Local auto shop seeing increased car damage due to recent flooding

JOPLIN, Mo. –The weather has cleared up after Thursday’s storms, but some car owners are still left feeling the effects.

Rick Nixon, owner of Nixon’s Garage in Joplin owns one of many area auto shops getting busy because of recent storms.  

“Cars breathe air, they don’t breathe water, just like we don’t breathe water. so, once the water gets up inside the engine, it’ll cause them to stall and it’ll cause severe damage,” Nixon said.

Their phone lines have been more active than usual, getting calls about cars sliding off of the road, or being damaged by floods.

“Well it was really busy, started off about 10:30, right before the rain, and with a tow, and once the rain began it was one tow after another bringing in cars that were slid off the road, or damaged due to the rain.”

One major issue they’ve been seeing is water creeping into the engine.

“Several of the cars that we towed yesterday or that we brought into the shop had went through the water, the water’s ingested through the air filter and up into the engine, it can fill up the cylinders and cause the engine to hydro lock which can do severe internal engine damage”

Holly White, a Joplin resident, is one of many who came to Nixon’s garage after experiencing this kind of engine damage. 

“It wouldn’t start at all. it was just, you’d think it was just stalled in the water,” said White. 

White hadn’t even driven yet, before she could even try water had already run through her vehicle.

“Yes it was parked on the driveway, at just enough of an angle I think with the storms we had, you know made it to where a fair amount of that  water you know got caught up into the motor and in the front end”

She says after calling multiple auto shops, she’s grateful to have found one with availability after Thursday’s weather.

Nixon’s Garage also urges all drivers to be cautious when driving in flooded water in the future and to stay off the road if possible.

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