My Mazda5 got flooded at the dealership!

[smaria]

Help! I've got the worst luck...

My Mazda5 was at Mazda of Princeton, and yesterday their lot flooded. They just called me and said my Mazda5 has water damage inside the car, the rugs need to be ripped up and replaced, they need to check whether or not there's any electrical damage, etc.

Ever since the recall, I couldn't wait to get my Mazda5 back. But, now that my car's damaged, I really don't want it back...I want the new and undamaged car that I paid for just 2 months ago. It's already been more than the 20 days required for lemon law notification in New Jersey, so I hate to say it but I'm strongly considering the lemon law route.

If anyone can give me any advice, I'd really appreciate it. Should I just suck it up, let the insurance company fix my Mazda5, and take my Mazda5 back? Or should I demand an undamaged one?

[Kooldino]

Eek, that's a tough call.

If there is electrical damage (which you might not find out right away), you could have gremlins for YEARS to come.

If you DO decide to keep it, insist on an extended warranty for free.

[cheapmiata1600]

I would go the lemon law route, you probably don't want that car back.

[perfecto]

I would demand an undamaged one, and if they refuse you should lemon law it.

[36Crazyfists]

I would demand an undamaged one, and if they refuse you should lemon law it.

That's the route I would take as well

[Foolish]

I'd lemon law it, then buy a new one. No way I'd put up with a flood car.

[smaria]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone.

Regardless of whether or not I end up going the lemon law route, I'm sending MazdaUSA the 10-day notification letter that NJ requires...that'll at least keep all of my options open until I hear back from the insurance company about the extent of the water damage. I guess there's at least a small chance the the insurance company will mark the car "unrepairable" and give me a new one...I can hope, right?

More likely, I'll have to fight with MazdaUSA. I'll start with a phone call to MazdaUSA. Anyone have any contact information (names, phone numbers, email address, etc.) of people at MazdaUSA that have been helpful?

[Captain KRM P5]

nothing but bad luck for the mazda5 owners, eh :(

[boogaboo]

Thats just horrible...I think the dealer is liable. What are they doing with the other fllooded cars on the lot? They're not going to sell them as new are they?

This sucks. Explain the situation to your insurance and to your financing company (its still their car)...

Then call a good lawyer and have him handy to call MazdaUSA, the dealer, and your insurance company.

The 5 is an affordable car, but your about to be out 20K due to dealer negligence while they had possession of your car...

Good Luck! (boom07)

[tsunami]

damn.... sucks... mazda5 just can't seem to win... good luck

[smaria]

What are they doing with the other fllooded cars on the lot? They're not going to sell them as new are they?

With my horrible luck, mine was the only car that got flooded...the dealer moved all of the other cars in time, but mine was blocked in at the very back corner of the lot.

This sucks. Explain the situation to your insurance and to your financing company (its still their car)...

I did explain it to my insurance company...it didn't really matter ot them who's fault it was. And, sadly given the circumstances, I paid cash for the car...no dealer-related financing company to stop payments on.

Then call a good lawyer and have him handy to call MazdaUSA, the dealer, and your insurance company.

Yeah, it looks like I'll have to resort to that.

The 5 is an affordable car, but your about to be out 20K due to dealer negligence while they had possession of your car...

I know, I know! And, even if the car's satisfactorily repaired, it'll have the word "FLOOD" stuck onto its title...that'll absolutely KILL the resale value. I'm going to lawyer up and ifnd a way out of this...

[miatafied]

HOLY CRAP! I'm pissed just reading about it! No amount of fixing is gonna make that car the same as when you left it there.

Holy crap!! I'm in disbelief!

[boogaboo]

With my horrible luck, mine was the only car that got flooded...the dealer moved all of the other cars in time, but mine was blocked in at the very back corner of the lot.


All the more reason to sue. Why did they not move yours first, or move the line of cars in front of yours?

You entrusted yoiur car to them and they ruined it!

The fact that they were moving cars away during the flood and chose to leave yours for last, makes this a cognizant action on their part. They need to be made liable for the choice they made and the action they took to (not) prevent damage to your vehicle.

I am curious to see waht your attorney says. I'd go find a greedy ambulance-chaser type!!! (thumb)

[smaria]

I've consulted some legal sources, and I've come up with a possible strategy to solve my problem. It holds the dealer liable for the flooding. I won't know if this'll work until I hear from the appraisers at the insurance companies, but it seems like my best shot, and it seems to be legally legit. I'm throwing it out here in case anyone has any advice/comments:

(1) The dealer is liable for the flood-related repairs, so his insurance company pays for it (that part's obvious). But, less obvious is that the insurance company also needs to pay for "diminished value" in third-party situations. "Diminished value" is defined as the value of the vehicle before the accident (in this case flooding) minus the price after the flooding...courts have supposedly upheld this in every state.

