jd04401

Hey all, thanks for viewing my nightmare. I purchased a 1993 LS400 and hired tranport to bring it roughly 550 miles to my residence. The car has the air ride suspension. Prior to transport I have pictures of the vehicle at the appropriate ride height and stance. When the vehicle arrived the car was virtually sitting on the ground,with rear with rear tires tipped out, upon a basic glance it looked like some significant damage to the undercarriage. I expressed my concerns to the transporter, his simple reply, " I didnt do it", I asked for his condition report when he picked up the vehicle, his reply " I didnt do one", I explained I wanted to do one now, "oh I dont have any paperwork, I forgot it", I was furious. I called my insurance company, conveniently the same as his, and started a claim. I had the car brought to a local repair facility and once the vehicle was on a lift, these were my findings.

Both rear air struts blown out, the tops were they mount through the chassis broken, causing the tires to tip out (not even sitting straight), the exhaust, floor/trunk pan smashed into the body, the rear bumper damaged. The car has 134k miles and I believe this damage will total the car. I have an appraiser coming to assess the damage today. It looks like my car acted as a diving board spring off his truck into the flat bed for the whole 550 miles.

From my own knowledge shouldnt the driver had made sure ride height was appropriate and secured each wheel individually to allow car suspension to move appropriately with the trucks movement, The driver said he did not even know it had air ride suspension.

Curious on others input and input on what I should do with the car now?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

if the mounts tore through the chassis the car is done, will be near impossible to get to drive properly and not cost a fortune. easily totalled out.

pursue legal action if necessary, did you use a well known shipping company? this is why they have pre/post transport condition reports.

jd04401

Thanks for the info, thats what I had thought as well, unfortunately time constraints forced my hand to a transport company thats not very established, I was shocked when there was no condition reports, and I will hire a lawyer if need be, hopefully todays events will proove that not to be necessary. The car appriaser is going to the repair facility today to inspect and assess the damages, determine they were caused by shipper and proceed from there.

deanshark

Damn, that sucks the big one. Sorry dude. I really hate to hear stuff like this, especially after you putting all that money into getting it running right. If it needs the 2 back air struts they will total it, those are almost a grand a piece. You should talk to a lawyer to see what you can do. You do have a good case, you have pics of before they took the car and you have whatever witnesses of how it was before with the guys that just worked on the car. This is why noone will ever sit in my drivers seat, and if it happens to go on a tow truck I go with it. This video was posted a while back of an LS400; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6yFc...eature=related

jd04401

Thanks for the reply deanshark this is the other lexus I just purchased, fortunately the 92' is running great now, and in good shape. Hopefully everything will go appropriately, it seems to be a "no brainer" hopefully the insurance company sees it that way, just not sure how they will value the car though, were its a 93 the "Actual Cash Value" may be less then what I have invested, hopefully not the case, legal representation will follow if need be.

python

iTrader: (4)

wow..that sux!

deanshark

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought it was the same car that you just fixed. Phew, at least ya still have that one. I still feel your pain though. If the ins doesn't give you enough you can always buy it back from them and part it out if ya have the space for it, or sell it whole as a parts car. Either way it sucks b/c you were thinking you'd have 2 of them and it didn't work out that way. Well, I know it's hard but, keep your head up. Who knows, ya might just make out to the good. Although, a damaged LS is never a good thing. Good luck and glad to hear the other one is running good now.

jd04401

Thanks for the info. Definately keeping my head up as much as possible, while riding out this storm. I just left the repair facility, the appraiser declared the vehicle a total loss as suspected, he said it looks to him like the transporter dropped it off the trailer, he was blown away by the damage. He is still trying to get me a value, he is with progressive, and because of the year of the car they contract out the Actual Cash Value to JD Powers and associates to determine what the vehicles avaerage price is out on the market, he said I should know this afternoon or tomorrow morning at the latest.

Any guesses on value? I checked NADA and KBB but he said to pay them no mind.

