GTorTT

Sorry to see this happen to such a beautiful car. I prepped for water, but thankfully did not get water in my garage. One car on the lift, but want to share what I did with the ground level car, may have worked, and may help someone in the future.


I got a big roll of plastic painter's tarp. Probably 8-9' wide. Laid two long sheets side by side and taped together with Gorilla tape (though would be waterproof). After ensuring the seam was good, and checking the plastic to make sure there were no holes, I laid it down and drove the car on it. I then wrapped the car and used tape to secure the top side. My thought was water could get window height, and if the tape and plastic held, the water would not damage the car. Just a theory, but I felt better just trying something to prevent the damage.

kuks1975

The plastic idea is a good one. I'll have to try that next time. My understanding is that the houses on my street don't typically flood but they did during Hurricane Allison some years ago. Either way, that sounds like a reasonable approach to protecting the car. I have a video on my phone from a nearby house that made me cry. There are six supercars in a garage, with only three of them being up on lifts. From the looks of the cars, the water was roof height but in the video, it is only to the bottom of the windshields. The flooded cars look to be a Ferrari 430, Ford GT and McLeran of some flavor.

500

Wow, sounds like you had to make a very tough decision. Needing to keep the Volvo as a family vehicle for the post-flood period is understandable. I cannot begin to imagine the challenges you are facing, and if you feel that it was mandatory to keep the Volvo above the Targa, then I defer to you, as only you really can understand.

That said, I think the outlook on the car front is tough. That car will have a lot of costly damage, as you did not get an opportunity to try to mitigate matters very much prior to the insurance company taking the car. Relative to new cars, the electronics of the 3.2 Carreras is very simple. As mentioned before, the ECU below the driver’s seat would have been completely submerged, and the engine panel may also have been underwater, as the slope in the floor would have meant the rear end was lower, relatively. It sounds like the battery was connected, which complicates things. A lot of the interior will be shot: The carpets, side & door panels and seats are all likely too far gone.

I would expect this car would need to be comprehensively rebuilt to completely overcome all of the damage.

Did you have a valuation/appraisal on the car? That would help with any potential “fight” with the insurance company. Unlike the Volvo, which would have a very precise insurance value, there will many variables in the valuation of the Targa and one would expect the insurance company will value on the low end for sure.

I recently had a new appraisal done on my 911 (for the purpose of updating the agreed value on my insurance policy). As pointed out here, the appreciation on these cars has been impressive. One comment the appraiser made to me was that he is hired from time to time to provide a “post-loss” valuation estimate for people who are fighting with their insurance company (but did not have an appraisal before the fact). If you haven’t done so already, you may want to try to track down a properly certified appraiser, knowledgeable in these cars and ask him/her for advice on how to negotiate a fair settlement (in anticipation of a total loss).

If on the other hand, the insurance company does opt to repair, you need to really understand EXACTLY what they are doing… Is it is just enough to get the vehicle back to functionality, or will ALL the damage be addressed?

Again, if you can find some expert to help you review this, so much the better. Even posting in this forum what repair plan is proposed will get you a lot of good feedback.

Sorry for your situation, but it does sound like your family is OK, which is by far the most important thing.

shake1

Sorry to hear about the flooding. Looks like you attempted to prep for it but it was worse than what you expected. I would have swapped Volvo vs 911 slots but you probably needed to make a decision that allowed your family to transport afterwards. I assume it would be difficult to rent a family car during this time.

Thanks for sharing - keep us posted on the result from insurance. Electricals are probably toast.

kuks1975

I consider myself lucky that my family is healthy and safe. My house is built 5 1/2 feet above grade so the dwelling stayed dry, allowing us to provide safe harbor to the neighbors you can see flooded out the window in the truck picture. We had 16 of us in our house during the flooding.

I never thought it would get that deep in the garage. I regret not pulling the cables on the battery but nothing I can do about that now. I agree the interior is toast, I'm just hoping the engine didn't take on water and is OK, if they decided to repair it.

As for value, my insurance company has been outstanding so far and the agreed upon value of the car is what I paid for it in early March. I don't believe the car has appreciated any over that time so I anticipate them giving me that value if it comes to declaring it totaled.

I'm just curious as to what it will/would take to bring this car back to life. I sold an 800 whp ZR1 to gain back seats for my girls to ride in. Now it looks like I'm without a "fun" car for a while, or at least until this gets figured out.

The girls decided their car needed lift space too in flood preparation...

500

Actually, that insurance situation sounds good. Yeah, the appreciation since such a recent purchase would not be a factor. I was thinking of a situation where the car might have been purchased further in the past, in which case the current value would likely be much higher than what you paid.

As it stands, it looks like you will be whole if they total it. The remaining watch point is if they elect to repair, to make certain that the repairs are properly comprehensive.

Very good of you to take in your neighbours and give them shelter!

Mark Salvetti

Sounds like you made the correct, but difficult choice. I know there are no rental cars to be had anywhere down there, I can understand that you needed to make sure you had the Volvo to drive afterwards. I can't imagine what this has been like to live through.

Not sure about the plastic wrap idea. I think if it was truly watertight and the water got up to the windows, it would have floated the car, and it might have rolled over. I suppose that's still better than sunk, but I have my doubts that the tape would have held against that much pressure. Still a very clever idea, and probably worth the try.

Mark

ADias

Oh bummer!

theiceman

End of the day its all just stuff, everyone is safe and that's all that really matters, im hoping they can save your baby !!!!

r911

it can always be saved - it just takes time, effort and $$$


look at what people do to early S's - but depending on the damage it may be too costly unless it has sentimental value e.g. was bought by your dad, etc.

these cars are not rare

911 Rod

That sucks, but you did make the right decision to save the people mover.
But, if your house was above grade couldn't you put the toy in the living room?

pcarfan944

Horrible to see but thanks for sharing the struggle first hand to help the rest of us relate. If I was in that situation I guess I would have tried to find a parking ramp somewhere close and leave my car at the top as the storm approached.

Hope the Florida brahs can keep their cars and persons safe this weekend.

kuks1975

Just to follow up. They totaled the car.

ADias

I would buy back the totaled car from them...

kuks1975

I would think it would take more money to restore the car than the car is worth. I'm not entirely sure I can restore the title to anything but a Salvage Title and with that moniker, it will always be worth very little. If I could restore the title to standard, it would likely take a bare metal restore of the car, which is more than I paid for the car.