I was driving home the other day during and drove through what turned out to be a deep puddle. Looks like insurance may cover a used engine. My price to replace is 4300. Insurance deductible is 500. My worry is that once insurance files a claim on the car that will likely say flood damage. Although the car is not totaled it will be virtually impossible to sell. Would you therefore:

1. File an insurance claim with the understanding that the value will be decreased. Hoping that a potential buyer will be ok with an explanition.

2. Pay for it myself so that carfax does not scare people away.

the car is a 2007 g35x with 105K.

thanks,

 

Well, it sounds like you've already made a decision. Pay for the engine replacement. Just make sure you tell a potential buyer the truth.

Some engines have a serial number/VIN stamped on it. If you swap the engine, a savvy buyer can check to see that they match.

To be honest, I would just go with insurance. If you sell the car, you probably won't get much anyways since it has 105k and already almost 6 years old. Since you're going be paying $4300 instead of $500 you're going to have to consider that too. The car at this point is only worth $13k in very good condition according to kbb. You're already paying 1/3 of the car price with this engine replacement (and there is possibility of more damage than just the engine damage.) If there are any flooding you may even have electrical issues or rust down the road. I think you should go with insurance. Eventually if you do sell it, you're not going to get much back anyways whether it had a flood title or not.

 

Let the insurance pay for it dude. Paying $4300 into a car with 105k miles and 5 years old is a dumb financial move. Very dumb.

Pay the $500 deductible and move on with life and enjoy the car until it dies and donate it or give it to a family member.

Easy decision. The car will just keep depreciating with or without flood damage on the title.

The $4300 you will pay up front is about how much of the car value will go down if it is titled with a flood notation on it. Either way you will pay for it in the end.

 

^ The OP shouldn't be worrying about a flooded title. He should be more worried about his insurance premium increasing for the next couple of years (which would also be a hefty extra at least if he doesn't have accident forgiveness.) In the end, it is a hard decision to make depending on his insurance increase.

Driving through a puddle and causing that much damage is considered an at fault accident.

OP, next time you see a puddle on the ground (the puddle must have been large,) don't drive through it. Our cars aren't that high up in the first place and you should let others stupidly drive through and "test the waters" first. It isn't worth risking your car for a maneuver like that.

 

IMHO, the bottom line is this: years later down the road, the difference in sale price of a well running car, REGARDLESS of its title, will not be as large as what you will pay out of pocket if you don't go through insurance. Sure, maybe you can sell the car for a BIT more with spotless title, but not $3800 more!

(Besides, as mentioned, if you're ethical, you'd have to disclose it anyway.)

 

The insurance agent said it shouldn't raise my rates but you never know. I plan on keeping the car for a while so I agree with vqsmile. I know it was dumb. The puddle didn't look to bad, and my dad drove his honda accord through it. If wasn't trying to make it to my sons birthday I would have probably looked for a different route.

thanks,

 

Yeah, I wouldn't trust what the insurance agent tells you. Having $4300 in damages in an at-fault accident almost always increases your rate, unless it is your first accident and your policy has accident forgiveness.

 

Having a new engine in a 107k car would be seen as a PLUS and not a minus to a buyer. IMHO

 

Lol...you really think OP is getting a new engine and labor for $4300? Trust me, he isn't. New engines cost way more than $4300. A buyer will be concerned not with the engine, but other critical parts that may be damaged going through a large puddle....electronics, transmission, etc.

 

Sorry, I should have said it was a used engine.

 

Well unless the used engine has 107k, I'd assume he would be getting a low miler. Which again, would be better than the original 107k motor

 

Think about it this way:

Would you rather have an engine that was original on the car with probably some sort of maintenance records, or would you rather have an engine that came from a totaled accident g35 junkyard that had lower miles with no history record? (Not even sure if the engine will have some damage from accident that can't be detected.)

They're not much different to the buyer. It won't be seen as an advantage. It will look bad either way with an engine swap. Your argument is a fallacy because there are some v36 engines that fail with less than 107k miles. Just because an engine has less miles doesn't mean it is automatically "better." Statistically, they will fail less, but between 60k miles and 130k miles, I'm sure they all run well if the proper maintenance was done.

Plus, like I mentioned before, the buyer will be more concerned with other things besides the engine swap. Having a "flooded" car can have many different issues that arise, such as rust, electronics, etc.

 

1) Make sure the engine is low miler with warranty. ie... 30k or less

That makes it appealing to the potential buyer.

What type of engine damage can't be detected once the engine is started up? If it's defective another engine gets put in

 

Okay, so basically, you want to find a G35 engine (only available in models of 2007 and 2008) that are at least 5 years old with less than 30k miles AND warranty for $4300 including install?

That's REALLY pushing it.

Again, a buyer is going to be more concerned about other issues besides the engine in a flooded car. It doesn't matter whether the car has an engine swap or not. (Engine swap is already going to be done to get it to run anyways.)

The warranty will only be valid on the engine, but not the transmission or anything else that could have problems from the flooding.

 

Engine is being replaced. I will need to buy an SUV in a year or two to drive the kids to school. At that time the G will become my backup and I will get rid of the 98 740iL.