"You're talking thousands": Car mechanics in Montco warn driving through flooded roads can be expensive
NARBERTH, Pa. (CBS) -- Ahead of this weekend's forecasted rain, the owner of a car repair shop warned Thursday that water damage can be so expensive for drivers, some may have to replace their vehicles.
"It could die right in the middle of the puddle, right where they are," Dick Costa said about a car's engine.
Costa owns Costa's Auto Repair in Narberth. He said he knows many cars go through streets like the ones in the Philadelphia area covered in flood waters from this week's storm. While a vehicle being serviced in the shop made it through, Costa said the SUV could lose its engine on a flooded road because it was missing part of a plastic cover.
"That protects the water from going up. It's just plastic, doesn't seem very important. But, it is. Keeps the water from splashing up to your engine," he said. "It can be drawn into the engine. And when that happens, boom, again water does not compress. It stops the engine dead, and generally, you're going to need the engine replaced."
Costa estimated the big price tag.
"You're talking thousands, $5,000 to $8,000," he said.
Costa said a fan belt keeps a lot of systems online.
"Controls the alternator, the air conditioning, power steering," he said. "It's a big deal."
That could also be a big bill if those belts are damaged in high water.
John Kozyak did not get stranded in our area's recent storms. However, he said he had a car stall out in Miami's flood waters.
"I don't know, a couple thousand dollars," he said. "You can damage a car pretty quickly."
Kozyak had this advice for all of his fellow drivers tempted to drive through flooded roads.
"You don't know how deep it's going to be," he said. "You can stall out, and you can be in big trouble."
Costa said he only sees a couple of flooded engines a year at his shop. For that, he said he is proud of his customers.
"People around here are pretty sharp about it," Costa said. "So, they're pretty careful."
