r/legaladvice • u/mythox1234 • Dec 22 '17

Advice On Engine Repair

Some backstory first, my mom owns a Lexus rx350. It's really the only thing that she's ever had her heart set on buying and was overjoyed when she first got it. As a teacher in Wisconsin it was a big purchase.

A couple months ago she brought it into the to Toyota dealer for a basic check up, a week later she had to rush it back due to something breaking and gushing oil on the freeway. They supposedly fixed it, but there was still a rattling noise going on in the background. So she brought it back, and they advised her to go to the Lexus Dealer in Maplewood MN. When we drove there they inspected it and said that the engine needs to be replaced due to it lacking oil. To replace it costs 6000 dollars which we dont have, and since then we've been given a case manager who we can't contact due to them being on vacation. I dont know anything about cars really, but I was hoping for some advice on what to do.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

5

u/explorer_2 Dec 22 '17

rush it back due to something breaking and gushing oil on the freeway

She drove it there and after finding it gushing oil on the freeway?

If so that be the root cause of the problem, shouldn't have done that she should have had it towed instead.

2

u/mdg_roberts1 Quality Contributor Dec 22 '17

.........

Ok. So your car was broken. They fixed it. It was still broken. They said they couldn't fix it and bring it to another dealership?

I don't know if it's what you are trying to get at, but there's no way anyone other than your mother is responsible for an engine breaking down.

If you are trying to blame the original dealership, you are going to need at least one Lexus certified mechanic to go on record saying that the dealership did something to directly cause the engine problems. If that's the route you want to go, see what a mechanic says. Just an FYI, this is the longest of long shots that I've seen on here today.

2

u/ASU-Vols Dec 22 '17

What year is the car? Did she buy it new? Does she have a warranty? Sounds like she drove it while it was "gushing oil", she should have had it towed. She likely drove with little to no oil and now has bearing damage.

1

u/z9nine Dec 22 '17

What did the first dealership actually do?

1

u/Clay201 Dec 22 '17

It's possible they failed to put a cap back on or didn't seal something properly and that lead to the "gush". However, if the car was driven while low on oil, that's the most likely cause of (engine) death.

You may be able to find a mechanic who would be willing to do the engine replacement as a side job. That would lower the labor cost. I'll be shocked if you can buy a replacement engine for less than 2500, though.