Should I salvage my flooded, forked, 2011 Leaf?

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jonswaff

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
6
Water from Harvey rose up into the floor of my 2011 Leaf. I had the car professionally cleaned to get rid of the musty smell and drove the car for two weeks after the flood. Car seemed perfectly fine to me.

I took the Leaf into the dealership to make sure that the car was safe to drive. Dealership said that most insurance companies consider the car totaled when water rises into a vehicle and that I should call my insurance company. I called my insurance company and their inspectors towed the car. The inspector spoke on the phone with me and said that water damage could create issues with electrical systems, such as airbags deploying randomly. My insurance company is offering ~$7k for my 2011 Leaf with 28,000 miles.

Apparently I am allowed to salvage the car. Insurance company would give me ~$4k and I could never sell the vehicle. The car has been 'forked' a number of times, which means that they have been using a forklift to move the car around the lot. I don't know what impact a forklift has on the undercarriage of a Leaf.

I'm willing to pay ~3k for my 2011 Leaf with only 28,000 miles if it will be relatively safe to drive for a year. I currently plan to go to the lot tomorrow an pick up my car if it turns on. Is this a horrible idea? I will be purchasing a new car near the end of 2018. I just need a nice one until then.
 
jonswaff said:
Water from Harvey rose up into the floor of my 2011 Leaf. I had the car professionally cleaned to get rid of the musty smell and drove the car for two weeks after the flood. Car seemed perfectly fine to me....

Apparently I am allowed to salvage the car. Insurance company would give me ~$4k and I could never sell the vehicle. The car has been 'forked' a number of times, which means that they have been using a forklift to move the car around the lot. I don't know what impact a forklift has on the undercarriage of a Leaf.

I'm willing to pay ~3k for my 2011 Leaf with only 28,000 miles if it will be relatively safe to drive for a year. I currently plan to go to the lot tomorrow an pick up my car if it turns on. Is this a horrible idea? I will be purchasing a new car near the end of 2018. I just need a nice one until then.
If you are allowed to re-inspect and test drive it, and the idiots from the insurance company didn't do too much damage with the forklift, why not buy it?

Why do you say: "I could never sell the vehicle".

Can't you sell a salvage title car in your state?

BTW, if either offer from your insurance company is not the full retail price of a LEAF in the same condition yours was in before it was flooded, and after you may want to contest their offer(s).

If major damage was actually caused by abuse with a forklift, then that reduction in value should be born by another party, not you, if you buy as a salvage vehicle, IMO.
 
My next opinion depends on how high the water went.

I would say that if the water reached the top of the bumper or above, You would be wise to run away from that car for the $7k... I have seen YouTube videos of what happens to the battery pack and drive train when you mix water with electricity. I mean EVERYTHING RUSTS and you will not be able to trust that any circuit will work...

Again, this all depends how high the water reached... good luck.
 
I would say that if the water reached the top of the bumper or above, You would be wise to run away from that car for the $7k

It's hard to know unfortunately. It happened during the night, and the water receded by the morning. I'd guess it didn't get that far above the floor as our seats were not wet the next day. Thanks for your input.
 
I believe your problems are more likely to come from the 12v system than the HV system. Once water gets into the wiring harnesses, it's just a matter of time before corrosion sets in and random failures start. It's seems like a no-brainer to me to take $7K for a 2011. You could easily buy a used LEAF of the same vintage (that hasn't been flooded) for that, maybe a lot less.
 
You could easily buy a used LEAF of the same vintage (that hasn't been flooded) for that, maybe a lot less.

I see some on CarFax for that amount, but I very well could be buying a salvaged car anyway from them. Every other place I look is ~$9k, usually for a 2013. If I could find a replacement for ~$7k I would definitely go that route.
 
jonswaff said:
You could easily buy a used LEAF of the same vintage (that hasn't been flooded) for that, maybe a lot less.

I see some on CarFax for that amount, but I very well could be buying a salvaged car anyway from them. Every other place I look is ~$9k, usually for a 2013. If I could find a replacement for ~$7k I would definitely go that route.
You couldn't buy a salvaged car unknowingly as it would have a salvage title. If you're finding them listed for $7K, then you can buy it for less. Edmunds has the retail price for a 2011 SL with 28K miles at just under $6K. No way you should pay more than that...the private sale price was under $5K.
 
Consensus between this forum and Reddit seems to be that I should take the insurance money as it should be enough to buy a comparable 2011 Leaf. Thanks for the help!
 
jonswaff said:
Consensus between this forum and Reddit seems to be that I should take the insurance money as it should be enough to buy a comparable 2011 Leaf. Thanks for the help!

I agree, but never take their first offer. Make sure you are getting a fair deal. I pushed back on an old wrecked motorcycle and progressive went from $800 to $2400 because I told them the fairings were in good condition prior to the crash. Push back stating its excellent condition and low miles and perhaps you can squeeze a few more bucks out of your loss.

Will you be looking to replace it with another Leaf? For 11-12k you should be able to find a 2014 or 2015 loaded SL with similar miles.
 
One of the doors had a minor dent. The roof also had hail damage from a few years ago that I got insurance money to fix but never did. You really can't notice it unless you are tall and looking at the correct angle. Low milage was nice though. I probably could argue for more money, but I do feel the valuation was fair.

I really loved the Leaf. Great car. Sad to see it go for a number of reasons. I won't be buying another Leaf because I reserved a Tesla Model 3. I expect I will be able to purchase it in 2018 assuming they get their manufacturing issues worked out. The long range and (eventual) autonomous driving capability is very appealing. I had planned to own both the Leaf and Tesla, but now I'll just apply insurance money toward the new car. I have a really clunky ICE car to drive in the interim.
 
davewill said:
It's seems like a no-brainer to me to take $7K for a 2011. You could easily buy a used LEAF of the same vintage (that hasn't been flooded) for that, maybe a lot less.
Agree.
jonswaff said:
You could easily buy a used LEAF of the same vintage (that hasn't been flooded) for that, maybe a lot less.

I see some on CarFax for that amount, but I very well could be buying a salvaged car anyway from them. Every other place I look is ~$9k, usually for a 2013. If I could find a replacement for ~$7k I would definitely go that route.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/cta?sort=priceasc&auto_make_model=nissan+leaf&min_auto_year=2013&max_auto_year=2013
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/cta?sort=priceasc&auto_make_model=nissan+leaf&min_auto_year=2011&max_auto_year=2012
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/cta?sort=priceasc&auto_make_model=nissan+leaf&min_auto_year=2015&max_auto_year=2015 - for ones with the "lizard" battery

Change the model year range to what you might find acceptable.

I’ve never done business with them but I’d heard of http://www.plattauto.com in Oregon. Assuming the cars resided in the mild-climate Pacific NW, they should have little battery degradation compared to your area. You’ll want to run a Carfax/Autocheck to see where they resided.

A year ago, this guy in a remote (to me) part of CA couldn't sell his '11 that was down to 8 bars I think for $4500:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19967&p=454921&hilit=%244500#p454921
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&p=475234&hilit=salvation#p475234

Yes, I know you're far away from me but cars can be shipped... Personally, I wouldn't want any '11 or '12 nor any '13 built before 4/2013. Unless the HV battery was changed to a new pack, the original batteries on those suck in terms of degradation.
 
davewill said:
I believe your problems are more likely to come from the 12v system than the HV system. Once water gets into the wiring harnesses, it's just a matter of time before corrosion sets in and random failures start. It's seems like a no-brainer to me to take $7K for a 2011. You could easily buy a used LEAF of the same vintage (that hasn't been flooded) for that, maybe a lot less.

Or better yet, put that $7k towards a newer Leaf and get the improvements (seat and steering wheel heaters, heat pump and faster OBC on the 13+ SV and SL, etc.).
 
I recommend that you let the 2011 go and use the money to find a nice replacement. My concern is that the car has been moved around by forklift. I considered buying my 2011 back and converting it to a small truck until I went to the insurance company's storage yard to look at it. They had trashed the whole car (grease/dirt everywhere in the interior) and damaged it by moving it around using a large forklift. The front bumper area was damaged and there may have been suspension or battery pack damage (based upon my observations of where the forks would have contacted the underside of the car). The LEAF is a heavy car so there is more chance of damage when lifting it without using appropriate lifting points.

Since the water did not get up to the dash and the car did not sit in the water for extended time, the electrical systems (other than corrosion in harness connectors) may be OK. Corrosion in connectors might not show up right away and could cause intermittent (hard to diagnose and repair) problems for the life of the car. The battery case has pressure/vacuum relief vents, but it is not likely that water entered the battery case since it was not submerged for extended time and the car starts/runs normally. Most of the control modules are mounted at dash level (whether in the dash or under the hood) so they would probably be OK. The onboard charger is under the hump in the hatch area so it would have been at least partially submerged, but it is sealed so control and high-voltage connections (both AC and DC) would be biggest concerns.
 
Well, I think you should consider things differently.
What was the SOH of the battery before?
How much could you possibly resell the car if it starts being faulty? 1000? 1500?
How well was it working after?
Did they damage it with the forklift.
And finally how much would it cost to get a car until you get your model 3?

I had the option a few years ago, the best price the insurance was getting from a salvage yard for my car was 50€ so I didn't really think that much!
 
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