Workshops struggle to clear pile-up of flood-damaged cars

PETALING JAYA: The flash floods that struck the Klang Valley on Monday have brought another deluge – hundreds of cars are piling up at workshops.

Authorised automotive service centres are neck-deep in vehicles that have broken down and are finding it difficult to cope.

Many have not even finished with the backlog of cases from the Dec 18 floods.

Intan, who handles flood-damaged vehicles at her service centre in Selayang, said they were reluctant to take in more vehicles due to a backlog of flood-damaged cars from December.

“We received many calls from car owners affected by the floods on Monday but we had to tell them there was no guarantee of how soon repairs could be completed.

“Spare parts are hard to come by now, especially for older vehicles,” she said, adding that they still had 10 cars from the December floods awaiting repairs.

A service centre in Kuala Lumpur said the waiting list for flood-damaged vehicles from December alone stood at almost 20 while an additional five had been brought in after Monday’s floods.


“We don’t have space and have told more recent customers to have their vehicles towed back to their homes until we are ready to repair them,” it said.

Another service centre in the capital told the same story.

They were willing to take in flood-hit vehicles but could not guarantee when repairs could be completed.

“Some customers opted for other workshops as they could not bear the long wait. This is because repairs depend on how soon spare parts can be obtained.

“We will also need to clear five cars from the December floods,” said an employee known as Ismadi.

He said three flood-damaged cars had come in after Monday.

Tow truck operators also have a busy time after the flash floods.

Tow truck driver Ibrahim Abdul Hamid, 43, said he made seven trips after the water levels subsided on Tuesday.

“It was a very busy day. I started towing cars at 8.30am and finished at midnight that day.

“It was tiring but this is common after flash floods,” he said.

He added that some jobs took a long time because the cars were towed to the customers’ preferred workshops, some as far away as Klang.

Another tow truck operator, who wished to be known only as Bob, said several customers called him after the downpour.

“On Tuesday, I received calls from four customers whose cars were stuck in Kuala Lumpur, with one of them telling me to tow the vehicle to Klang,” he said.

On Monday, flash floods hit areas in and around the Klang Valley with Sungai Buloh and parts of Kuala Lumpur badly affected.

The flash floods also resulted in the temporary closure of the SMART Tunnel.