Help! Stuck in a water. Won't turn on
 

My brother was driving from DC to NYC and his 2012 Accent got stuck in a road filled with few inches of water. Out of all cars passing only his got stuck.
We towed to a closest Hundai dealer in Jersey City, NJ and they've said that it doesn't look good and the engine is broken.
Mechanic claimed that he removed the sparks and couldn't crank it or rotate it.
I'm hopeful that it's not the case and thought that it was some kind of protection what shut off the car, since the "pothole" was not really that deep and all the other cars passed it except my brother's
Dealer will want arm and leg, Is there any reputable mechanic in the area who will do the better job?
Do you have an idea what could have went wrong? They are talking about water going inside the engine trough the air filters and damaging some "rod" in it. The water didn't reach the cabin, was may be like 6" deep, it can't go trough air filter, right?
Any thought is appreciated.

Thanks

Did you brother have any modifications to the car or was it all stock?
Water can get sucked into the engine just like drinking water through a straw.

No modification, but I think that's the case, water got sucked up to the engine.
Now it's by other mechanic and I think is going to be fixed for a reasonable price
He said that the "cover" which protects against the water was fallen off and water got in.
I'll post the progress here

Your brother has already started shopping for another car, right?

Sadly, I have some experience in this, having drowned my old 1999 Accent in a flood. Sounds like the engine air intake ingested water, particularly if it stalled in the water. Assuming that occurred, the engine is hydro locked. There are likely numerous internal failures in the Pistons, connecting rods, valve train, etc. The entire engine needs to be pulled out of the car, torn down and rebuilt.

Be prepared for the dealer to (legitimately) deny warranty service, given the nature of the failure (I.e. Water in the engine). If the car is still fully insured, your best bet is to file a claim for flood damage. Be prepared for the (highly likely) possibility that the insurance company will total the car.
Hydrolock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia