Totaled (?): '15 BMW 328i

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Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
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I guess the big Q is: If I locate a good car soon and finance a portion of it, will the existing BMW loan balance badly affect my interest rate and credit score? Say I make a deal on a good Regal -- there's one near me at the moment -- make a hefty down payment and finance the rest. Will the finance guy at the dealership come back with a long face and say, "We can't do this because . . ."?


Ask FLO for a total loss letter... (it has various names) its just a statement from the insurance company that the existing vehicle is totaled, should alleviate most issues...
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Originally Posted by Tahoe4Life
IMHO you should get a higher sitting vehicle like a good used Tahoe,Yukon,Silverado [or something similar that sits up higher then a sedan] living in the swamp.

If I had lower sitting vehicle living here in Miami Beach my vehicle would have been flooded out over a dozen times already. Even in Brooklyn N.Y. my friends BMW was flooded out just 2 weeks ago after a very heavy rain event.

All that just IMHO even though I know it will fall on deaf ears.

Oh, I agree, though this is the first time I've ever had to deal with a flood situation like this -- and I've always had sedans. Buick's Enclave is attractive inside, though it looks like a whale outside. Maybe an Equinox or something like that?


Equinox would be better then a sedan for rain events.
 
We have a 2006 Buick Lacrosse . We love it .

You would probably be looking at a new or newer one . I am sure you would be totally happy with one .

Except for the part about being low to the ground . Can not advise you on that . Thank God , we do not live in a flood prone area ! :)

Best of luck to you , :)
 
And when you do go car shopping, pay close attention to make sure your new car was not in a flood. Most reputable dealers won't touch one, but you never know. I'm sure many people here can give you quick tips on where to look like rocker panels and under the carpet.
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
We have a 2006 Buick Lacrosse . We love it .

You would probably be looking at a new or newer one . I am sure you would be totally happy with one .

Except for the part about being low to the ground . Can not advise you on that . Thank God , we do not live in a flood prone area ! :)

Best of luck to you , :)

I haven't had any trouble with floods until now. Apparently that storm was a bit of a freak. None of my sedans here -- the MB W126, the W202, the Park Avenue, or the Regal -- were threatened. I can probably avoid *driving* through the deep water; it's when the car is parked unattended that the stuff can creep up.

In my area there's a '16 certified LaCrosse V6 and a '16 Regal Turbo with 3000 miles of factory warranty on it, both red over cream, both well priced. I could make a deal on either soon if I can get the insurance all set. It would help to know how much of a payout I'll see after all is paid and done.
 
Look at prices for a used BMW as close as possible to yours, if you get a low offer you can use those to argue with the insurance company.
 
Originally Posted by mk378
Look at prices for a used BMW as close as possible to yours, if you get a low offer you can use those to argue with the insurance company.

For some reason it's hard to find a '15 around here. There are '14s and '16s, but not many '15s. My research is showing all the way from $16K to $22K, and the latter is about what I paid 5 months ago. I've found what I could and printed them out.
 
Similar story here. My Honda Odyssey was parked in my driveway during Harvey. The driveway sits about 3-4 ft. higher than the road, so I thought it was completely safe. Harvey was unprecedented, though, 5 ft. of rain in 4 days. The Odyssey had water in the floor like yours, but we did not start it. It was flat-bedded to the dealer. Dealers says, yes, we are going to save it. Just carpet and wiring etc. Over a week goes by, they tell me the insurance Co is "reevaluating it". Over two weeks later we are told its totaled. Apparently water got into engine and trans.

Too bad for me. We took excellent care of it. It was garaged and only driven on trips. All synthetic fluids, all its life. None of that mattered though. We got a fraction of what it was really worth. Life goes on.
 
2 suggestions for future cars. That ree-donkulous SLK from yesterday or a totally re-vamped bug with a water tight floor pan. Just tie it up in case of rain.
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Considering how much you owed on this car OP, as well as the steep depreciation AND recent damages to this car, I'd say they did you a favor.
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Considering how much you owed on this car OP, as well as the steep depreciation AND recent damages to this car, I'd say they did you a favor.

