coloradosubarules Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Today in FL we recieved a vary large amount of flooding. My wife and I were going to the place to get something to eat, so we pull into the drive thru and place our order, get our food and then drive into what seems to be the black hole of all puddles. The car seemed to run fine through it but when we got a little closer to home the car started to overheat. When we arrived at our castle we noticed a large hole in our radiator from what looks to be the fan striking it. Does anybody think the water could have done this? If so do you think the fast food establishment should foot the bill? Any advise on this matter would be much appreciated. AWD does no good if the engine can't be used.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Honestly... it was your choice to go through the water without first getting out and checking how deep it was. So its pretty much your fault. The fast food place shouldnt be liable because of flooding. Flooding doesnt really show neglegence of their part or anything. Now if they left debris out in the drive through and you ran over it and cut a tire, then maybe they would have to pay. Just my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 There was no way around the puddle...it was at the end of the drive through lane and there was about 12 cars behind me. Still think it was my fault? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddcomp Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 either way regardless of fault water did cause it the fan is built to move air little resistance .. but you move water with the same fan.. and it will distort forward and eat radiators .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 Wendy's puddle. Wendy's problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 What's the worst they will do? Say no... Might as well talk to a regional manager atleast. I would approach them nicely and have an estimate from a shop saying what the cost is. They could stay instead of 'wendy's puddle; wendy's problem' that 'your fan broke your radiator; your problem' After they say no you should call your insurance company... you have comprehensive coverage, rgiht? That would cover this as a pudle is an 'act of God'. Personaly I'd just suck it up and drive on. Just the other day I was leaving the militatary base. Went to pull out of my parking spot and my bumper/air difelctor got cought on a peice of rebar sticking up from the parking stopper. Ripped off the cover from the bumper/fender and made a real mess. Not really the facilities fault... kinda my fault cause I did it. Just another crappy day at work for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyrider Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 either way regardless of fault water did cause it the fan is built to move air little resistance .. but you move water with the same fan.. and it will distort forward and eat radiators .. are you sure it wasnt one of those bacon cheese burgers:lol: not helping i know but hopefully you can laugh about this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 I do laugh but my wallet isn't laughing. I am now without my car for 2 days and that is 2 days I can't go to work. $20.00 an hour for 16 hours. Kinda puts a hurtin on my wallet too. I think wendys should have taken measures to drain the puddle (more like a lake that takes up half their parking lot) this time and do what they can to try to prevent it in the future. Maybe a nice small claims lawsuit would teach them a lesson. And like I said, "once you are in line there you have no idea this puddle is there and you have no way of backing up due to the ammount of cars behind you. Does anybody think I am right? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 If so do you think the fast food establishment should foot the bill? Any advise on this matter would be much appreciated. Here is my story. A few years ago I was sitting in the drive through for fast food. A huge Ice sickle and massive chunk of ice fell off the drive through window bay and cracked my windshield. I walked in told the Manager and he said sorry, your problem. I talked to a lawyer friend of the family and here was the answerer. You have to prove neglect, meaning there has to be another documented incident of the same issue. So I would have gone through all the trouble of documenting and having time cost associated with a court case to win nothing, but the next person would. Unless they have had someone else have pot-hole issues, and it has been documented you are out of luck. But you still might try to contact manager/owner. They might pay it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 how fast did you drive through it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hocrest Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I am now without my car for 2 days and that is 2 days I can't go to work. $20.00 an hour for 16 hours. I've had employees of mine tell me this and I've replied that they could have rented a car and still came out ahead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slo5oh Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I broke all the blades off an aftermarket electric fan in my mustang when I hit a 3' puddle that all but ate the front of my car. I made it through the puddle and didn't discover the broken fan until 2 days later. My puddle was on a road and I hit it at about 20mph. :)If you are losing money by not working you should fix it yourself, buy a new radiator, double check the fans are ok, and then try to get Dave to reimburse your costs. Be sure to double check your insurance. They may pay for it, but as someone above said, this is an "act of god" incident and they CAN NOT raise your rates because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT95 Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 As soon as you saw what had happened I would have gotten a new radiator pronto and fixed it myself. I've swapped out radiators on several cars but never my Subie, but I can't imagine it'd be that bad of a chore--an inconvenience and a frustration, yes. If I were pressed for cash, I'd pursue seeking some $$ from Wendy's. If I weren't hurting in the bank account, I'd just suck up the $150-200 and save myself the frustration and time of having to fool with the store. If pursuit, I'd have gone back to Wendy's in a friend's car and told them what happened that day, then taken a picture of the puddle, maybe with a ruler sunken in it. Then I'd turn that in w/ a copy of the receipt for my new radiator later on along w/ a pic of the damage done. If you wait until a later date to notify the manager of the event, the best argument/evidence will probably be a moot point. Probably won't get very far if you don't have others' complaints to match up w/ yours. (300 cars go through the puddle and you're the only guy to have a claim--sounds like your problem.) At best they will pay for a repair bill, but the hassle may be more than that is worth unless you have to pay someone a lot to do the job for you. As far as missing work, you'll get nothing at all for that, so I'd get another way to work or fix the car yourself pronto. Hey, maybe it's time to retire the little Subie and trade it in for a big, high ground clearance, V-8 SUV so this doesn't happen again? I'll bet the H2 Hummers never have this complaint. Maybe they really are practical after all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 I was going about 3mph. I failed to mention it was in my mother-in-laws 99 nissan altima. