Totaled (?): '15 BMW 328i

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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.

A week later, I'm told the insurance has approved the repairs, fairly minimal for a modern German car, about $5100 less my deductible. I tell them to go ahead. But they have to order the new carpets, etc. Last week the dealer says they also need to add a window motor, and that has to be approved too. They are nice enough to give me a loaner car.

Well, now we come to yesterday. A chirpy lady at the dealer called me to say, "Have you thought about replacing your car?" I went, "What??!!" (Like the guy in the "Mayhem" insurance commercials) "My car is in for repair!" "Oh, I'm sorry, they told me it was totaled."

The service advisor rang next. "Yeah, the insurance people came today, and based on what's going to be required, they decided to total your car."

I checked with Progressive, and they confirmed that. They said they would email me a breakdown and evaluation . . . but that the total cost to repair would have been some $26,000, well over the most optimistic value for the car pre-flood.

I'm gobsmacked. How did the repair cost zoom from $5100 to $26K? Once I get some information, I'll share, but does this seem insane?

I've arranged for a new rental and will return the loaner, and I have my eye on a nice certified Buick LaCrosse. Don't get me wrong, I loved the BMW for its power and smoothness. But the closest BMW dealers away don't have anything I want and can afford.

But I've never gone through this before with a car I owed money on. Will the insurance people cut me a check, and I will pay my loan balance out of that? Or do they pay that, and send me the rest minus my deductible? And if I go shopping before the balance is paid, how will that affect my credit and the interest rate I can get? Any experiences, I'd love to hear about 'em!
 
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.
 
My guess is they found water in the engine or transmission oil to have that big of a new damage amount.

The insurance company will send you a check for the fair market value of the car. They will supply three or four comparable cars in your area as their basis for their number. If your your bank is listed on your insurance policy as a loss payee, most insist on it when you finance, the check will be made out to both. You will take the check to the bank and they will give you whatever, hopefully, is left.
 
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.
 
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.

A week later, I'm told the insurance has approved the repairs, fairly minimal for a modern German car, about $5100 less my deductible. I tell them to go ahead. But they have to order the new carpets, etc. Last week the dealer says they also need to add a window motor, and that has to be approved too. They are nice enough to give me a loaner car.

Well, now we come to yesterday. A chirpy lady at the dealer called me to say, "Have you thought about replacing your car?" I went, "What??!!" (Like the guy in the "Mayhem" insurance commercials) "My car is in for repair!" "Oh, I'm sorry, they told me it was totaled."

The service advisor rang next. "Yeah, the insurance people came today, and based on what's going to be required, they decided to total your car."

I checked with Progressive, and they confirmed that. They said they would email me a breakdown and evaluation . . . but that the total cost to repair would have been some $26,000, well over the most optimistic value for the car pre-flood.

I'm gobsmacked. How did the repair cost zoom from $5100 to $26K? Once I get some information, I'll share, but does this seem insane?

I've arranged for a new rental and will return the loaner, and I have my eye on a nice certified Buick LaCrosse. Don't get me wrong, I loved the BMW for its power and smoothness. But the closest BMW dealers away don't have anything I want and can afford.

But I've never gone through this before with a car I owed money on. Will the insurance people cut me a check, and I will pay my loan balance out of that? Or do they pay that, and send me the rest minus my deductible? And if I go shopping before the balance is paid, how will that affect my credit and the interest rate I can get? Any experiences, I'd love to hear about 'em!



I don't know BMW, but I do know insurance having worked in the industry. Find three examples of your car that are in similar condition, and show those prices to the insurance company; you should get at least that much or more when they cut you a check. Your deductible will be subtracted from that amount, so be ready for that…

Sounds like the initial estimate was for carpeting and other associated stuff, then they found more damage which is common once they open it up… Wiring, motors, transmission, differentials, we're all underwater and suspect it might of had to be replaced. When your car has been flooded it is best to just get rid of it and start over.
 
Originally Posted by PhillyJoe
My guess is they found water in the engine or transmission oil to have that big of a new damage amount.

The insurance company will send you a check for the fair market value of the car. They will supply three or four comparable cars in your area as their basis for their number. If your your bank is listed on your insurance policy as a loss payee, most insist on it when you finance, the check will be made out to both. You will take the check to the bank and they will give you whatever, hopefully, is left.


+1


Best of luck OP.
 
yep take the payout. I doubt that car will ever be right, and European cars are not exactly known for their great reliability as they age on top of that.

I bet the insurance company estimated what it would cost over the next year as other electrical gremlins popped up after they saw it and the extra stuff the dealer was asking to repair.
 
I don't know exactly what part of the "da swamp" but if it is the BMW dealer on Veterans it was probably their mile long wish list that took it out, not that that might not be the best thing for all involved...

It is also fairly common, if not expected to have a large supplement on a flood car.

