Many residents of regions affected by the ongoing floods in a large part of the south of France have had to resort to watching, helpless, as their vehicles are partially or completely swallowed up by the floods. And you don’t need to be a mechanical whiz to know that cars and water don’t necessarily go well together. But is a good shot of Karcher followed by proper drying enough to get your old Twingo or your brand new 3008 SUV going again? 20 Minutes asked the question to Brice Maguet, the star mechanic of social networks.
Once the water has evacuated, and if it has not been carried away by the waves, you rediscover your car apparently intact if we ignore the layer of mud which covers it. Instinctively, you may be tempted to turn the key to see if the engine starts, except that “this is the thing you should definitely not try,” warns Brice Maguet.
“An old car, we will be able to save it”
Then, according to this mechanic followed by more than 250,000 people on TikTok, there is a sort of golden rule when the vehicle has been completely submerged: “An old car, like a Renault Super 5, we will be able to save it. On the other hand, recent cars are so full of computers and electronics that there is nothing to do. » If the repair still remains technically possible, the amount of parts to be changed will make the operation financially inaccessible. “An airbag costs around 1,500 euros to replace and there are sometimes up to eight or ten in certain vehicles,” explains the mechanic, “without counting the rest”.
In any case, even if your recent vehicle could be put back on the road after a dip, this will not prevent future problems. “Water will do its job over time, creating oxidation and rust. The vehicle will constantly have problems and end up in the scrapyard,” assures Brice Maguet.
Read our file on bad weather
Another rule, which this time comes from insurers, is that a vehicle submerged beyond the level of the seat is irreparable, except for old models or collector vehicles. “We can do something if there are no or few electronics,” says the mechanic. “We open the engine to see if there is anything to dry or not before starting,” he insists. There may also be the battery, the alternator, things like that to change but that’s it. »
