Car damaged because of poor road conditions - not sure what to do

daraky

I'm not sure if you can help or offer any words of advice please? This is my first time here so I'm not sure if this is the right place for my question.

I don't want people to think I'm pushing my luck - but I really do want some advice as to whether others think it's worth trying.

About 2 weeks ago I was driving back from my gym along the A22 - it's not a particularly quiet A road but it does wind through some countryside and is - for the most part - unlit. It's an A road though for sure - it's not like some minor route through where I live.

I was driving in a 50mph zone - doing just less than 50 - and without any sort of notice our car plunged into deep water that had flooded the road from a burst pipe. Because of the bend and dip in the road, it really wasn't possible to spot the water until it was too late, even with full beams. There was no warning; no signs, no notices, no cones or anything, but the road must have been flooded for quite some time.

The water was really deep - well over the centre of the wheels - and around knee-deep at the deepest point.

I immediately put my hazard lights on as other people in both directions were experiencing the same situation; they were plunging from 50 to literally 5mph in the space of a few metres.

Once I'd driven out the other side - quite shaken - I pulled over to check the car as I was worried the impact might have ripped the bumper off, but luckily there was no visible damage.

What I did then was phone the local police as I wasn't sure who to report the problem too. They were very grateful and took a note of my details; the next day (in fact, for the next 4 days) the road was blocked off and a diversion was in place, with lots of signs warning of flooding and contractors out to sort the problem.

Ever since I went through the water (as in, from that exact point, driving home), though, my car has been running really roughly and I've had no end of problems with the gears. I thought that may some water had got into the clutch plates and that it would dry out, so I didn't drive much thereafter and left it to give the gears the chance to dry.

Since then, however, the problem has just got a lot worse and I have had to take it into a garage.

I've just been told that basically going through the water has washing out any of the grease around the clutch plates and that the nylon cups have been damaged by driving without the grease. There are also a few other things about the car too, but nothing major - it's just not running smoothly.

Anyway, cost for replacing the clutch plates and the work is about £120.

I don't know what to do - I've already paid for the work - but I'm really a bit !!!!ed off to be honest as I've spent a lot of money that could have been avoided if the council had just warned people that the road was flooded. I can't see how they wouldn't have been aware - it's a busy A road and wouldn't have flooded so badly within a short space of time; it must have been like that for well over 24 hours. If it was bad enough for me to report to the police, I would have thought they would have known about it.

I doubt it'll get me anywhere, but is it worth me writing to the council with a copy of my repair bill and ask them whether they would consider paying it? I'm sure they'll just laugh and say no, but it was their failure to warn road users of a major flood - one that was very dangerous - that has caused my damage. As I said before, it was impossible to see the flood in the dark owing to the angle of the dip and bend in the road, so I really couldn't have done anything to avoid it, nor could any of the other drives.

What should I do? I really don't want to take this one of the chin as it's £120 I don't really have right now.

p00hsticks

daraky wrote: »

If it was bad enough for me to report to the police, I would have thought they would have known about it.

From what you say, it sounds as if once you reported it, they acted pretty promptly to close off the road - so it looks like everyone else who drove through it simply wasn't as public spirited as you.

Although I can't see what harm it would do to try writing to the council, I don't think that you'll get much joy either - even though it was an A road, the council (or Highways agency ? ) can't be continually patrolling them, so I don't think it's unreasonable for them not to have noticed something that has happened less that 24 hours ago and hasn't been reported to them.

marlot

For a claim to succeed you have to show that the authorities have been negligent. Unless you can show that they knew (or should have known) that there was a problem, I don't think you'll get very far.

epninety

daraky wrote: »

What should I do?

Find a better garage? There is almost no grease in a clutch (only around the spigot bearing) and it's very unlikely to wash out. Corrosion is an issue if you left it for a few days, you would have done better to keep driving it (at least for the clutch).

You don't mention what car it is, but changing the clutch for £120 sounds pretty low too. Most clutches cost more than half that price, which doesn't leave much to cover the labour charge.

More importantly, it doesn't account for the rough running, which is potentially much more serious after driving through deep water.

Sorry to be negative, but do get a second opinion before you spend your money.

Strider590

^^ i'll go with that, my concern with deep water would be getting the air intake flooded, which would soak the air filter and cut air flow to the engine causing all sorts of madness.
Also coming of the throttle in deep water will flood the exhaust system and you might have the remnants of that in the cat and silencer.

It's also possible perhaps to cause some minor damage to the gear linkage, which would give gear change trouble and whining in either 1st or 5th gear.

Water can't get into the clutch on most cars and those where it can, they have a huge hole at the bottom for drainage... (which is actually to drain oil incase of a crank case oil seal failure into the clutch bellhousing).

epninety wrote: »

You don't mention what car it is, but changing the clutch for £120 sounds pretty low too. Most clutches cost more than half that price, which doesn't leave much to cover the labour charge.

£120 is on the low side, it would barely cover the labour costs of a clutch change in a small engined hatchback. Perhaps no parts are needed?

victor2

Don't think you've got much chance of claiming, except perhaps off your insurance? Action was taken when you reported it. If the wind had blown a tree down and you came along and hit it, who would you claim off?
Someone I know hit a flood in similar sounding circumstances and water went into the engine, wrecking it. He claimed on his car insurance, they wrote it off because it was quite an old vehicle and worth less than the cost of repairs. He bought the car for scrap value off the insurance company and used the rest of the payment to pay for a reconditioned engine to be instaled. A few years on and the car is still running nicely.

colino

Sorry, but if the water was knee deep, did any get beyond the doorseals and into the car? If it did, I'd be getting your insurer to look at the car with a view to writing it off (yes really). Water damaged cars are a bag of long term rust and electrical problems waiting to happen.