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew444 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Yeah, hate to say it, but you've got about a snowball's chance in hell of getting anything out of the fast food restaurant. It's hard enough just getting a refund for crappy food! How could they have drained the puddle? How deep was this thing? If it was deep enough that your fan was dipping into it, I'd have backed up. Seems like that would mean your whole front end was underwater almost?? I drove into a giant puddle once and water somehow got into my engine and caused all sorts of havoc. This was in an Isuzu P'up. To accomplish this meant getting in so far that water was lapping up against the tops of the headlights and grille, and pouring into the doors. Lesson learned about puddles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 backing up was not an option! I just got my food from the 2nd window! the puddle (lake Wendy) was in front of me with nowhere to go! I couldn't back up because of the 12+ consumers behind me. The entire front parking lot was underwater. I should just call and complain and try to get alot of food out of it instead. I like those spicy chix sands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 You may want to consider full blown litigation against mother nature for having the audacity to put all that water on the ground in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 After Hurricane Frances I don't care for her much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyrider Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I was going about 3mph. I failed to mention it was in my mother-in-laws 99 nissan altima. here lies the real problem you were driving a altima:-p still just trying to make ya laugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Speed is really not a factor; the fan turns pretty quickly at 3 mph in low gear. The plastic fan blade hits the water, twists and eats a chunk out of the back of the radiator. Funny thing, this happened to me a long time ago in my Datsun. Easy fix to replace the radiator; took me less than 30 minutes once I bought it and some new anti-freeze. I made sure it never happened again by replace the fan assembly with one out of a 240Z; viscous clutch on the fan....when the fan hits water, the fan stops turning, doesn't twist, and doesn't damage the rad. Time to get on with your life and chalk this one up to life's downsides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I understand the situation. If you had gotten out the car and asked for Wendy's to drain the lake right there and then, you would probably have had to face a number of angry drivers from behind. So, I would try to get the money for the entire repair bill, but be quick to "bargain" with the manager and accept money for the radiator only. If they say no, you are probably out of luck. "Which I admit is both bogus and sad." as Wayne said :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinjmpr Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Four elements of a negligence tort: 1. The defendant had a duty to the plaintiff 2. The defendant breached that duty 3. The plaintiff had actual damage 4. The proximate cause (i.e, closest in time and place) of the plaintiff's damage was the defendant's breach of his duty to the plaintiff. In order to prevail in court, you have to prove all four of these elements. It's like the legs of a table: If any element fails, the whole thing fails. So, take them one at a time: 1. Did Wendy's have a duty to you, to protect your car against damage caused by flooding? I'd have to say it's questionable. You knew or should have known there was flooding. Forseeability is an element of this. Wendy's has a duty to protect its customers against forseeable damages, but cannot obviously be expected to protect its customers against a kind of damage that no reasonable person could forsee. How forseeable is radiator damage due to flooding? How common is it? Were there other people who drove through without getting damaged? If 50 customers sue Wendys for damaged radiators due to having driven through a puddle, it's one thing, but if there wer 500 drive through customers that day and you're the only one who had a problem, then they can argue that the damage wasn't forseeable. 2. Obviously this only applies if there is actually a duty to breach. 3. It seems pretty undisputable that you suffered damage, so this is a non-issue. However, secondary damages (the loss you suffered because you had to take time off work, etc.) will be more difficult to prove. 4. Proximate cause is another issue. If your car was the only one damaged, how do we know the problem was not due to some pre-existing damage to the car? For that matter, can you prove that it was the puddle at Wendys that damaged your car and not some other puddle? Do you have a disinterested (i.e., not related to you or a friend or acquaintance) who can testify that the fan and radiator were fine before the Wendy's trip and not after? As far as small claims court goes, you may be able to get a small settlement for nuisance value, but I doubt it. I'm not a lawyer (yet), but I think your chances of prevailing in this kind of a lawsuit are pretty remote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 Thanks for the legal mumbo jumbo. I will tell Wendy everything you just said. If I could remember it. I purchased a new radiator and am in the process of installing it (taking a break) as we speak. I am just very upset that wendys did nothing to try to avoid the problem...like pump some water out...put up a warning sign, made an anouncment when I was at the speaker...just something to aviod the hefty repair bill. I will be taking the radiator to the restaurant this afternoon and showing them what can happen to smal import cars when being forced to drive through Lake Wendy. Thank you all for your advise. It has been really helpfull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenSisters Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 When the water is high enough to reach the fan blades in Ohio, we don't call it a puddle. It's a lake. slo5oh, I can't imagine hitting 3 feet of water at 20 mph. Did it hydroplane or were you on Goodyears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradosubarules Posted September 23, 2004 Author Share Posted September 23, 2004 I was going 3mph! I never said I was flying and the lake was only a foot or so deep. My Subaru went through it later with no problem, just to see if it would have any affect....It's a Subaru what do you think. Kryptonite couldn't hurt my car. Well maybe a kryptonite boulder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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