Footage shows Texas floods cause $1.5M of damage to luxury cars in auto shop
CCTV has captured the moment Texas floods caused an estimated $1.5 million damage to a supercar auto shop — ruining eight Ferraris, a Jaguar and a Porsche.
The Liberty Hill business, NG Supercars, was filled with up to 3 feet of water at around 4 a.m. on July 5, despite not being on a floodplain.
Owner Daniel Hurlbert, 45, of Georgetown, has now been to check out the damage, after the water relented.
The front roll-up door had been blown out by the force of the water, and a 2in layer of mud covered the entire floor.
Ten of the 12 supercars being worked on inside had water damage, likely totaling them, due to mechanical and electrical damage.
The damaged vehicles included three Ferrari 458s, two Ferrari F430s, two Ferrari 360s, one Ferrari 355, one Jaguar XJ6, and one Porsche Speedster – the latter estimated to be worth $250,000 alone.
Experts said the value of the damaged cars could be as much as $2 million.
Hurlbert, who hosts the Normal Guy Supercar YouTube channel, is now navigating insurance uncertainties and seeking FEMA and SBA aid.
Supporters quickly rallied, with volunteers helping to clean up, and a GoFundMe campaign was launched to aid recovery efforts.
“We weren’t expecting this,” he said.
Follow The Post’s coverage on the deadly Texas flooding
“There was no real substantial warning and we’re not in a floodplain.
“This was not supposed to happen to our shop. We had done due diligence to make sure that water wasn’t going to be an issue like this.”
Hurlbert first learned about the disaster at around 7:30 a.m. when his business partner called and urged him to check their security cameras.
“When I came down the street, the runoff stream on the other side of our property had completely flowed over the road and was eroding tons of earth around the area,” Hurlbert recalled.
“It was pretty horrifying to see.”
Hurlbert even discovered a live armadillo had been swept into the shop during the flooding.
As of July 8, at least 109 people have died in Texas due to the flooding, including many children and staff from Camp Mystic.
Facing significant financial uncertainty, Hurlbert is now navigating insurance claims and exploring assistance options through FEMA and SBA loans.
“We’re not sure yet how insurance is going to handle this – or if they’re not,” Hurlbert said.
“That’s a huge unknown at this point that could be pretty financially devastating if they aren’t willing to help us.”
After posting about the disaster on his YouTube channel, supporters quickly mobilized.
By Sunday morning, approximately 15 volunteers had arrived at the shop to help clean up mud, disassemble damaged vehicles, and salvage what they could.
“People’s generosity is just amazing,” Hurlbert said. “It’s just restorative of faith in humanity that people are willing to do this.
“And a lot of these people are people we’ve never met. They’ve been watching our YouTube channel for years, and they just wanted to help.”
The shop has since established a GoFundMe campaign to help with recovery costs.
As cleanup efforts continue, Hurlbert remains focused on preventing further damage from mould and mildew, while determining the next steps for his business, which specializes in sales, service, and parts for high end cars.
Hurlbert says despite his line of work, he and his business partner are not wealthy individuals.
“We get a lot of flak because we’re catering to supercars,” Hurlbert said.
“I don’t think people understand that we’re not rich people. We’re just hardworking guys that are trying to build a dream.”