oldisnew

About a month ago, I purchased an amazing 97 LS 400 in MINT condition. It ran and drove extremely well, but being the person I am I noticed a slight roughness in the engine every now and then. I got a warning light and immediately took it to a supposedly well trained mechanic that had serviced (90,000 mile) the car prior to me buying it.

The mechanic traced the issue to a bad fuel injector o-ring sucking in air at that valve cover (left bank, front of engine). Being that I loved the car, I didn't want to have ANY issues so I told him to replace it. That was the only issue the car had, period end of story. He proceeded to replace ALL the o-rings top and bottom. I picked it up and took it home, it sat for 3 days while I worked, took a short round trip to the beach the 4th day (maybe 10 miles total) and on the fifth I smelled gas one minute and it was on fire the next. It started burning up while me and my girlfriend were driving in it as the breaks went out.

Now my car is totaled, I'm PO'ed and my insurance is being real crappy about "market value". So my question is, are there any recalls or issues with bad Toyota/Lexus o-rings or the mechanic forgetting something? I'm a big guy, the car fit me well and I would like to get another one. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Suxxx, sorry to hear.
It is speculative at this stage though it would seem likely some part of the fuel delivery system was improperly hooked up or damaged during all this. Best you can do is get your insurance $ and find another LS.

oldisnew

If my company was fair, I would just move on. However, I don't pay insurance to receive a substandard sum.

I have looked around here for another one and can't find a decent one to save my life. The one that came closest is a 98 that needs a fresh paint job, new rear bumper, center console arm rest, drivers seat, 90,000 mile service and A/C service as all of that was taken care of on mine. Price tag on this dream 98, $12,999 at a Buy Here Pay Here....lol. Thanks for the empathy.

deanshark

Man that really sucks, losing a car you only had for a month or so. The 98 you described doesn't sound good at all for that price needing work.
About your question regarding any recall for the o-rings, even if there was a recall it would be void b/c you had someone other then a Lexus dealer work on it. The insurance company will only give you "fair market value" unless you can prove to them that it was in "excellent" condition which would be pretty hard if it burned up, even still, they give you alot less then what you consider it to be worth.
My advice, if you can afford it, is get a lawyer and get a lawsuit going quick. Have an investigator check out the car b/c whatever that "well trained mechanic" did to your fuel system is what started the fire. You're very lucky you and your GF didn't get hurt or burned. Whatever you do with it, Good Luck and glad your OK.

oldisnew

Thanks.. Appreciate the advice.

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

that sucks to hear man, that new one ur looking at is too pricey. ive seen a couple of 98-00s in Florida that are really clean and less than 10k.