31 replies to this topic

[Merryck]

New car then!

 

Wasn't your car that really really rare one, the one that was worth £50k? Didn't the Queen drive it once?

 

I seem to recall all these things being true...

[AFMike85]

 Contract breach or not if the council is contacting you and you told them about a mini and they're still asking for your claim, looks good.  I say claim fair retail value now that it's all covered. Seats recovered by Newton Commercial, claim for new skins for the door, may be new sills, the body can always be sandblasted to steel and repainted. Maybe claim the blasting and pay for paint yourself? could always ask a lawyer and see if they're open to a civil suit.

[danm]

Eeek, went to inspect today. They've power blasted the entire garage clean of the ******* with an industrial chemical cleaning disinfectant hose..

 

One side was absolutely drenched with backspray which seems to have rinsed the underside and sills. There's a few tiny gaps in the door and rear quarter that are still white and foams. Now visibly drip drying through the holes.

 

I know cars do get wet when driving in the rain, but do the undersides experience the same as being blasted with a hose? And mysterious bleaching agents too? Its soaked all over and inside the arches and subframe. Every crevice, kinda an inverted car wash.

Gonna have to leave it locked for a day as I am at work, so its not gonna dry quickly, even in this heat. It's more humid than anything, and less likely to dry. Need the doors open all Saturday really. Not great, this is how things start to rust rapidly.

 

Edited by danm, 02 December 2014 - 10:25 PM.

[danm]

UPDATE!

Thought you lot would enjoy seeing this nightmare unfold further. I washed down a load of bits with antibacterial wipes after it all happened and whatnot taking the damaged bits out. But after a few weeks, this horror emerge.

Spores in the air have gone nuts and ruined anything non-metal.

 

Even the sump, underside and engine block have gone furry. It's unreal. And this is just the spores in the air and whatever wasn't cleaned from the backsplash. The more I clean it up, the faster it grows back.

 

I am gutted.

 

Engine

 

Engine bay

 

Dash

 

Steering Wheel

Edited by danm, 03 October 2013 - 11:10 AM.

[corrado vr6]

Holy crap!

I feel for you

[megamini_jb]

Ewwwww

[olds_kool_lews]

Tastey! I would get back onto the council and report everything thats happened/happening to your car, say its completely ruined, and provide pictures etc they have to compensate you for the state that its turned into through there faults, thats terrible!

[Stiggytoo]

Claim a new car from them. Show them these pictures and they can't say no!

[IainStallard]

That is completely disgusting.. There is no way that they can ignore your case with pictures like that

[danm]

This is the problem I knew would come, a quick scrub up would make it look fine instantly, but the untold long term damage is now beginning to blossom. I've sent an update on my report to the council. The door insides are also nice and fluffy.

 

I've got a car that is effectively toxic, and is embedded with spores from actual turd and wee.

 

Nobody will buy this if I resold it and knew, and it actually needs fully stripping, cleaning, respraying and whatnot before being safe and usable.

 

Lucky I wanted to do that anyway, but if I don't do it this winter it's going to die entirely.

[ibrooks]

That's perfectly normal on a car that's been in a damp atmosphere. It would have happened if the water that flooded the garage was clean and quite probably even without the flooding incident (although that might have contributed by getting the interior wet). Clean it off and DRY it and it won't come back. I really do mean dry it - wiping it over with a dry cloth is not going to do it and at this time of year air drying outside or in a normal garage is a loser from the word go. You need to get the moisture out of the car so seats and carpets need to come out and go home with you - wash them properly and keep them in the house where it's relatively warm (if your heating is on even better). Metal parts will get condensation but so long as they are not bare metal it's just a wash off to get rid of whatever grows. In the engine bay wipe over what you can get at and then when you start using it the heat and fumes will soon get rid of everything else.

 

Iain

[firstforward]

Rent a dehumidifier at the councils expense, they are insured so that is not an unreasonable thing to do.

 

Edit: And if there is no power rent a generator to power it.

Edited by firstforward, 04 October 2013 - 09:07 AM.

[AVV IT]

As above, I'd be inclined to think that was more to do with the damp atmosphere, than what it's all been contamaminated with. In my youth I once lived in a damp flat where everything went like that, I opened my wardrobe one morning to see that all my clothes had grown a coating of green/grey fur and looked much like your steering wheel does.

If it were me, I'd thoroughly treat everything with a anti mould/fungal treatment like "de.solv.it" or similar, and then hire a dehumidifier and run that constantly in there for a few days until everything has fully dried out.

[danm]

Took all fabric out, dettol rinsed everything furry and am gonna set the dehumidifier on all weekend. Fingers crossed.

[danm]

Finally got this case wrapped up, 2 years later.

 

Sent an extensive photo and video backed up report showing what I had; what was damaged and hundreds of pictures of the event unfolding.

I agreed upon a settlement of £1250 compensation for damages; and the car would become a Cat C from water penetration. I got to keep the car, and will use the money towards fixing it. Doesn't quite cover the costs of getting it back to the original state, but it's close enough for me. Not sure anyone will want to buy it knowing the history either, which is a good excuse the Mrs will let me keep it 100% now.

Still gutted by what happened, but hey, onwards and upwards with getting him back on the road (I did actually get him pass his MOT this year - I did drive with rubber gloves and a bin liner on the seat lmao).
 

Edited by danm, 01 December 2015 - 03:16 PM.