Is my car total loss?

Well due to Irma it flooded and now my car got stuck water is inside of my car and I'm wondering if this is going to make me have to buy a new car. It's a 2015 Altima 26k miles and kbb says it's values at 9-13k. But I have had 2 accidents this year both not my fault I was his on passanger side and driver side due to cars merging into my lane. So I don't think that value is accurate. Geico can't tow it out until possibly tomorrow or until it's clear to go downtown Charleston. Should I start looking for new car. I tried to upload photo but iPhone won't let me

If your engine has SALT WATER in it it's totaled.

Better start hustling for a good USED car.
Only way to get a NEW car is if you planning on sleeping in it summer and winter next two years.
Hopefully your parents are educated enough to explain reality and WHY

If your car was flooded from the storm it will more than likely be declared a total, loss. But it's a long process and you won't be able to do anything about replacing your car until the insurance settles your claim. It may take months.

Probably but you can't buy until you get paid and that will take awhile.

Oh and they may not pay what you owe. That might mean you can't get another loan without paying off the first one.

If you owe $20k and they pay you $15k, you have to pay the $5k before you can get another loan. Or 7k or whatever

PROBABLY at this time the previous stuff means little. The Age means little The make and model means little.
FULL OF WATER is what counts.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of others have the same issue.
NO one here can guess what insurance might pay out for you. DO NOT EXPECT some magic book value.

Good Idea to seek GOOD legal advice. The insurance companies have to pay out BILLIONS they are not eager to give you any more than they absolutely must. Expect a month or two for each step.
They are processing MILLIONS of claims.
You LOAN is YOUR LOAN. You deal with it. As in you keep paying.
TOO BAD NO CAR. The loan person does not care. They want their money back you promised to pay.

Sure start looking for some other car. DO NOT be too picky. Many others also want something. Will take a few months for cars to be shipped in for the customers that want something.
More months for insurance to settle on what they and you agree to.
The two big storms have damged over One Millions cars. They will not be towed, scraped, inspected, written off, insurance pay outs, replacement car over the next few days.
MONTHS before many see something from insurance.

WARNING the bad people will try to sell cars from other places that have hidden water damage.
BEWARE the cheap bargain.
http://ctwatchdog.com/finance/beware-of-flood-damaged-cars-for-sale-after-hurricane-sandy

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20170829/michigan-attorney-general-warns-residents-of-scams-after-hurricane-harvey

Water inside it is a total loss.

Maybe, but maybe not. Like you said, your insurance company hasn't even been able to assess the damage yet. And that's only the first step, the second step is to get an appraisal done. Unless someone has both of those steps completed, there's no way to know what the decision will be. People can guess, people can pretend they know (both of which happen a lot in here), but nobody can possibly know.

Make no mistake, flood damage is major damage. And flooding is definitely happening in South Carolina, as you've definitely noticed. There's almost no such thing as minor flood damage, especially when it involves saltwater. But only the numbers will decide whether your flooded vehicle is a repair or a total loss, nothing else. It's a classic situation of never say never and never say always.

SC does have a magic percentage for a total loss in their law books, and that number in your state is 75%. If the cost of repairs meets or exceeds 75% of the vehicle's value in fixed / pre-damaged condition, it's a total loss and end of debate. If the repairs cost less, it's a repair job. Until the repair estimate and vehicle appraisal are both done, your insurance company won't even talk about the next step. Because they need to know those two things before they can make their decision, that's why. Insurance companies don't use words like probably or obviously, because there's no such thing in their world. They only make decisions using cold hard numbers, and they don't have those numbers yet.

There's an old saying that says "those who know don't talk, and those who talk don't know". That saying has been around for centuries, and it's been around that long because it's true.

Most likely a total loss.

Hopefully you put in your claim as soon as possible, because insurance companies are going to be swamped (no pun intended) with claims (including any number of claims that are frauds).

Depending on your policy, how much you still owed on the car, etc. - you may or may not be able to recoup your losses.

Yes