After flooding, Vinh city residents go to... repair their cars

According to the reporter's records on the morning of October 17, many motorbike repair shops on Nguyen Sy Sach, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Nguyen Phong Sac, Phan Dinh Phung streets... were packed with vehicles coming in for repair. Most of the damage was related to spark plugs, chains, air filters, water getting into the engine, electrical system shock, water getting into the engine oil... In many cases of minor damage such as replacing the air filter or spark plug, the repair time only took about 1 hour, but in some cases of severe damage, broken engines, stripped rims, it took a whole day.

Motorcycle repair shops are always overloaded. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Huu, owner of a car repair shop on Nguyen Phong Sac Street, said: “From last night until now, the shop has received about 200 cars, a sharp increase compared to normal days. We had to mobilize workers from other districts to help, currently 8 workers have been working at full capacity since 9pm last night until now without stopping. Many customers who brought their cars had to take them home because they couldn’t wait, others had to leave their cars, write down their information, and get a ticket to wait for later repair.”

Meanwhile, at genuine warranty shops of all types of vehicles, the repair team is also working urgently and busily because the number of customers bringing in warranty is 4-5 times higher than usual.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Dat, a mechanic on Quang Trung Street, said: “More and more cars are being brought in, most of them have broken air filters, water in the engine oil, or broken spark plugs. Normally, the shop opens at 8am, but today, at 7am, there were already a lot of customers waiting. We decided to work through lunch and dinner today to meet the needs of customers. However, there are quite a few cars that have to be kept at the shop and scheduled to be picked up.”

Auto mechanics have to work continuously to meet customers' needs. Photo: Quang An

At this time, the auto garage system in Vinh City is also overloaded. On Le Nin Street, the area with the most auto repair garages, there have been no shortage of customers for the past two days.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Hai, a car owner waiting for repair, said: “I live in Ha Tinh. Yesterday, I had to go to Vinh. While driving, I got stuck on Nguyen Van Cu Street. The water was deep, the car died and I couldn’t move. I had to call for rescue to do some preliminary treatment and take the car to the garage to wait for repair. According to the mechanic, it will take 3 more days to get the car back because there were a lot of customers, and my car was badly damaged.”

Tow trucks continuously transport dead cars to garages. Photo: Quang An

At a garage on Le Nin Street, a team of more than 10 workers did not have time to eat breakfast. Mr. Nguyen Duc Minh, the garage owner, said: “Most of the cars that come here are mainly submerged in water, causing severe damage to the floors, engines, interior systems, electrical systems, etc. inside. The sudden increase in the number of cars, the cars are severely damaged, so it takes a lot of time, the repair progress is prolonged, it is expected that it will take 5-7 more days to complete the repair of flooded cars.

It is known that if a car is flooded and needs to be cleaned, the average repair cost is about 2 - 5 million VND, but if it is water hammered, the damage will be more and depends on the car model.

The flooded car had to be taken apart for cleaning and repair. Photo: Quang An

Other garages and car care centers on Nguyen Thai Hoc, Nguyen Trai, Phan Dinh Phung streets are also overloaded. Nguyen Thuc Hanh, a car mechanic on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, said: “Due to heavy rain and rapid water rise, many car owners did not have time to react. Some car owners were complacent and tried to cross the flooded road, leading to serious damage to their cars. Most cars had to be disassembled to dry the ceiling and panels, and many damaged parts had to be replaced. Most of the electrical systems were damaged, and some cars had to have their engines overhauled, their transmissions and engines replaced, which was very expensive.”

Garages have to add more workers to keep up with customer repairs. Photo: Quang An

According to the recommendation of auto mechanics, if the car is deeply flooded, people should not try to start the engine but should call for help to reduce the possibility of damage, reducing repair time and costs.