Car Wash Horror Stories

Car Wash Horror Stories

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Discussion

iamandrew

4 posts

173 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Just bought a brand new car. Once the better weather came along the sun showed up a bunch of vertical scratches on the drivers door. Definitely not us that caused them, body shop reckoned it was probably a water blade which will have been the valeter at the dealer then. Dealer has paid for remedial work but some of them still showing a bit unfortunately. Bit shocked that they are using water blades at all, never mind on brand new cars!

DStanley1809

17 posts

137 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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It's probably not much of a "horror" story in the grand scheme of things but I put my car in for MOT at VW dealer where a friend of mine worked.

I knew that regular customers would probably get their cars cleaned when in for service etc but didn't expect mine to be done as a "staff" car.

Came to collect the car and found every panel looking like this:



I think they lost the sponge and picked up the nearest brick, thinking that, as it was vaguely the right shape, it would do a good enough job.

Bought a nice DA polisher and spent a weekend making it look like this:


tom-ellingham

3 posts

87 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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For some pocket money I washed my Dads red Rover 214si. Used some t-Cut from a very very old looking bottle and ended up turning the car a misty orange colour.

Luckily the car was st so he didn't care (too much).

Milky400

1,960 posts

177 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Have had this a 4 times over two cars at my local Land Rover dealership, its cost them over £1900 in 4 trips to Cambridge Concours (highly recommend by the way) to have a full paint correction.

Each occasion I have asked for the car not to be washed and each time I've arrives and boom.... This time the complete car is being re-sprayed (6 months old) due to a large amount of imperfections in the new paintwork.

I always ask when ever I drop any of my cars of not to wash them....

V8DNW

102 posts

224 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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This is a 2001 Range Rover alloy wheel. One owner since new and regularly valeted. That's the bare metal you can see - years of alloy wheel cleaner has stripped the paint.


sonnenschein3000

710 posts

89 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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some kids chucked some flour on my car on halloween a few years ago.... so in panic I took it to a hand car wash (the type that Nigel Farage wouldn't use, if you know what I mean) and they cleaned the car ok (adding some swirls to it of course) but there was still some soggy blobs of flour stuck in the crevices. I told them to clean it out, so they got their screwdriver out - and at first I thought "Nah, nobody could be that stupid" and then shouted just before they started to pluck out the blobs with a flat head screw driver.

Never been there since. (as I got into detailing)

micksims

31 posts

196 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Took my 03 Civic Type R through an automated wash many years ago (04 if I recall) and it ripped the bee sting aerial off the top of the car and bent into the roof (causing it to leak there after). Suffice to say I went rather mental and that was the last time I ever used one of them!!!
Nowadays I won't even use the local Polish boys after seeing some of the things they do. Only person to wash my cars is me from now on!!!


Leggy

1,018 posts

221 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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People don't realise the damage these cheap car washers inflict. All for saving a bit of time and effort doing it yourself.
Most of us could do with a bit of excercise so it seems like an easy way to burn a few calories rather than driving to one of these places and then sitting on your arse watching someone slowly f* up your paint work!

Evilex

512 posts

103 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Wash mine myself (when it lookslike it's been camo wrapped)
It's an ageing Multipla, and when I pull up in a car park where cleaners operate, the stock reply to "Car wash?" is; "I don't have the money, and you don't have the time!"

It'll take them forever, and they'll charge me £20 to make it even uglier!

Jd27

105 posts

145 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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My dad used to make me clean his Morgan +8 wire wheels with a toothbrush.

He used to take my mums car to the IMO car wash on meanwood road in Leeds..... a 20m conveyor belt of rollers, sprayer and massive hairdryers, was a great day out! Can't imagine the damage it did!

Redwest

14 posts

173 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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A main dealer, first service of my new 4 month old 12500 mile Honda, it gets washed and a great big arm radius semi circle scratch appears on the bonnet.

When I pointed it out....nothing to do with us sir etc etc etc.

Got my own back, they verbally misquoted on something else later in the year and tried to charge the extra amount (about £200 difference if memory serves), I stuck to my guns made them stick to the original price and got more discount for the hassle!!

STiG911

1,210 posts

166 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Thinking that buying a mint one owner 2011 Civic from a Main Dealer in Chelmsford three years ago would be a good move because well, Honda have such a good reputation, right?
It took until we were almost home and a by a bizarre happenstance, our route home had meant that until we turned into our road we hadn't actually had direct sunlight hit the front of the car. Well when it did I literally couldn't see anything. The 'valet' carried out as part of the 'approved used' scheme apparently entailed using a greasy cloth to wipe on all the window insides. Checking over the rest of the car properly (it was overcast when we collected) did not impress one bit.
Needless to say first chance I got I went over the whole car, taking almost a weekend to remove all the swirl marks and tar spots accumulated in its early years.

Goes back to Honda for the yearly service with strict instructions NOT to wash the car.
'But we don't charge for that, Sir'
'Only I clean this car - don't wash it please'
<Watches Service Manager write 'Don't wash' on the ticket attached to keys>
Gets car back - cars been washed. Hey presto, swirl marks. FFS
Gives Dealer what-for. Assured that it must have been a mistake and 'won't happen again'

Year two - 'DON'T WASH THE CAR PLEASE' - you know where this is going. (Considering binning off dealer anyway as they try to insist that they MUST replace the front brakes at a cost of £280. I only wanted the service stamp really, I knew they needed doing and got OEM parts and fitted myself for the princely sum of £95)
Return of the swirl marks. And a broken inner rear light cover.
Gives dealer what-for again.

Year three - Service reception numpty, aware of the stipulation at time of booking: 'Oh, the 'No wash car''
Guy next to Missus: 'Oh, I'll have mine washed then!'
Numpty - patronising face: 'Why don't you want your car washed?'
Missus: 'because you washed it twice before when specifically asked not too, and scratched my paintwork'
Numpty: 'Oh' *redface*
Guy next to Missus: *I take that back face*
To their credit, they didn't wash it this time - Win!
Still binning them off.

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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There are 2 hand car washes in town (and no automatic ones), and whilst one isn't bad, the other is brutal. They tend to miss complete panels, and do nothing lower than the bottom of the door. They once power washed the mirror cover from my 330i. No apology, no attempt to pick it up, let alone put it back on. My wife still goes there, and when she comes home proudly announcing that she's had her car washed, I more often than not respond 'really?' which sets the tone for the next 30 minutes.
I do my own now, partly as both places charge £15 to wash & hoover out a saloon car, and partly because I'll do a better job myself in the same time.

Burnzyb

300 posts

176 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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The misses car and my pride and joy only get washed by myself, they will stay dirty until I do it too, my daily slag gets anything I can be arsed to do, I took the daily to the automated wash yesterday, the kids loved watching it wash the car and I have fond memories watching the car being washed in the car wash when I was a kid so it was a double bonus.

I have watched the guys in Sainsbury's car park pushing the baked on mud off the bottom of the car with there feet laugh

Also the chemicals the hand car washes use are very strong, I've used them on the daily loads and it's certainly not good for the cars paintwork.

What is people's opinion on this ....
https://youtu.be/jEgyWjUD6LE

No brushes used, and look like a fairly professional outfit...
http://www.olleys.com


shost

825 posts

142 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Leggy said:
People don't realise the damage these cheap car washers inflict. All for saving a bit of time and effort doing it yourself.
Most of us could do with a bit of excercise so it seems like an easy way to burn a few calories rather than driving to one of these places and then sitting on your arse watching someone slowly f* up your paint work!
My gf and I cleaned her Aygo inside and out, clay bar, polish the works. She was wearing a fit bit and it registered 5000 steps. She thoroughly enjoyed it too. (She had never washed a car before and doesn't have facilities at home). I agree great bit of exercise and excuse to be outside

hammo19

4,897 posts

195 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Always do my own cars.

Would never take my car to those Eastern European places. The acid they used to clean my Holden wheels killed the new wheel nut covers that I imported from Oz.

Andgran

6 posts

94 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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I once went to an automatic carwash at my local petrol station and the roller that goes over the top of your car decided to try an crush my car which left a massive dent in the roof right in the bend of the roof above the windscreen. I tried to explain to the garage what had happened and was told there was no evidence that the dent wasn't there before hand even though there was cctv of me reversing out of the car wash to avoid anymore damage. Never been to another since.

M3Maverick

102 posts

144 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Just avoid supermarket car washes alltogether....



Image robbed from TankClark over on M3Cutters


Edited by M3Maverick on Tuesday 18th April 21:18

surveyor

17,763 posts

183 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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Many moons ago went to my local garage. Was paying for fuel, and it was obvious that the young kid had been sent to put his bosses (or maybe his dads) car through the car wash. That would have worked well, if he had not driven on the wrong side of the rail.

I was trying to tell the bloke that his car was being repeatedly rammed by his car wash, but he just looked at me blankly. So I gave up. The rather mullered Honda Accord sported wounds for months to come.

CubanPete

3,630 posts

187 months

Tuesday 18th April 2017
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A friend borrowed his dad's car (newish mid range bmw) to take his then girlfriend on a date.

Successful date, and as a thank-you he washed it.

Jet washing away at a rather stubborn mark on the bonnet.... The jet managed to get under what was actually a paint chip, and lift the paint off the entire panel, which elegantly slid onto the floor at his feet.

His dad was genuinely understanding