New Car Submerged In KL Floods 1 Hour After Delivery, 65 Vehicles Affected At Mall

New Car Gets Caught In Flash Floods At Puchong Township Of KL An Hour After Leaving Showroom

Buying a new car can be a momentous occasion for those who’ve been saving up for the purchase.

Therefore, to see your brand new car getting wrecked shortly after you’ve acquired it would be devastating for the owner.

That was sadly what the new owners of a Proton X50 experienced when their car ended up getting submerged in the floods in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia just one hour after they received it.

The car was among 65 vehicles that were affected at the carpark of a megamall in the city.

New car caught in KL floods on 16 Dec

In a Facebook post on Saturday (16 Dec), Mr Azhazul Azri related what happened that day to a client of his brother, who is a car salesman.

At 5pm that evening, a happy couple came to the showroom with their child to collect their new Proton X50.

However, their joy was short-lived. At about 6pm, they found their new car submerged in floodwaters just one hour after it left the showroom.

Car was covered by insurance

Luckily, his brother convinced the owner to purchase “special perils” insurance for the car, Mr Azhazul said.

This is advisable as risks like floods are uncontrollable, he added,

One moment it’s sunny when you enter the shopping centre. The next moment, after a meal and prayers, you come out to find your car drowned.

The insurance would cover incidents like these when the car is submerged due to floods, he maintained.

New car affected by flash floods in Puchong mall of KL

The incident in this case reportedly happened at IOI Mall Puchong, in a township of the capital city KL.

A sudden downpour that started at 5.45pm caused flash floods that inundated several areas of Puchong, including the open-air carpark of the mall, reported The Star.

Rising waters ended up partially ‘consuming’ a total of 65 vehicles.

The rain lasted till 7.30pm, said the local police.

Car flooded with knee-deep water in 20 minutes

Another Proton X50 driver who parked at the mall was Xiao Hong Shu (小红书) user Aaron Ccy.

In a post on the social media platform on Sunday (17 Dec), he said the rain started while he was shopping at IOI Mall.

Although the weather was sunny when he arrived, his car was flooded with knee-deep water in just 20 minutes.

The water didn’t manage to reach the seat but the electronics modules and cables in the undercarriage became wet and suffered damage.

When he first saw his submerged car, his “mood dropped to the lowest point”, he added.

Despite ongoing heavy rain for the past few months causing floods in Puchong, he never imagined he would fall victim.

S$8,560 to repair damage

Without thinking of the consequences, he got his car out immediately as he didn’t want to incur further damages.

He towed it to the Proton Service Centre, where they allegedly quoted him a whopping RM30,000 (S$8,560) to repair the damage.

Even if he just wanted to change the gearbox it would cost more than RM23,000 (S$6,560), an amount he described as “exaggerated”.

He regretted not buying special perils insurance, which meant he would have to pay for the repairs himself.

Downpour causes havoc in Puchong

The downpour caused havoc inside IOI Mall too, with videos showing water entering the premises and swamping the ground floor.

Videos captured shoppers wading in ankle-deep water, with cleaners trying to push the water out.

In all, The Star reported that the flood affected 71 stores.

Elsewhere in Puchong, a landslide caused the evacuation of seven houses and damaged four vehicles.

According to the police, the rain may have triggered soil movement.

Thankfully, there were no human casualties  — just a lot of heart pain for car and property owners.

Also read: S’pore-Registered Mercedes Floats Face-Down In Johor Flood, Drifts Away Slowly

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Featured image adapted from Azhazul Azri on Facebook and Sin Chew Daily on Facebook.