(2) Since the vehicle was nearly brand new before the incident, and after the incident will be worth whatever the dealer gives me for it as a trade-in, the "diminished value" should be roughly the "new-car value" minus the "trade-in value". So, "trade-in value" plus "diminished value" should be enough to get me a new Mazda5 from the dealer. In effect, I'll trade in the flooded Mazda5 for a brand new one, and the insurance company pays the difference in price on the transaction.

(3) If the insurance company's "diminished value" award plus the dealer's trade-in price aren't enough to buy me a new Mazda5, I'll give the dealer 3 options: (1) increase the amount that they're giving me for the trade-in, (2) decrease the price that they'll sell me the new Mazda5, or (2) act on my behalf to get the insurance company to raise their "diminished value" payout.

Whew! I'll let you know how things play out...
Steve

[ZoomZoomH]

definitely hope it works out and you get a new 5 in the end :)

[boogaboo]

smaria sounds like you may be getting somewhere... (nana)

have you approached the dealer? have they been supporting/empathetic? (monkey)

the more I think about your situation the more I get sick mad (puke)

PLUS, we are looking forward to a DELUGE here in New England in the next couple of days and my M5 is on my dealer's lot as well... (help)

[-pixy-]

OMG. Hope all works out in your favor, that sucks sooooo bad. (sad2)

[miatafied]

I drove out to the dealer lot just to check on my 5 today. It was sitting on the dealer lot UNLOCKED. I got my garage door remote which I had forgotten in it, locked it, and left.

My 4 year old was whining in the back seat - why can't we take the blue car home?! Over and over again. After hearing about smaria's ordeal - I'm considering signing the waiver and just picking it up.

[Johaan]

I'd demand an undamaged one, flood damage will show up on carfax and you will not be able to get squat for that trade in when you are done with it... if anything at all!

[36Crazyfists]

sounds like you are coming along great, definitely a good choice on your part to not just get it fixed and walk away

[smaria]

smaria sounds like you may be getting somewhere... (nana)

I hope so!

have you approached the dealer? have they been supporting/empathetic? (monkey)

I haven't talked to the dealer yet about resolution...the dealer and I both need to hear from our insurance companies first, so I know where things stand and I know what I need to ask for (or demand). The dealer was nice enough during our first phone call, but not very useful: he kindly mentioned the lemon law option to me...definitely his way of trying to shift some of the liability to MazdaUSA.

[Libra]

Demand a new one as a replacement to your flood damaged vehicle, and remind the dealership that a flood damaged vehicle will not re-sell as well. If they say anything about it, insist them that they sell it if they are so confident that it would sell. Also look into getting extra perks for the Mazda 5 (roof racks, step plates, tons of accessories) for retribution on the recall and the dealership damage to your vehicle. All else fails, and then go in with a lawyer.

[skiph]

I've consulted some legal sources, and I've come up with a possible strategy to solve my problem. It holds the dealer liable for the flooding. I won't know if this'll work until I hear from the appraisers at the insurance companies, but it seems like my best shot, and it seems to be legally legit. I'm throwing it out here in case anyone has any advice/comments:

(1) The dealer is liable for the flood-related repairs, so his insurance company pays for it (that part's obvious). But, less obvious is that the insurance company also needs to pay for "diminished value" in third-party situations. "Diminished value" is defined as the value of the vehicle before the accident (in this case flooding) minus the price after the flooding...courts have supposedly upheld this in every state.

(2) Since the vehicle was nearly brand new before the incident, and after the incident will be worth whatever the dealer gives me for it as a trade-in, the "diminished value" should be roughly the "new-car value" minus the "trade-in value". So, "trade-in value" plus "diminished value" should be enough to get me a new Mazda5 from the dealer. In effect, I'll trade in the flooded Mazda5 for a brand new one, and the insurance company pays the difference in price on the transaction.

(3) If the insurance company's "diminished value" award plus the dealer's trade-in price aren't enough to buy me a new Mazda5, I'll give the dealer 3 options: (1) increase the amount that they're giving me for the trade-in, (2) decrease the price that they'll sell me the new Mazda5, or (2) act on my behalf to get the insurance company to raise their "diminished value" payout.

Whew! I'll let you know how things play out...
Steve


Steve:

Here is a link to a story about flood damaged cars from the Gulf Coast Katrina/Rita disaster areas that you might find interesting.

The bottom line is....you probably don't want your car back in any way, shape, or form, especially if the water was up as high as you mentioned.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Saveonacar/P129008.asp

Might also be a heads up for any others who might find a "hot" deal on a "new" M5 or other brand/model of car in the near future.

Good luck in getting a settlement.

(Shamelessly cross posted from Edmunds/Mazda 5 forum)

[boogaboo]

Hey smaria,

is this your Mazda5 selling on eBay??? (boom07)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-Touring-Mazda-2006-Mazda-5-Touring-5Spd-4dr-Hatchback-1600-Mi_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6316QQitemZ458709879 7QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[chuyler1]

Just a reminder....if your car was flooded...many of the other new cars may have been flooded also. ...make sure you state that you want a new car from a different dealership that wasn't flooded. :)

[smaria]

is this your Mazda5 selling on eBay??? (boom07)

Nope, not mine.

