Hello Everybody,

A few weeks ago I posted a thread about my car and the damage that it had sustained:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ight=stock4now

Well, last week I got the car back from the shop, and they actually did a pretty good job. Can't really tell the any of the damage was there. They even cleaned my carpets and my engine compartment. I left the body shop feeling good about the choice I made to go with them. I took the car home and let in sit in the garage. It looked so nice, I was scared to take it out. Well, yesterday was the first day that I decided to take it out. I drove it to work and everything was all good, until I took it out for lunch to run some errands. I noticed that when I accelerated, the car would hesitate, like it wanted to downshift, but couldn't. After I noticed this, I wanted to drive the car a little more to see if I could tell what was wrong. Soon after, the car just died. I didn't know why, it had a 1/4 tank of gas. I couldn't get the car started again. I got the car towed to Longo Lexus, and they told me that there was traces of diesel fuel in my car and that the fuel sending unit had been damaged. As I was told this, I immediately remembered that the body shop had replaced my fuel tank. Well, I called the body shop to see what was going on and he seemed to be unresponsive. How can this be? This was an insurance recommended body shop.

This is the first time that I drove the car since I got back from the body shop. I did not get any gas in the interim. So, my conclusion is that when the gas tank was replaced, they damaged my fuel sending unit and put contaminated gas back into my car. I'm so pissed right now.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys and gals.

 

If the bodyshop is unresponsive then call the insurance company and escalate it up the chain as needed. I have Nationwide and they talked me into there blue ribbon program where the one shop handles everything. It was a nightmare and I wont do it again. If ever I need bodyshop services again it is straight to lexus.

 

Unfortunately, an insurance-company recommended body shop certainly has the insurance company's best interests in mind, not yours. So, if you have your own body shop preference, always use yours, not theirs. Insurance-company-preferred body shops will surely cut costs since they are looking out for their "client's" best interests.

And YOU are not the client.

Make sure your insurance company pays for all further repairs. If they balk, get outside media involved, like maybe a newspaper or TV station. Insurance companies hate bad publicity.

Good luck.

 

what freaking rocket scientists put dam deisel fuel in that car! i say complain to your insurance and if they dont do something take the repair shop to court....by the way...what repair shop was this so I never go there?

 

yea i'd go in there and raise hell.

Make sure you bring the documentation from Longo that states the problems you are having.

 

take it to court all the way if they give you any lip.

 

If your vehicle needed a replacment fuel tank and they used on from a salvage facility what most likely happened is that the body shop attempted to clean the used tank out with diesel. They did this to get any debris out and not have a fire hazard that gasoline would cause. Obviously this has caused a problem. I would also recommend that you suggest to the insurance carrier that you need to have the tank either replaced with a new one or have it cleaned professionally. The fuel system on the vehicle will need to be cleaned also ie(all the lines, fuel rail, injectors, fuel pressure regulator etc) and then after this replace the fuel filter.
Hope it works out for you.

 

Morris,
I wouldn't suggest to go to lexus for advise on bodyshops. Most dealerships including lexus will recommend the bodyshop that will help them out on there used and new cars that have damage that they need to fix. The bodyshops are all trying to get the work from the dealerships and will do different work for them to earn/keep there business vs the work they put out for insurance companies and off the street estimates. I happen to be quite familiar with the bodyshops in the northern gwinnett county and if you need a suggestion I would be happy to tell you where and why and how I know.

 

GSsearchin, thankfully I dont need a body shop right now. I have used Nalley up off of Cobb parkway in the past and they did a pretty good job. The point I was trying to make is that I want to use someone that is familliar with Lexus cars. The Yahoos that fixed my car the last time couldnt figure out how to reset the windows so that they would go up and down properly. They wound up having me take it to a local Toyota dealer for them to finish repairs. They also couldnt get the wheel liners to tuck in properly in the front wheel wells, this is still a problem and has gotten worse. The fool had the nerve to tell me that it was poorly designed yea right. Poorly designed and Lexus just dont go together in the same sentence.

 

I understand and hear what you are saying about the fit and finish of a Lexus. If something ever comes up and I hope it doesn't for anyone I may have a few suggestions for you or anyone in this area.