Car wash warning!

dodo · 23-02-2012 06:49pm

Just filled up my car this morning at my usual garage and decided to wash it as it was looking rather grubby. Selected my usual brush wash and dry (apologies to all you detailers who are probably quivering now) as I have done on about 8-10 previous occasions and entered. To my horror, on the ruterun run of the horizontal brush there was a big bang and the car lurched. As you've probably uessed, the brush tore off the netire upper tailgate spoiler assembly! Took it to our local insurance approved repairer who removed the remains of the upper spoiler unit, which was still hanging on by a couple of cables, so that it didn't damage the rear screen. His view was that it needes an entire new tailgate as the untimely removal of the spoiler has broken and pulled out various fixings.

So, the problem is either with an overly aggressive car wash or a vehicle design that didn't allow for car washes (and of course a lazy owner who now faces the prospect of hand washing for years to come!) Sad

MartinP · 23-02-2012 06:59pm

You have my sympathies dodo. I avoid car washes as I am paranoid they will do something as you have just described. Hope you get it fixed quickly.

The Valeter · 23-02-2012 07:23pm

Never use car washes of any sort whether manual or automated if you value your car but if you have a rear spoiler that is a definate no no as you will almost certainly lose it.
I am on the MG ZR forum & ZR's have a fairly large rear spoiler & a few members have suffered this problem.

big-al-cove · 23-02-2012 08:57pm

(23-02-2012 07:23pm)The Valeter Wrote: Never use car washes of any sort whether manual or automated if you value your car but if you have a rear spoiler that is a definate no no as you will almost certainly lose it.
I am on the MG ZR forum & ZR's have a fairly large rear spoiler & a few members have suffered this problem.

hi

sorry to here this can you post some photos

WB · 23-02-2012 10:03pm

I sincerely hope you're claiming against the car wash - there is no way the machine should be ripping off parts!!

Daigriff · 23-02-2012 10:11pm

I only hand wash...but not that often Embarrassed

just in case what has happened to you happened to me.

Hope it doesnt prove too costly.

BFGEvoqueMan · 23-02-2012 10:20pm

living in germany we have to use car washes as it is forbidden to wash cars anywhere other at a car wash. mine has been through three washes so far and even despite the worst my local all singging all dancing wash can (it takes about 5mins to get dragged through) do would not do any such damage. u must claim off the car wash insurance. if they don't play ball i am sure that the local newspaper would be keen to write a story!

WB · 23-02-2012 10:22pm

(23-02-2012 10:20pm)BFGEvoqueMan Wrote: living in germany we have to use car washes as it is forbidden to wash cars anywhere other at a car wash. mine has been through three washes so far and even despite the worst my local all singging all dancing wash can (it takes about 5mins to get dragged through) do would not do any such damage. u must claim off the car wash insurance. if they don't play ball i am sure that the local newspaper would be keen to write a story!

You can't hand wash your own car in Germany? Wow I had no idea. Do you at least have hand car washes you can take the car to? Those machines ruin your paint finish!

Barneyridge · 23-02-2012 10:27pm

That is a hard lesson to learn Sad

(23-02-2012 10:22pm)WB Wrote: You can't hand wash your own car in Germany? Wow I had no idea. Do you at least have hand car washes you can take the car to? Those machines ruin your paint finish!

We used to have water restrictions a couple of years ago that meant you had to wash with a bucket only, no hoses. That meant a car wash only. At the time hand car wash business started up everywhere. Do you have those car wash bays with the high pressure hoses and foaming brushes where up you do it yourself?

WB · 23-02-2012 10:35pm

(23-02-2012 10:27pm)Barneyridge Wrote: That is a hard lesson to learn

We used to have water restrictions a couple of years ago that meant you had to wash with a bucket only, no hoses. That meant a car wash only. At the time hand car wash business started up everywhere. Do you have those car wash bays with the high pressure hoses and foaming brushes where up you do it yourself?

In the UK we have all the options - machines, diy jet wash, hand car washes or you can do it yourself when there isn't a hosepipe ban on!