Car Wash Horror Stories
Discussion
When I was tiny I asked my dad if I could use a broom to "sweep the porch" (as he heard it), as it'd snowed the night before.
He gave me a nice stiff broom and thought I was brushing the front drive.
What I was actually doing was scrubbing every body panel of his 3 month old 911!!!
A total respray was the only option, but as he misheard my 5 year old pronunciation he took it rather well considering! OUCH!!
He gave me a nice stiff broom and thought I was brushing the front drive.
What I was actually doing was scrubbing every body panel of his 3 month old 911!!!
A total respray was the only option, but as he misheard my 5 year old pronunciation he took it rather well considering! OUCH!!
Used to use a local lad who started his own valeting business, with a side plan of selling car wash basics at wholesale prices for people to do maintenance washes. Nice guy and did a great job - everything by hand... wet vaccing the interior, leather treatment, and happy to claybar a car if required.
All was well until one fateful day I get a call and it turns out he's pressure-washed a patch off the bonnet. Seeing as this was the wash just prior to taking photos for selling the car (of course), I was less than chuffed. Still, I'm sure we can resolve it amicably - it's not like he set out to damage the car. I'm thinking we either use insurance (his, natch), or if he wants to sort it one to one, go and get some quotes and do it that way. Not likely. He's got a mate who'll spray it for £80. Anything more is excessive. This is on a limited edition, three layer Ultra Yellow 350Z. Er. Right.
I explain that's not on, and take it for quotes, finding a garage used to dealing with TVRs and their complex paint. Of course the quote is substantially higher (but not, it should be said, the highest quote - it was the lowest, but also the most genuine guy and a recommendation for a garage I trust). At this point I discover there is no insurance and he doesn't have the ready cash to pay. Great. Some to-ing and fro-ing and we come to an agreement of part payment - it's clear he can't pay the whole bill and I'm not having his mate screw up the bonnet for £80 and then have a more comprehensive repair to deal with. The paint costs a fair bit on it's own, so quite how £80 was doable I'll never know - crayons perhaps? Even once agreed, it was difficult to get all the cash initially promised and he did valiantly offer car valeting in lieu of cash. Let me think on that...
Still, lesson learned, hopefully on both our parts. Now, if I want a clean car I do it myself, or taking to a valet pro with premises, not doing it off a driveway. And I hope he's still running his own business, but doing it with proper insurance.
All was well until one fateful day I get a call and it turns out he's pressure-washed a patch off the bonnet. Seeing as this was the wash just prior to taking photos for selling the car (of course), I was less than chuffed. Still, I'm sure we can resolve it amicably - it's not like he set out to damage the car. I'm thinking we either use insurance (his, natch), or if he wants to sort it one to one, go and get some quotes and do it that way. Not likely. He's got a mate who'll spray it for £80. Anything more is excessive. This is on a limited edition, three layer Ultra Yellow 350Z. Er. Right.
I explain that's not on, and take it for quotes, finding a garage used to dealing with TVRs and their complex paint. Of course the quote is substantially higher (but not, it should be said, the highest quote - it was the lowest, but also the most genuine guy and a recommendation for a garage I trust). At this point I discover there is no insurance and he doesn't have the ready cash to pay. Great. Some to-ing and fro-ing and we come to an agreement of part payment - it's clear he can't pay the whole bill and I'm not having his mate screw up the bonnet for £80 and then have a more comprehensive repair to deal with. The paint costs a fair bit on it's own, so quite how £80 was doable I'll never know - crayons perhaps? Even once agreed, it was difficult to get all the cash initially promised and he did valiantly offer car valeting in lieu of cash. Let me think on that...
Still, lesson learned, hopefully on both our parts. Now, if I want a clean car I do it myself, or taking to a valet pro with premises, not doing it off a driveway. And I hope he's still running his own business, but doing it with proper insurance.
Smitters said:
All was well until one fateful day I get a call and it turns out he's pressure-washed a patch off the bonnet.
Always a risk with pressure washers, especially on a patch which has a stone chip or has been repainted at some point. I sold a friend of mine a car on which I'd had the bonnet repainted (to his knowledge). Obviously it picked up a few stone chips in the year or two afterwards and whilst he was pressure washing it, it blew a 50p sized piece of paint off the bonnet!
