POCATELLO  — After Friday’s flooding left a large section of Courtesy Ford’s parking lot under water, owner Jason Meador said he hopes the third time is a charm.

    “They say bad things come in threes,” Meador said as he walked around in water surveying potentially damaged vehicles while wearing shorts and flip-flops.

    This summer Meador’s dealership had new cars located on the south end of the expansive dealership lot damaged by a driver who suffered a heart attack. Then an alleged drunk driver slammed his vehicle into seven new cars parked on the north end of the lot.

    “I had to make another call to our insurance company,” Meador said about the flood damage.

    In the midst of the heavy rainfall Friday afternoon, suddenly the water started to collect and rise in the parking lot of the dealership.

    “The water part happened so fast, it caught us off guard,” said salesman Bret Parrish.

    Employees scrambled to move cars to higher ground, but many cars, vans and pickups remained at the low spots in the lot as the water rose to levels as deep as four feet.

    “I think there could be five to seven cars that could be a total loss,” Meador said.

    The main worries are fried computers and water damage to engines. Meador said his mechanics will be busy the next week checking out all the cars that were caught in the flood waters.

    Among the new vehicles are two Lincolns, a Ford Flex and two Focuses.

    “We don’t think any customer cars will have any issues,” Meador said.

    Three pumps were put to work Saturday morning in an attempt to drain the north end of the lot. Islands in the middle for the driveway will likely act as a dam, requiring crews to pump water from the south end of the lot over to the north end for disposal.

    “What a mess,” Meador said. “Hopefully we can get these cars out of here.”

    The flooding also caused the dealership to call off the Hot August Stampede car show it had planned to hold Saturday. The all Ford, Lincoln Mercury car show was slated to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a free barbecue. It will be held next Saturday, according to Meador.