I had a good-sized down payment as well as a decent trade-in, so what I owe is not bad at all. Yes, I know these cars depreciate fast -- at not quite 4 years of age it was going for 50% of MSRP -- but I'd always wanted to try one. I really enjoyed my morning commute and even the afternoon one to a degree.

All this has done has cemented my desire to live someplace else. As I've said to people for years, "Snow doesn't usually come inside your car and ruin the electronics. Floods do."
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
About 3 weeks ago, this pesthole had one of its annual rainstorm floods. I had parked the new-to-me 328i on a street that I know rarely floods. When I came back, however, I found 3 inches of water in the passenger footwells. I bailed what I could and drove home. The engine, transmission, A/C, and stereo all worked, but the wipers froze up, and when I got home the front windows quietly went down and wouldn't come up. I taped bags over them, disconnected the battery, and called up my insurance (Flo's Bros) to put in a claim. I sent it via flatbed to the dealer.


I know hindsight is 20/20 but if this happens again in the future have it towed from the spot of the flood instead of from home. Who knows if it would have made a difference or not. But good to err on the side of caution.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
As I've said to people for years, "Snow doesn't usually come inside your car and ruin the electronics. "
Yeah, but salt tends to ruin everything else.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
About 3 weeks ago, this pesthole had one of its annual rainstorm floods. I had parked the new-to-me 328i on a street that I know rarely floods. When I came back, however, I found 3 inches of water in the passenger footwells. I bailed what I could and drove home. The engine, transmission, A/C, and stereo all worked, but the wipers froze up, and when I got home the front windows quietly went down and wouldn't come up. I taped bags over them, disconnected the battery, and called up my insurance (Flo's Bros) to put in a claim. I sent it via flatbed to the dealer.


I know hindsight is 20/20 but if this happens again in the future have it towed from the spot of the flood instead of from home. Who knows if it would have made a difference or not. But good to err on the side of caution.

True -- but I'd have had no way to get home from work, which is where the flood happened. I didn't drive it through any deep water; I waited a couple of hours to let the main street drain. Though of course the damage had already been done.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
As I've said to people for years, "Snow doesn't usually come inside your car and ruin the electronics. "
No, but salt tends to ruin everything else.



Salt can be rinsed off, if you get to it fast enough. Denver didn't use salt on their roads much, they used some kind of chemical that was supposed to be safer. Certainly the Oldsmobile and the Benzes I had there stayed in good shape.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
As I've said to people for years, "Snow doesn't usually come inside your car and ruin the electronics. "
No, but salt tends to ruin everything else.



Salt can be rinsed off, if you get to it fast enough. Denver didn't use salt on their roads much, they used some kind of chemical that was supposed to be safer. Certainly the Oldsmobile and the Benzes I had there stayed in good shape.


It is a mix of sticky beets and some other organic stuff, they use it in Alaska too and it is supposed to work better than salt.

As to snow, never open your sunroof when there is a lot of snow on top of the car and it won't fall in and do battle with the center console window controls, seat warmers, bunch of other stuff.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Originally Posted by silveravant
What ever you do do not accept the initial offer. In my experience every insurance company will offer a lowball offer and hope you are stupid enough to accept it.
Start looking for equivalent cars for your negotiations. They will not care what your loan balance is. In my last go round (Allstate) I had to argue for over a month to get them to double their initial offer. Still too low, but it was the best I could do.

On the KBB site, a car optioned like mine in excellent condition (cosmetic and mechanical A+ and with 29,500 miles) should average about $18K for a private party sale.

If I have to argue with them for a month, my car rental cost will drive me insane. Maybe I can find somebody with a beater car I can borrow, but I doubt it.


Insurance has to pay you the full retail value, not private party. Look up the price in NADA which is what the insurance companies use most often.
 
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