im in a bit of a situation here and i need some opinions....i took my SMB to a hand carwash which i usually take my car to, up until now i havent had any problems with them. the other day after my car was finished being cleaned i realized a scratch on my hood about 4 inches long and i freaked out, and as i was walking around the car inspecting it, like i do everytime i take it to a carwash, i found another scratch and then another and then another..all together 6 scratches the carwash filled out an incident report and after finding out the price to fix the scratches they decided to deny that they caused the scratches WTF?? what should i do , go cause a scene? get a lawyer?

 

i dont know what you should do but that sux ***. why go through a carwash anyways. i love my cars so much that ill wash it in the winter time with 10 degrees outside.

 

Thats why I wash my car not some minimum wage illegal immigrant who does not give 2 chits about my Z.

I would talk to the car wash owner first before getting a lawyer involved. He might be a good guy and admit his employee screwed up.

 

yea i would wash my car myself on the weekends, which i do sometimes, but here in fresno its so damn dusty that my car needs to be washed everyday and i dont have the time to wash it myself everyday

 

I'm with Rookie, I love my cars so much as well, that I always wash them myself. There's nothing like washing them on your own, it also helps to inspect if some f@cker scratched it!

 

im going to go to the carwash and try to get a hold of the owner but ive heard from others that hes an ***, so i guess ill end up getting a lawyer

 

A lawyer is going run $100 to a whole bunch more an hour to work this case. There's no money in it for them to take it on a percentage. Figure three or more hours minimum so you're likely going to end up with a bill for major bucks win or lose. I'm not sure if this is a case where the loser would pay court costs and legal representation ... but I doubt that it is. Small claims here will easily cover your paint job.

In small claims you're going to have to prove with a preponderance of the evidence that it was more likely than not that the car wash scratched your car. That's going to be difficult to do unless you inspected it before you gave it to them - you did the right thing by notifying them immediately upon receipt back that it was damaged.

I never let any one else clean my car. I might consider a professional and experienced detailing service but at $150 something I would expect better treatment than the illegal alien car washes that charge $15.

 

the thing is i take my car there everyday because i have a monthly pass and everyday i inspect the car after it is washed...sothis means my car is always clean and scracthes like that would be very noticable to me, i didnt see anything like that on the car before i took it to get washed that day so im positive it happened at the carwash that day...

 

Thats why you talk to the owner. Then you might try talking to a lawyer just as a consultation. Most will charge little or nothing for that, and you might get some good advice.

Are you wanting the entire panels repainted?

 

well when i took it to the body shop for estimated and btw its the body shop they told me to go to, the body shop told me that maybe the scratches might come out with a polish but some of the scratches were to deep and would need to be painted so i decided for them to go ahead and polish the car and see what parts of the car they can save from needing to be painted which i thought would reduce the costs for the carwash to cover, it turns out they arent even complaining about the repainting yet, its the $215 for the polishing they are comlaining about ...something that im doing to save them more money...

 

you are not that rich of a person, dude! last time I checked, the people who hand wash my car are white kids

 

First you shouldn't let anyone else wash your car but you if you expect to avoid scratches. Secondly, have you tried buffing them out?

 

talk to a lawyer, if chances are looking good then take action! who knows they might offer a settlement if they see your serious, good luck, id be pissed

 

sounds like you may need to take them to small claims court.

have no idea what kind of chance you have of winning the case though. i would imagine it would tough to prove that the scratches werent there prior.

good luck

 

Do not take your car to a car wash.

Once, some idiot loaded the incorrect soap at a car wash I went to. It was an industrial degreaser soap.

It took the clearcoat off every car that went through it.

My car went from shiney to dull in 5 minutes. It was never the same.

(not my -Z-)

 

Huh?

 

Agree completely. Winning a civil suit will be difficult. Considering that the car is black, take it to a pro.

 

Thats why I always wash my car and never visit a carwash.

I would talk to the car wash owner first and see if they can help you out.

Good luck.

 

Garden hose + soap + sponge FTW.

That way if you get a scratch, you can just be pissed at yourself. In your case, though, I'd get a lawyer.

 

I assume that there is probably a sign on site saying that the "Wash will not be Responsible for Damage to any Customer Car."

There was no gross negligence involved, so you'll probably have a very tough time getting anything from the courts.