Car wash warning!

Questions!

1) When you left the car wash with the rear of your car hanging off, did you note it at the pay desk and tell them that you needed to claim against their insurance.

2) Are there any signs up warning that spoilers, wipers, door handles, wing mirrors of some designs are liable to damage and the car owner uses the washer at their own risk?

3) Are there any CCTV monitors of the car wash as many have them these days for just this reason.

4) Apart from the damage to the spoiler, have you checked the rest of the car for any other damage that might have been done by the spoiler - like roof scratching further forward or even paint chipping from flying bits of spoiler.

5) Is the garage part of a national chain like BP/Esso/Shell/Jet owned by an oil major rather than a local company.

I suspect that at the end of the day you are going to have one hell of a battle with the car wash owner's insurers and may have to claim on your own policy and let them fight the car wash owner's insurance.

(24-02-2012 12:10am)ceebee Wrote:  I put mine through a car wash a few weeks ago with no damage. I would never do it again as the dryer was very close to the spoiler and I wad ready to drive out half way though just in case
However, I don't think you would get much joy trying to claim from the car wash manufacturer as there will no doubt be disclaimers everywhere stating that it is used at your own risk and that spoilers, aerials etc are not covered for damage. There was on the one I used!

A disclaimer can't account for a machine not working as it should - in this case one could argue the sensors didnt' detect the spoiler and ripped it off and hence they haven't met their obligations. There should be CCTV footage but you'll need to alert them (and probably your insurer) quickly to lodge the claim. Your car insurance may have legal protection which may give you access to lawyers for situations like this.

See this thread if you think car washes don't pay out... http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/sh...p?t=249041

WB, fully agree that you can claim for damage if a car wash has malfunctioned, but I have a feeling that it would be very difficult to prove that the sensor was not working correctly and has not picked up the spoiler if there is a disclaimer telling you that you should not use the car wash if you have a spoiler and that they are not liable should any damage be caused during the wash.

Hopefully, if you shout loud enough you may get some joy from the garage, so it would certainly be worth a try.

Some great photos of paint damage on the link. I didn't realise that a car wash could cause such severe damage and I certainly won't be going near one again.

(24-02-2012 08:51pm)ceebee Wrote:  WB, fully agree that you can claim for damage if a car wash has malfunctioned, but I have a feeling that it would be very difficult to prove that the sensor was not working correctly and has not picked up the spoiler if there is a disclaimer telling you that you should not use the car wash if you have a spoiler and that they are not liable should any damage be caused during the wash.

Hopefully, if you shout loud enough you may get some joy from the garage, so it would certainly be worth a try.

Some great photos of paint damage on the link. I didn't realise that a car wash could cause such severe damage and I certainly won't be going near one again.

I have to say until this thread I'd never really thought of it as a spoiler at all?

Yes I think that post on detailing world should be made compulsory viewing!

Just as well to be careful using the machines that are a jet washer on one side and a brush on a boom on the other. I've seen so many of those brushes just lying on the ground where somebody has washed their car and driven off without bothering to hang the brush bit up after they have finished. Then you get the off-road brigade who have had a grand day out who use the brush to wash all the mud off their old Defenders........ If I have to use one of those machines I stick to just using the jet side of it and never use the brush bit on my Rangie's. Of course I would never take my muddy Defender to one of those machines and use the brush to clean off the mud...........

(24-02-2012 11:16am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Questions!

1) When you left the car wash with the rear of your car hanging off, did you note it at the pay desk and tell them that you needed to claim against their insurance.

2) Are there any signs up warning that spoilers, wipers, door handles, wing mirrors of some designs are liable to damage and the car owner uses the washer at their own risk?

3) Are there any CCTV monitors of the car wash as many have them these days for just this reason.

4) Apart from the damage to the spoiler, have you checked the rest of the car for any other damage that might have been done by the spoiler - like roof scratching further forward or even paint chipping from flying bits of spoiler.

5) Is the garage part of a national chain like BP/Esso/Shell/Jet owned by an oil major rather than a local company.

I suspect that at the end of the day you are going to have one hell of a battle with the car wash owner's insurers and may have to claim on your own policy and let them fight the car wash owner's insurance.

Yes to all of those questions Tim but in the end it's an insurance job. Quoted repair cost as it apparently needs a completely new tailgate is £2,500! As per an earlier comment, to be honest I hadn't really thought of the roof spoiler as a spoiler in the car wash sign sense. My last BMW 335d tourer and Audi A3 tFSI Sportback both had roof spoliers and I car-washed them regularly. Now, before that my 3xScoobies were different and I didn't car wash them as they appeared to be made from Kit Kat wrappers but then nothing ever went wrong with or fell off them!!

(03-03-2012 12:39am)dodo Wrote:  Yes to all of those questions Tim but in the end it's an insurance job.Quoted repair cost as it apparently needs a completely new tailgate is £2,500!

It seems the only credibility Evoque carry is just the design and assembly.... parts are manufactured somewhere else. .

Sorry to hear about your dilemma.

PS: you can sell the rest of the replaced parts on ebay instead of donating them to the dealer - screen, wiper motor etc. !!

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The reason for a complete tailgate is that it is fitted as a ready made unit supplied assembled from an 3rd party supplier. It is also made from composites. Apart from the obvious damage there may also be damage to the roof hinges and the struts/ raising mechanism, hence the high cost to repair............... also those are the prices the repairer is charging the insurance company..............

Either way Fault is in the design or quality !

Lexus RX carry similar spoiler with buried wiper system, the side anchors appears more sturdy.