read up on why leasing a car sucks major donkey huevos

http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/201...lease-car.html

http://www.owingmoneysucks.com/2012/...car-is-stupid/

http://www.thousandaire.com/the-end-...r-lease-sucks/

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/here-a...ble-1679935623

etc.

i hope i've caught you on time to spare you the bloodletting.

but if you decide it's the right thing for you then have fun & best wishes

no leasing. D&M sells and also sets up leases. no lease for me. I am financing the Passatt for under 17 thou. I hate leases too.

oh shit okay! it's the dealers' name ha ha ha ha.

plus last year model = good deal

enjoy!

I've heard of people "ordering" vehicles, I've just never knew of one who did it. Will they take your old car away, did they give you much for it......did you ever get it running? I'm curious if negotiating can be accomplished when ordering online compared to dealing with someone face to face at the dealership?

What color vehicle did you choose?

We switched over to Direct TV at the begging of the year, so I'll be experiencing NFL Sunday Ticket for the first time this season : )

Last but not least:

According to the Houston Chronicle, 162 BILLION gallons of rain hit Houston last week.

Houston received more rain during March April May 2015 than it did in all of 2011: 2011 rain 24.57 inches......Mar-May 2015 26.61 inches

it's that oil/global warming karma

aka the chickens coming home to roost

california car culture is at the other end of it

Industrial pollution and electricity production actually releases more greenhouse gases than cars.. shipping also produces more than cars..

show me your public transportation



i can't find it under that smog

Actually LA has the nation's largest clean fleet of CNG buses and a vast light rail network but that isn't the issue. Industrial and electricity generation produce more gases than cars, whether we're talking about LA, the US, or the world..

And volcanic activity still releases more gases annually than all fossil fuels combined.. the problem is fossil fuels push it over the edge

My old car is NOT running at all. I did not use it as a trade-in. I am going to sell it for parts, maybe get $800-$1000 for it. If it was a trade-in they would take it away.

it was an interesting experience. I contacted them and one of their people reached out to me. I talked to him on the phone for an hour, discussing what D&M do (new car leases, and late-model car financing), how it all works, and most important;y, what car I was looking for and what I wanted to pa and what I wanted to keep the payments to a month, and what APR I was hoping to get.

(the trick with them is you need to do your own research and find out what 2-3 different makes and models you really want and know are good cars.)

We talked several times over the next days, because I had asked him to look into leases, AND financing options. He got back to me several times and eventually I decided the best thing for me was to finance a vehicle from them.

I eventually settled on a 2014 Passatt. I went to VW and test drove the 2014 wolfsburg, to see if it was what I really wanted. Then, I met with the guy and filled out contracts, after ironing out over the phone issues such as warranty (I got a 6 year, 100,000 mile warranty added), and color available (I got silver with black leather interior).

Once I signed the paperwork and provided down payment, they do not process it until your car is delivered (to your home or work) and only if you look at it, and say "YES" . I was given 24 hours to get the car inspected by mechanic to make sure it was what was sold to me. It passed with flying colors. If you find the car is not what was stated or it is damaged in some way, tey take it back and start anew. No cost to you.

I have bought cars from dealers, and I fucking HATE IT (dealing with run-around, fake "managers", bait-and-switch tactics, etc.). I have bought cars from a car lot (CARMax), and I HATE IT (way overpriced, ridiculous financing terms and high APR)

I was unbelievably impressed with the D&M Auto Leasing and Finance people.

I had tried to finance through my bank and then my credit union, and was turned down for both loans.

Oh, and NFL sunday ticket is awesome.
AWESOME. I was going to pourchase it this year to treat myself after getting this promotion, but the storm killed my car, and so my $$ went to that. oh well.

At least I can download hard knocks torrent and watch Texans.....

Your credit union actually turned you down? Even as legit as you are, and with the new job?? Assholes

you know why these fucks, credit union and Chase, turned me down?

Because I do not have enough credit history!!!!! Fuck! In my credit report I have furniture loans, paid in full, older auto loans, paid in full, and a long history of no delinquent payments.

BUT

I do not have any credit cards currently. I hate fucking credit cards, and I do not use them. I have a great credit SCORE, but no credit use history! So the fucks are penalizing me because I pay my fucking bills and buy my shit with CASH MONEY I earned at work, instead of taking micro-loans (what credit card purchases actually ARE) and carrying a debt of thousands of dollars.

They told me, they actually told me this, that if I had three credit cards with an outstanding debt of $5,000, I could have gotten a car loan. what the fuck.


so what I learned from a financial friend is that I and my wife are gonna get 2 $500 limit credit cards at low APR, use them to purchase gas, or pay a bill, then INSTANTLY got to your bank site and pay off the credit card. That way no interest is accrued, and the system (or shit-stem) treats it like good quality credit transactions.

what a fucking joke.

I have a job that pays great, no debt AT ALL, and $8,000 in the bank and those fuckers denied me.

It is all a LONG CON

and all I was asking for was a $16,000 auto financing loan.

debt is slavery and you were not wrong

the problem is you were probably too stressed out to take that to to its full consequences

next time build up a car fund with CASH

i.e., after it's paid off, start paying yourself. when the next purchase cycle comes you'll be ready.

paying cash for a car you can get a fat discount.

the other option could have been to buy a car for less than the $8K you had saved-- keep something for your e-fund (this was an emergency, and therefore justified, though a car fund is better because it's somewhat predictable that you'll need one every X years)

so maybe a nice used car for $6K-- and then start building your savings again instead of servicing a note.

however-- stress will sometimes punch you in the huevos and at those times pain relief comes first. it's only normal.

Rob, thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Like yourself, I've hated dealing with car dealers in the past. All of the going to the back to "see what he can do" has caused me to stand up and walk out more than once......but that was 20+ years ago.

The last new car we financed (2001) was a much smoother experience. I was pre-approved for a $30k loan from my Credit Union and had paperwork in hand when I entered the dealership. That car buying experience was a much smoother experience. Since then, we've been able to pay cash for older used vehicles and haven't had a monthly car payment in close to ten years now.

While I agree with !@#$%! that continuing to "make your car payment to yourself" is the way to go for helping build up your emergency / new car accounts, it's not always the easiest thing to accomplish!

Speaking of, !@#$%! - what do you consider a solid emergency fund......three months salary?

Rob, I do have two suggestions for you:

1. after making 3-6 months worth of payments on your new vehicle, pay another visit to your Credit Union. Having something more recent on your credit check may be just the ticket for your Credit Union to offer to take over the financing of your new vehicle at a lower interest rate. Also, if currently making payments on the vehicle your wife drives, ask the Credit Union about combing the two loans......if possible, you may end up paying $100 or more less per month than you do now for the two vehicles.

2. going back to what suchfriends said......that does sound sort of whack and I would suggest checking out other Credit Unions, especially if you attempt step 1 and their not willing to offer you a more competitive car loan.