Well, after two years of negligence and general cretinism, my parking garage finally killed my S2000. (Background note: I live in Manhattan, NYC, so an attended parking garage is pretty much mandatory.)

When I went to pick up my car on Saturday, they made me wait about an hour. This is typical of them, despite the fact that I call an hour ahead every time. Anyway, it turns out that they had parked the car under a leaky spot in the ceiling, and had left the driver's window open. The water filled the driver's side, destroyed the door, the seat, the carpets, and god knows what else. Needless to say, I went apeshit and attacked a defenseless filing cabinet that happened to be nearby. Then I told the garageman that he was a failure and that he had no pride in his work. I went off for quite some time. (Amusing sidenote: A few minutes after I was finished with him, he called his boss and quit.)

Remember Tom Cruise in Risky Business when the Porsche goes in the water? Well, I was much more pissed off.

They called in a manager, a jackass named Juan Acevedo. I told my insurance company that I would see what Juan Acevedo's approach would be before I decide to pursue the claim. Juan Acevedo (I hate that little ****er, so I'm saying his name with extreme disgust) comes back and starts telling me that I'm overreacting and that they will "clean up" my car.

I'm sorry, but when you're car is exposed to major water damage, the words "clean up" do not inspire confidence. The fact that he was being defensive and telling me that I was wrong about the extent of the damage was too much. I gave him a few thousand choice words and probably made him wet his pants (judging by look on his face after I was finished). Then I called GEICO (my insurer) and told them to get an adjuster out ASAP. I'm weighing my options in terms of suing. It's quite possible that I will do it.

Anyway, I got some pics before they moved the car out of the huge puddle. I even got some with all sorts of vapor coming out of the exhaust.

I think that I can get my car back in order, since the damage is probably not long-term. New door, new seat, new carpet and a good going over ought to do it. I think I'll sell it, though, since I can't deal with these retarded parking monkeys anymore.

I swear to God I will get a "pound of flesh" out of those people before I'm done.

So....does anyone have any advice about water damage, insurance claims, lawsuits?

 

Sorry to hear about your situation ... I'm sure the insurance company will take care of you.

Just the thought of those parking guys being so careless with where they park a car and doing things like leaving the window up anger me.

I don't know much about lawsuits, but I've been there before with insurance claims for damage (my car s2k was in an accident).

Make sure you frequently keep in contact with the adjuster ... sometimes they slack off big time and if you're on his/her case daily, they will process your stuff quicker. Good luck with that.

 

Damn, that really sucks. Water damage is bad news for a car. Best thing is to sell the car after it's 'repaired'.

Good luck!

 

All I can say is to be patient. You have to deal with stupidity in order to get some real stuff done. Sorry agin, I understand you going apeshit on that file cabinet though, I've done that.

 

My God, sorry to hear this bad news. And you probably pay a king's ransom for the privelege of parking there, I'll bet.

If the damage is really severe, I'd press to have it declared a total loss. My son's Jeep Cherokee (which, afterall, is designed for these things) was in a minor flood and was declared a total loss, even though it showed up several months later running just fine.

 

damn...sorry to hear that...guess you gotta wait and see what the insurance company will say. unfortunately, a car with previous water damage will be very hard to sell, but who knows...the best of luck to ya.

 

I see you went to pick up your car Saturday when this was discovered,but how long had your car been parked under the leak?...overnight?

 

I want to see the pictures you took.

 

Thanks.

FlyingWedge:

There's no way to tell how long the water was getting in there. The car had been in the garage for nearly a week since I last used it.

Rick:

Thanks. That anectdote about the Jeep makes me feel better.

I'll post pics tonight when I get home.

 

Yes, Rick is correct. I pay $375 a month for the privilege of having my car ruined. I saw this coming a thousand miles away, though.