Flood Damaged Diesel Caddy Going to Auction

[Nordo]

Hi

My daughter recently drove her diesel Caddy through some flood water and sucked some water into the motor. This obviously did not do the motor a lot of good, and the insurance company wrote it off.

So if anyone wants a white diesel manual Caddy in good condition, it will be going to auction at Pickles Auctions, Acacia Ridge, Queensland, in the near future. Body, mechanicals, upholstery, etc are all perfect. Also 5 brand new tyres.

[Tornado T5]

Anyone have an idea on what the potential repair bill would be to have it "written off" although I'm guessing it'll be classified as a "repairable write off" by your state's motoring authority.

[mikinoz]

They write it off beyond economical repair as in this situation they would need a new engine and as soon as they say electrical then they say forget it. It would be requiring a new ECU etc, that being said, some clever cookie could get a bargain, fix it up and have a bargain.

[Transporter]

Check for broken crankshaft, bent conrods. When water gets inside the cylinders, engine goes to "Hydro lock" since fluid cannot be compressed.
You may pay more to get it repaired than what the saving would be if you buy a new one and still it doesn't have to be reliable - corrosion at electrical connections could resurface later.
I wouldn't buy it unless it's cheap and only for some spare parts.

[Golf Loon]

Was it still running when she handed it over to the insurance co?

How far up the car did the water go?

I have seen ones where every electronic module is fried, there is still one in Olis Garden and I have seen others where you change the battery and drive it away.

Get it cheap and gamble basically.

[Nordo]

Was it still running when she handed it over to the insurance co?

How far up the car did the water go?

I have seen ones where every electronic module is fried, there is still one in Olis Garden and I have seen others where you change the battery and drive it away.

Get it cheap and gamble basically.

I can find out a bit more from my daughter, but my understanding is that she drove slowly into flood water that was about door sill deep. The motor stopped. She couldn't get it restarted (don't know if it was turning over, or if there was no response). About 15 minutes later she got someone to tow her out. By that stage the water was half way up the doors.

The next day (water had gone), I tried to start the car. No reponse. Tried heavy duty jumper leads - no response. By no response, I mean the starter didn't turn. You couldn't even hear the solenoid clicking. Nothing worked including lights, dashboard, etc.

BTW, the Caddy has a quality towbar that may be factory fitted. I went to Pickles to try and remove it, and gave up after 2 hours.

I'm guessing that the electronic module is fried, but the motor may be fine.

[Jmac]

Hmm motor sounds locked up there, still im with Loon , i would trake the risk with that one.
If its cheap enough whats a motor in the scheme of things, modules can be sourced and im sure modules could be sourced from here there and everywhere.
Cheers
Jmac

[Nordo]

Hmm motor sounds locked up there, still im with Loon , i would trake the risk with that one.
If its cheap enough whats a motor in the scheme of things, modules can be sourced and im sure modules could be sourced from here there and everywhere.
Cheers
Jmac

OK

Had a chat to my daughter. She drove into the water in first gear. The motor started to lose power. She ended up with her accelerator flat to the board but still no power. The motor finally died. At that stage the water was about 300mm deep.

Hope that helps.

[Seano]

If the motor struggled to a stop then I'll wager good money that the motor is fine but the electronics are a bit 'rooted'. Along with the interior....

If water stops a diesel motor then it tends to stop it instantly....and 'with feeling'!

[Nordo]

If the motor struggled to a stop then I'll wager good money that the motor is fine but the electronics are a bit 'rooted'. Along with the interior....

If water stops a diesel motor then it tends to stop it instantly....and 'with feeling'!

My daughter's version sounds nothing like that.

I haven't looked under the bonnet of her new Caddy, to find out what is mounted so low that driving through a relatively low level of water creates so much grief.
If the ECU is lower than the air intake, then maybe the problem is "only" with the electronics.

I guess it doesn't have to be water getting into the ECU. Probably it just has to be water getting into some part of the electronics that will lead to an electronic failure.

The insurance company organised the tow-in, so I don't know who actually looked at the Caddy and provided the estimate that led the insurance company to write it off. Possibly some mechanic who knew absolutely nothing about electronics, and it scared him into adding $10,000 or so to his repair estimate.

[Transporter]

My daughter's version sounds nothing like that.

I haven't looked under the bonnet of her new Caddy, to find out what is mounted so low that driving through a relatively low level of water creates so much grief.
If the ECU is lower than the air intake, then maybe the problem is "only" with the electronics.

I guess it doesn't have to be water getting into the ECU. Probably it just has to be water getting into some part of the electronics that will lead to an electronic failure.

