By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — February 1, 2019 — Centex Petroleum gas station in Alberta has left quite the repair bill for dozens of cars that were filled up with contaminated fuel last summer.
According to CBC News, the gas station’s fuel was contaminated with saline in July of last year causing vehicles to have mechanical issues which translated in expensive repairs. The issues have continued on months later.
Loraine Bon and her husband told CBC News that after they pumped their son’s tank with gas, the vehicle stopped working resulting in repairs costing as much as $3,000.
The insurance companies representing the gas station, the tank installer, and the tank manufacturer are all in a dispute about who caused the saline to leak into the station’s fuel.
“An investigation after the incident showed the inner lining of the fuel tank split, allowing the saline barrier to leach into the fuel,” — something the company told customers about in a letter last summer.
One motorist, James Niblock had to have his engine rebuilt costing a total of $18,000.
Niblock was covered for most of the repair from his insurance but not all. The tow truck, car rental and insurance deductible which was around $1,000 is money he doesn’t think he will see again.
“So between the three of them at the moment, they haven’t figured out who is liable,” Niblock told CBC News. “While this kind of drags on and no one’s really communicating with us, obviously a lot of people have got either unusable engines or have basically had to pay out of their own pocket for repairs.”
After the contamination was resolved, and the tank manufacturer repaired the split seam in the fibreglass tank, the gas station sent out a letter to drivers and reopened their services. The letter stated that Centex would reimburse them for their costs.
Although, after some of these vehicles have been repaired, there are still issues. One woman had repairs reimbursed but her vehicle is now experiencing shaking and rumbling. She was told by the repairers that she needs the catalytic converter replaced. She told CBC that she is worried that the cost for further repairs will be delayed until the at-fault party is determined.
