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Help!! Mercedes caught in flood!!
Hello Fellow Benzers,
My 190E was caught in a flash flood a few days ago. In order to avoid door dings I usually park my car as far away from the other cars as I could. This time I parked near an empty drainage ditch and unfortunately while I was away began to pour outside. When I walked back to my car a few hours later I was horrified to see my car sitting in water. The height of the water reached the center caps of the wheels and there was about 2 inches of water inside the vehicle. I had to wade to it and what I now know is a no-no, started (the tailpipes were submerged, I think) it and drove it home. It ran fine. The rest of the night I worked feverishly to disassemble the interior and save what I could. It was hopeless. I called the dealer next morning it inquire about the cost of new carpet and was told that the cost of new carpet alone would exceed $850. They also informed me that my seat computers under the seats were most likely ruined (as the seats were doing strange things on the way home) and he would not give me a price stating that they were “really expensive.” He advised me to ask the insurance company to total the car, stating that electrical problems would plague the vehicle. The service manager at the dealer said, on the other hand, that most likely if it could be driven home all the electrical systems for the engine might be okay...this of course means the engine only not the rest of the vehicle. I called a body shop that specializes in European car repair and they believe it can be fixed and knowing the insurance company, they will want to fix it rather than total it. But what about in the long run? Could I get it into the same shape it was in before the flood? I really do not want to part with the car but on the same token, I do not want more trouble than it's worth. In the past 11 months I've had that car I have loved driving it ... and now this... Any opinions or advice?
Thanks, David
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