The insurance company organised the tow-in, so I don't know who actually looked at the Caddy and provided the estimate that led the insurance company to write it off. Possibly some mechanic who knew absolutely nothing about electronics, and it scared him into adding $10,000 or so to his repair estimate.

When the ECU is fitted under the bonnet it has to be sealed and water shouldn't get inside.
What probably happened was that the engine sucked in a bit of water and it stopped. The engine could come to the stop when the water went in the air filter and shortened MAF sensor, the rest of the sensors should last longer with water around them. How much water passed the air filter that is for the buyer to find out.
If the water was up to the middle of the door, than I would say that the water went through the engine, transmission, exhaust….

What is the wadding depth of the Caddy anyway?

In flooded areas if you see bigger cars than yours already stuck in the water don’t follow them.

If you drive in the water you keep going or you stop if you are not sure, don’t restart the engine in the water if the engine stalled, the exhaust is most likely flooded and it will not start. Switch everything off remove the car from the water dry and check everything before you start.
That’s what she should do.
Good thing is that it is insured and it is better when the insurance company replace the car anyway. You would get only troubles with it as the result of the water damage.

[Nordo]

When the ECU is fitted under the bonnet it has to be sealed and water shouldn't get inside.
What probably happened was that the engine sucked in a bit of water and it stopped. The engine could come to the stop when the water went in the air filter and shortened MAF sensor, the rest of the sensors should last longer with water around them. How much water passed the air filter that is for the buyer to find out.
If the water was up to the middle of the door, than I would say that the water went through the engine, transmission, exhaust….

What is the wadding depth of the Caddy anyway?

In flooded areas if you see bigger cars than yours already stuck in the water don’t follow them.

If you drive in the water you keep going or you stop if you are not sure, don’t restart the engine in the water if the engine stalled, the exhaust is most likely flooded and it will not start. Switch everything off remove the car from the water dry and check everything before you start.
That’s what she should do.
Good thing is that it is insured and it is better when the insurance company replace the car anyway. You would get only troubles with it as the result of the water damage.

When she first drove into the water and the car stopped, she got out of the car and said the water was about half way up her shin - ie approx 300mm (one foot). At this stage the motor was completely dead (no starter motor, etc).
It was only when she walked back into the water to help get the car towed out (about 30 minutes later) that the water was half way up the doors.

[Transporter]

In 1993 I bought Subaru L-series in auction, which was water damaged. Got the car home, it took me 1 hour to get it started (VW Caddy could be different). The car was for my wife to drive and it had manual gearbox - we needed automatic I was lucky that at another auction a week later was L-series which was rolled over and done only 40,000km, I bought it and used everything from it onto the one which was flooded incl. complete wiring. One week later complete swap was finished - I didn't swap the fuel tank since I stared on the fuel I bought the water damaged car with, six month later car started to stall and fuel filter was filling up with corroded bits. Of course I didn't keep rolled over damaged body, so I had to get the fuel tank from the wrecker. Both cars cost me $4000 to buy, no labour cost (did it myself) and the car was marked valued by insurance company for $10,000. We had it for 6years.

About the caddy if I had one I would go to that auction and if it goes cheep I would consider bidding on it.

[Silver Caravelle]

Odds on the diesel engine has sucked in some water through the intake and seized solid. If it is not turning over that is also sure sign. An easy way to verify is to check the dip stick to see how much water is mixed with the oil.

If it was electrics which I doubt, these would dry out eventually.

Regards,

Scott

[Seano]

My daughter's version sounds nothing like that.

I haven't looked under the bonnet of her new Caddy, to find out what is mounted so low that driving through a relatively low level of water creates so much grief.
If the ECU is lower than the air intake, then maybe the problem is "only" with the electronics.

I guess it doesn't have to be water getting into the ECU. Probably it just has to be water getting into some part of the electronics that will lead to an electronic failure.

The insurance company organised the tow-in, so I don't know who actually looked at the Caddy and provided the estimate that led the insurance company to write it off. Possibly some mechanic who knew absolutely nothing about electronics, and it scared him into adding $10,000 or so to his repair estimate.

Auto electronics these days are a bugger to fix because of system complexity and integration - just tracking a fault can take forever. I am aware of a Subaru Forester that had its entire loom replaced under warranty after the Subaru techs spent three days searching for a short that killed the engine fuse upon ignition - we learnt this after our own Forester suffered the same problem and it took the Subaru bloke a day and a half to find the short - under the drivers seat.

In a flooded setup like this with a demonstrable system failure then the assessor would probably have estimated total loom replacement to start with......add to that the various sensors and ECU that may also have been damaged and all the labour that it'd involved plus the interior plus any driveline damage (at very least all lubes would have to be replaced three times over to ensure no water in oil...). And you have a very easy write off.