Mold and water damage inside car

[Mamacyrs]

My sons been away for 3 weeks so I thought I would be nice and clean his 2009 Toyota Matrix, and was shocked to find all of his carpets wet and growing mold. There is water from the wheel well all the way forward. There’s enough standing water on the carpets in the back seat that you could splash it around. The is mold growing on all the carpets, wheel well, and on the seats as they come up from the floor. There’s even 2 weed sprouts growing out of one area of the carpet. tried taking some stuff out, but started feeling sick, so I stopped. Initially we couldn’t figure out how this even happened. None of the widows were left open, the headliner was completely dry, so we tried to replicate we sprayed it with a hose, and we think it came in through a seal on the tailgate. The car is parked on a slight incline, so as the water rolled in it then rolled forward to the front of the car. This hasn’t ever happened before so we have no idea why it did, other than we’ve had over 13” of rain in 20 days, and a few of the storms dumped 2” in a few hours. Has anyone ever dealt with an insurance company for mold inside. I tried to remove some stuff, and even with a mask I developed a bad headache, and cough, so o stopped. My son and I are so sensitive to mold, so I’m nervous that they won’t be able to clean it correctly, and remove all the mold spores.
we do have full coverage, so if anyone has any tips for how to deal with the insurance company we would really appreciate it.

 

[fed up]

If he has full coverage it is a comp loss. If he only has collision it is his loss

 

[Mamacyrs]

Great, we do have comprehensive, and I reached out to the agent but she’s out of town till Monday. The cars a 2009 Pontiac Vibe with 177,000 miles on it, is there a chance that they would consider it a total loss? Or will they try and clean it. I honestly never want to set foot in the car again. I get sick from mold now, after an Issues with had in our home from the building installing the windows on our 2nd floor incorrectly, but we didn’t know that mold was growing behind the Sheetrock from the window not having a vapor barrier. When didn’t figure it out until my daughter was so sick she had to do a medical withdrawal from college due to her brain being so inflamed. and I could barely keep working as a RN. Once we did figure it out, we had to remove all our belongings from upstairs and live on our 1st floor while the remediation job was done last summer. Once our home was fix, we’ve started to heal, and feel way better, but it takes a long time to detox mold from your body and we don’t want to go backwards. Is there anything that I can say that will be helpful in them declaring the car a loss? After having to do through a house remediation I know how detailed and hard it is to get the environment clean, and it’s very very difficult to get all the spores out, and if you don’t they keep of gassing and keep the area unhealthy. Would I use NADA to determine the value that the insurance company may put on the car?

 

[adjusterjack]

I reached out to the agent

No need to wait for the agent. He isn't likely to want to get into the middle of the claim process. Look in your policy papers. There is probably a toll free number direct to the claims department that you can call any time to report the claim. Or you can google your insurance company and look for the claims phone number. You can call this weekend and probably have an adjuster assigned on Monday.

Would I use NADA to determine the value that the insurance company may put on the car?

Your insurance company will likely have its own source for valuation. However, don't limit yourself to NADA. Check Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book. Make sure you print out the pages. Check Craigslist and Auto Trader for ads on comparable vehicles. Print them out, too. Keep in mind that asking price is often 10% to 15% higher than selling price, although that might not apply these days with used car prices on the rise.

You'll want to have a range of prices from a variety of sources.

 

[fed up]

I worked for Wurth USA for a while years ago. We sold a car detox bomb that killed all odors, mold, mildew. The can was less than $20.00. That and a good detail shop should fix your problem and I would venture less than $500 total.

 

[adjusterjack]

Mamacyrs, if what Fed Up suggests is possible I suggest you get a detailer out to inspect the car before you report the claim. Take photos of all the conditions but take a shot at having a professional clean it out.

If you report the claim and the insurance company sends out a detailer successfully you'll have a small claim on your record for which you might be surcharged and you'll still have the car.

 

[John Staples]

Everything about cars interests me pretty much and I look here

 

[adjusterjack]

Everything about cars interests me pretty much and I look here

Then you'd be better off at City-Data. There's a big automotive section there.

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