My Mazda5 got flooded at the dealership!

S

smaria

Member
:
2002 Honda Civic + 2006 Mazda5
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?
 
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.
 
I'd lemon law it, then buy a new one. No way I'd put up with a flood car.
 
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?
 
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)
 
boogaboo said:
What are they doing with the other fllooded cars on the lot? They're not going to sell them as new are they?
Click to expand...

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.

boogaboo said:
This sucks. Explain the situation to your insurance and to your financing company (its still their car)...
Click to expand...

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.

boogaboo said:
Then call a good lawyer and have him handy to call MazdaUSA, the dealer, and your insurance company.
Click to expand...

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

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

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...
 
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!
 
smaria said:
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.
Click to expand...


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)
 
Strategy...

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