My saga finally ended last Friday, once my insurance company finally decided to look at the car (before that point, I had no independent assessment of how high the water had gotten or what had actually been damaged on the car). Here's what happened:

(1) my insurance company told me that the water-damage was much much less than I had feared. Although some of the dealer's cars had been totlaed, the water on mine had just barely gotten up to the bottom of the door (just below half-way up the wheels). In fact, my insurance company and the mechanic, after diagnosing the car, found that there was no immediate water damage at all, and that the car just needed to be detailed. A far cry from my worries about a totaled car.
(2) the dealer payed for the detailing (which appears to be what other dealers are doing, so this wasn't anything special).
(3) my insurance company said that any future flood-related problems can be covered under this same claim, so they wouldn't cost me anything to fix. For example, if some electrical wires corrode next year, my insurance company will pay to fix/replace them.
(4) MazdaUSA offered me an extra $250 in service coupons for my trouble.

So, in the end, this worked out because the water was fresh water (not corrosive salt water) and didn't get high enough to cause any immediate damage. I had to pay nothing to get the car cleaned up, and my insurance company is giving me the "insurance" that allows me to stop worrying about future car problems caused by this incident.

So I picked up my Mazda5 on Friday night:

(1) clean
(2) dry
(3) detailed
(4) driving as good as new

...and most importantly...

(5) insured against any future potential flood-related problems that may or may not ever pop up

I'm so happy to finally have my car back, and I'm so glad that this all eventually got resolved without actually having to yell at anyone or file a lemon law claim!

:) :) :) :) :)

[chuyler1]

Sounds good....there is no musty smell in the car right?

[smaria]

Sounds good....there is no musty smell in the car right?

Nope, no musty smell. It smelled like Armor All when they gave the car back to me...that smell's faded and still no musty smell. I think the garage did a good job of drying the car out immediately.

Anyways, I'm satisfied, and very happy to move on.

[ZoomVT]

maybe its just because im money hungry but i would actually go the lemon law route and also sue the dealership for negligence. (not sure if its negligence since they actually knew about it but decided not to move your car on time, so its even worse for them). That way you would get a new 5 plus money for the inconvenience of not havnig your car, etc. i would still go with the lemon route cause even if everything works out, they may still short changed you and end up having to pay extra for a new 5. Just my 2 cents.

[bazooka joe]

talk to your attorney!

[smaria]

i would actually go the lemon law route and also sue the dealership for negligence. That way you would get a new 5 plus money for the inconvenience of not havnig your car, etc.

I looked in detail at both of those options, lemon law and sueing the dealer, but both of them seem like a lot of work (time and energy, etc.) for an outcome that's questionable at best. I've consulted with insurance companies, other Mazda dealers, attorneys, etc., so I've heard all of the angles. Yes, best case, I get a brand new Mazda5 and a little bit of cash. But, worst case, I lose the court cases and get nothing except large lawyer fees! Or, alternate worse case, I get a new Mazda5 but it has problems of its own that my current Mazda5 doesn't have (such as a rattle, noisey engine, etc.).

Also, if I file the lemon law, it'd go after MazdaUSA and try to make them pay. I don't like that option because I am not upset with MazdaUSA, I'm upset with the dealer. If I sue the dealer, he can claim that he had no idea the lot was going to flood, and couldn't get to the car in time. There were no witnesses except for the dealer's employees, so how can I prove that the dealer COULD have moved the car in time if he wanted to? In other words, can I really prove the dealer was negligent, as the law requires? I could potentially win the case, but I see it as an iffy-at-best outcome.

As of Friday, I've finally seen my car and driven it around, and it feels like new to me. Mazda's giving me an extra $250 for my trouble (a total of $750) and my insurance company has assured me I don't need to worry about future damages related to this claim (they'll cover any future repairs under the same claim).

So, at this point NOT taking legal action actually gives me a whole lot more peace of mind. Sorry to end this little piece of drama so un-dramatically!

[Kaian]

One thing you should do, which you may have already, is write an extensive letter on what happened to you and how your dealer treated you and send it directly to MazdaUSA. I assume at this point you would not buy another vehicle from this dealer? As the dealers are the "public face" of MazdaUSA, I think it is important for Mazda to know when their dealers treat customers in an unacceptable manner.

[smaria]

As the dealers are the "public face" of MazdaUSA, I think it is important for Mazda to know when their dealers treat customers in an unacceptable manner.

Yup, I informed MazdaUSA all about the situation. They didn't help by pressuring the dealer to help me, but at least they know all the details of the situation (that's why they offered me an extra $250). So, to MazdaUSA, this dealer cost them $250 and a very unhappy customer for 3-4 weeks. This experience won't stop me from buying Mazda products, but it'll definitely stop me from ever going back to that dealer.

Steve