Heres the details, 1993 LS400 with 134k miles, fully loaded with nakamichi sound. He said the condition he rated as very good condition. Curious on what your input. Ill post results as soon as I have them.

steve2006

My 1994 LS400 with 75,000 miles and in very good condition has also been written off in an accident caused by the other driver.
First offer was £1600.00 ($2600.00) 2nd offer £2000.00 ($3200.00) now waiting for the engineer to have a rethink.

jd04401

Wow, sorry to hear about that. Were is yours located? Its to bad, looks like it was a sweet ride before the damage. Are you buying yours back from the insurance company?

denverdog

please post the name of the transport company so everyone else is alerted.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

this .

trukn1

Couple of things,, being in the trucking industry myself and having friends who ARE transporters for large companies (company drivers),,

Honestly,, the car PROBABLY did "bodysurf" on the trailer once the airbags blew; causing the undercarriage damage. Once the bags went, the chains holding the car were no longer at the tension they were when the car went on the truck and most likely the car did bounce up and down, with the slacked tension, on the trailer causing the damage. Until he pulled over for gas/break/etc. and checked load the tension strength of his load, there really is no way of telling that something has gone slack. He can't feel it on the trailer, the car moving a little is no big deal as all cars will rock/sway/move a little during transport, and he certainly can't hear it banging due to the nature of the trailer, road noise, radio, etc. Once slack is discovered in the tie-down method, is common practice to simply tighted up. ALL cars during transport will suffer some slack in their tie-down methods during transport, and there is no telling just how long he drove until he needed to stop for something(I, personally, can EASILY drive 500-600 miles before needing a break or needing to stop for anything). Most likely when discovered, just re-secured. Noticing change in body height relative to the wheels is not really a factor, especially with 9-10 cars onthe trailer; most likely didnt notice a difference since they are ALL chained down/secured pretty tightly and wheel gap/height is not noticed once secured. Not making excuses for the man, b/c I DO see some thing that were GROSSLY wrong on his part.

You DO have a point here ONLY if the car had been IDENTIFIED by the shipper as to having air suspension. Remember, air suspension is an option on Lexus cars not standard equipment, so honestly if it is not pointed out as a car that needs extra attention b/c of that fact then there really is no reason to look for it. Securing a car WITH air suspension requires a different tie down method (wheel straps as opposed to chaining of the body) for this very reason. Chaining is very safe and is used for a great deal of transport of new/used cars when done properly and causes no harm. Air shocks/struts are VERY EASY to blow in this method of transport if not identified properly. Some companies use the wheel strap method, regardles of what suspension is on the car; is a convenience,,not protocal and cuts down on their liability. Also takes ALOT longer to secure and loosen at beginning and ending points. Air suspension equipped, some foreign exotics, and specialty vehicles must almost ALWAYS be wheel strapped and not chained due to the damage factor that can result from improper securement. Yes you do have a claim against the transport company for failure to properly inspect pre/post transport; however the seller may also be partially to blame for not informing the transporter of the air suspension on the car.

Just my 2 cents.

305ls400

i own a transport company with 4 ttrucks i understand what happen to you at this point is basically the driver who cause all this because he didnt have a condition report. i guest he use chain on your car thats what cause all the damage to the suspension, did you give all your vehicle information to the broker or the shipper and let them know it has air suspension or anything extra on the car if you didnt they have no way of knowing the car has air suspension remember they only transport the car they are not car expert or mechanics. most driver since is an old car they think that chains is the way to secure the vehicle which is true is most cases but for new car and any car with air suspension they have to use straps so the suspension wont get damage, and for the bumper to get damage it had to be in loading or unloading, my question is if he damage the bumper when he was loading it the car had to be low to the ground in order for this to happen. if you made a claim with the insurance you need a proof (BILL OF LADING) or a paper (SING BY BOTH YOU AND THE DRIVER THAT AGREED THE DAMAGE WAS MADE DURING TRANSPORT) that indicates the damages was made by the transport company, company insurance will simply ask for that proof also for pictures, if you hire a broker and they hire the transport company you will have to make a claim with the brooker. talk to the transport company and try to work something out if you cant do it let the insurance take care of it but it will take about 3 months. good luck