I don't actually use a pressure washer now partly for this reason but I can imagine the industrial ones they use in car washes would blast all sorts of bits and pieces off cars. Especially when they aim it at point blank range at a speck of dirt they could just wipe off!
When I was 18 I took my Dads clapped out Citroen BX through one of those whirly brush car washes with my sister in the passenger seat. I forgot or didn't even think to unscrew the aerial. Halfway through..."twaaang" and a curious ripping sound. Car wash finished, roller brushes parked up in front with water dripping off those nasty plastic bristles. And through the clearing haze I could see buried in the sideways brush thingy, the car aerial. Dangling down with bits of Citroen body work on it. Even more curious was the sight of me hopping up into the air to pluck it down from the brush. It was pretty stuck in there and took some tugging. I think people at the pumps had a field day. I took the aerial (with small section of plucked body) into the shop and plopped it onto the desk and said," your car wash ripped my aerial off". Woman replied "they normally unscrew sir". Lesson learned. What a muppet...
Alex_225 said:
Always a risk with pressure washers, especially on a patch which has a stone chip or has been repainted at some point.
I sold a friend of mine a car on which I'd had the bonnet repainted (to his knowledge). Obviously it picked up a few stone chips in the year or two afterwards and whilst he was pressure washing it, it blew a 50p sized piece of paint off the bonnet!
I don't actually use a pressure washer now partly for this reason but I can imagine the industrial ones they use in car washes would blast all sorts of bits and pieces off cars. Especially when they aim it at point blank range at a speck of dirt they could just wipe off!
I sold a friend of mine a car on which I'd had the bonnet repainted (to his knowledge). Obviously it picked up a few stone chips in the year or two afterwards and whilst he was pressure washing it, it blew a 50p sized piece of paint off the bonnet!
I don't actually use a pressure washer now partly for this reason but I can imagine the industrial ones they use in car washes would blast all sorts of bits and pieces off cars. Especially when they aim it at point blank range at a speck of dirt they could just wipe off!
They blasted the wing mirror cover on my old e46 100 yards across the forecourt one day at the local scratch and swirl (my cars are nearly always 10+ years old and not worth a huge amount before I get a b
king for using these places!), the guy went scurrying after it and tried his best to clip it back on whilst apologising profusely in a language I didn't understand. After a few unsuccessful attempts to re-attach it I was handed it through the window. I found it all quite amusing to be honest, they still charged me a fiver though! 
Why do people use handwash places? Seeing how close they use a pressure washer makes me wince. The last time I used one a bloke was putting his old Passat with scabby wheel arches and horrible tyres through a interior/exterior clean - if that was me I'd be more concerned about tyres and mechanics of it not cleaning it..
GezG said:
My Passat estate daily does approx 800-1k miles per week so use hand car washes regularly - paint is swirled beyond belief but it needs to be presentable for work purposes so they serve a purpose - convenience.
except it's dead time where you have to stand there like a lemon or wait in the car with literally no ability to get anything done. sleepera6 said:
My P38 decided it would be a great time to hibernate during the wash.... would not start for some reason.
Car wash guys didnt want to have anything to do with it or help.. they just pushed it out. And i came back to a dead P38
What did you expect them to do? It wasn't their fault it wouldn't start.Car wash guys didnt want to have anything to do with it or help.. they just pushed it out. And i came back to a dead P38
KungFuPanda said:
sleepera6 said:
My P38 decided it would be a great time to hibernate during the wash.... would not start for some reason.
Car wash guys didnt want to have anything to do with it or help.. they just pushed it out. And i came back to a dead P38
What did you expect them to do? It wasn't their fault it wouldn't start.Car wash guys didnt want to have anything to do with it or help.. they just pushed it out. And i came back to a dead P38
It suffered catastrophic electrical failure. Literally nothing. Not even the choke of death. For about a minute. Then the battery decided to give me a hint it managed to go flat!
Blown2CV said:
except it's dead time where you have to stand there like a lemon or wait in the car with literally no ability to get anything done.
Still quicker than getting the hose & pressure washer etc out myself & I usually just use the time constructively - reply to emails or whatever.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff