Looming Insurance Nightmare for the Owner of a Sunken Ford Bronco
The owner of a Ford Bronco that was stuck on a sandbar in low tide is likely facing an insurance nightmare after its recovery.
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
A Ford Bronco driver recently drove his 4x4 where he shouldn’t have, as he quickly learned when it got stuck on a sandbar in Maine and was engulfed by seawater when the high tide rolled in.
Thankfully, he was able to get himself to safety, but his waterlogged Bronco stayed stuck in that sandbar for two days, even after a few failed attempts to pull it free using tow straps.
How did this Bronco end up stuck?
As
The Drive
reports, the incident happened near Bar Harbor, Maine. The low tide reveals a sandbar that people can drive onto from town. This Bronco driver decided to do just that, but got stuck in a marshy part of the sand bar when he strayed off the path.They attempted to free it, but were unable to before the high tide rolled in, completely swamping their vehicle and making recovery difficult.
The Bronco itself appeared to be sporting an Outer Banks trim. When a recovery crew from a local towing company reached it to recover the waterlogged Bronco, it was buried up to its doors in sand and mud.
"Wreckers are just too heavy to go across the beach so we can't put a wrecker down there,” said Les Foss, owner of Island Towing, to The Drive prior to recovering the vehicle. “And there's no place to set up on land that we can get a direct shot with a cable to get to it—the closest spot is probably 1,500 feet away."
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A risky recovery
A few days later and with the help of a diver and a bunch of airbags, Island Towing was able to float the sunken Bronco to the surface. It still took several attempts and was like “pulling a boulder out of the ocean,” per Foss. It took 28 hours to recover the car.
Foss mentioned this type of recovery isn’t uncommon, and as of the last
report
on this story, he was waiting for the Bronco owner’s insurance company to pay for the recovery—otherwise the damp Bronco is going to auction or salvage, whichever is deemed more appropriate given its condition.A looming insurance nightmare
The Bronco may be sitting a little soggy in the recovery lot, but the headache likely just began for its owner.
Comprehensive car insurance
will usually cover water damage to a certain extent.But seawater damage can total a car if it reaches into the seats, doors and dash of your vehicle; because this Bronco was buried and covered, it’s likely a
total loss
and car insurance likely won’t cover repairs.Probably not what the owner of this Bronco would like to hear—and they’re probably regretting straying too far from the beaten path now.
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