On to the total:

Review the evaluation carefully, make sure it includes the equipment your car had and is correctly conditioned. IIRC Louisiana requires use of NADA so it may include only a NADA value. It may differ slightly from NADA consumer, but go educate yourself about what NADA value is. If it includes comparables before you get into a fight try to go look at them and determine if they are in fact comparable, make notes about why not.

They will likely do a 3 way call to get the payoff and probably have you execute paperwork via mail or a local office. They will pay the car off in return for the title form the lien holder and then pay you any equity. This may of course vary depending on State Law, but thats the basic process.

Review your policy and local law, you may have any where from no days to a week after they make an OFFER (not you accept) in the rental. a revision of the offer may or may not reset the clock (again depending on policy and local law.

Good luck, let us know the details on the evaluation and we will help you decipher it if need be.
 
Originally Posted by PhillyJoe
My guess is they found water in the engine or transmission oil to have that big of a new damage amount.

The insurance company will send you a check for the fair market value of the car. They will supply three or four comparable cars in your area as their basis for their number. If your your bank is listed on your insurance policy as a loss payee, most insist on it when you finance, the check will be made out to both. You will take the check to the bank and they will give you whatever, hopefully, is left.

I financed through BMW Financial; they had a good interest rate. I could have re-financed through the credit union I used for the Buick Regal, but the reduction in interest and charges didn't seem to be worth it. So I guess Prog. will have to send the payout to them, and they will send me the balance? Could take a while.

ETA: NADA had a CPO car like mine at clean retail price of $22K. So there's quite a range there.
 
Originally Posted by DuckRyder
I don't know exactly what part of the "da swamp" but if it is the BMW dealer on Veterans it was probably their mile long wish list that took it out, not that that might not be the best thing for all involved...

. . .


'Twas them, yes. And I suppose it is the best outcome after all. I only wish they had reached this conclusion 2 weeks ago, and I could have spent my recent vacation (and rental car costs) checking out newer cars.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
...


I financed through BMW Financial; ...


IME they are fairly vigilant about asking for a copy of the evaluation and ensuring it matches the build information, you should still do that though.

Also note that the company that performed the evaluation on your insurance companies behalf may have had some level of access to the build information... it is usually (but not always) correct.
 
Also check the value on nadaguide.com, that's what they typically use to determine retail value. You could always argue for more if they didn't take into account all the options it has. Usually the list is minimal though. If you have coverage for the rental car, they usually let you keep it for a month. They're kinda strange in that you could fight them for a month and they may only give you a few hundred and it would have been cheaper to give you more and not have the rental car for the period, but it's like the rental car and their payout are two totally different things and they don't talk to each other about keep the total cost of the claim low.

And yes, you don't want a flood car fixed. May be fine now, but if it got water in some of the electrical systems, it's going to start rusting in a couple years so you'll run into strange electrical problems that no one else has and no one else will be able to figure it out because it doesn't happen to non flooded cars.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
I'm gobsmacked. How did the repair cost zoom from $5100 to $26K? Once I get some information, I'll share, but does this seem insane?
As insane as it may sound, it's the best outcome for you. These cars are known for their fair share of electrical issues, and adding flood to this equation just makes things 10x worse. You don't want that car.


Quote
and I have my eye on a nice certified Buick LaCrosse.
Have you considered Buick TourX? They're very nice and you can get them for 30% off MSRP in some places. Very practical if you have a pet, too.
 
You do not want a flooded car. They have way too much electronics on them. Water infiltrates the ABS, air suspension, wire harnesses, sealed modules and will continue to migrate after repair. It will stink if left in the sun. 40 years ago friend let truck roll into lake. They were electrically and mechanically simple then. We pulled it out. Drained all fluids, took to car wash and hosed the interior, removed carpet and door panels. The connectors at wire harness connections, would corrode and fail, water froze in harness and made the wire crack (we think) Clutch disk failed. This was on a mid 60's ford. Not something new. Made a decent (for a Ford) vehicle into a money pit. Now add miles of wire, 50 more connectors, electronic modules,. Total. Branded title.

Best use is engine core and transmission core for racers.

Rod
 
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.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Also check the value on nadaguide.com, that's what they typically use to determine retail value. You could always argue for more if they didn't take into account all the options it has. Usually the list is minimal though. If you have coverage for the rental car, they usually let you keep it for a month. They're kinda strange in that you could fight them for a month and they may only give you a few hundred and it would have been cheaper to give you more and not have the rental car for the period, but it's like the rental car and their payout are two totally different things and they don't talk to each other about keep the total cost of the claim low. . . .

I wish I still had rental car reimbursement -- but I took it off because the insurance in this forked-up state is so high to begin with. The well-optioned BMW was only a little more expensive than the base-model Regal. That may give you some idea of how crazy the insurance scam is here.

When I land another Buick, the rental car will go back on.

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 . . ."?
 
You really don't want that car any more. Floodwater will cause numerous delayed problems and should always be considered a total.

If the insurance is going to pay enough to pay off the existing loan, you can explain that to the finance department, then the old loan won't be part of the decision on the new one.
 
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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?
 
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