Car wash scraped car

rolexeagle1

So I got a car wash last Thursday morning in Blackrock. I noticed this morning that my rear bumper has 3 scrapes on it on the back left corner. Now I havent tapped anything and didnt use the car over the weekend, it was parked reverse ways into my underground car park with a wall behind it.

The scrapes look like they have been "sanded" if you will into the paint work and one of them is right down to the plastic of the bumper.

I have only recently got the car back from having the rear bumper sprayed as someone damaged it a few weeks back. It was perfect when it came out of the bodyshop and noticing the scrapes this morning has really annoyed me.

What is the best way to proceed here. Should I go into the petrol station and ask to speak with the manager???


thanks

Stheno

You can't really prove it was the carwash though can you?

rolexeagle1

Stheno wrote: »

You can't really prove it was the carwash though can you?

I cant but I know the car was perfect before it and the scrape looks like it would have been done by a spinning bar like this car wash employs. I will post up a pic in a bit to see what you think.

listermint

You have zero chance of comeback on this im sorry to say.

Best get a quote for a smart repair and move on.


And word of advice to anyone with a car. NEVER use petrol station carwashes they do absolutely nothing for your paintwork and eat of chunks of resale value aging your car prematurely.

Unless you feel like spending money having the car properly machine polished and detailed to bring it back up.

These machines store stones in them

JohnBoy26

These car washes wash loads of cars ever day. As a result the recycled water they use is dirty and the brushes are usually full of grit and grime. These washes will usually put minute scratches on the paintwork and in some cases the will cause scrapes like you experienced.

unfortunately there is no comeback though. As has already been said it will be very difficult to prove the car wash caused the scratches. The best thing to do is to put it down to a lesson learned. If you value your car never use those types of washes again.

Spook_ie

The recently sprayed comment rings alarm bells. Don't want to use carwashes on new paint used to be the rule

The-Game

Spook_ie wrote: »

The recently sprayed comment rings alarm bells. Don't want to use carwashes on new paint used to be the rule

Hit the nail on the head here, need to let it set and harden for some time before putting it through a wash, especially a power wash or one of those car wash machines.

cerastes

OSI wrote: »

Every automatic car wash I've seen has had a disclaimer absolving them of any damage, which would leave you **** out of luck I'm afraid OP.

Ive often wondered how that would stand up if you knew one damaged your car?

robtri

OSI wrote: »

Every automatic car wash I've seen has had a disclaimer absolving them of any damage, which would leave you **** out of luck I'm afraid OP.

Putting up a sign like that does not absolve them if there equipment causes damage to your property,

toyotaavensis

I can put a sign up saying that if you get run down by a car in my yard that i dont accept responsibility but if I ended up in front of a judge after he mightnt put too much stock in my sign.

beauf

robtri wrote: »

Putting up a sign like that does not absolve them if there equipment causes damage to your property,

and you can prove it. otherwise you could have scraped it on the way home.

the_syco

srumball wrote: »

I have only recently got the car back from having the rear bumper sprayed as someone damaged it a few weeks back. It was perfect when it came out of the bodyshop and noticing the scrapes this morning has really annoyed me.

I'm surprised that whoever sprayed your car didn't warn you to stay away from car washing machines, as the paint that is sprayed on can easily come off, as it's not applied with heat.

JohnBoy26

the_syco wrote: »

I'm surprised that whoever sprayed your car didn't warn you to stay away from car washing machines, as the paint that is sprayed on can easily come off, as it's not applied with heat.

If the place that done the bumper was any sort of a decent setup they would have a proper spray booth and a low bake oven.

Even a fresh paint job shouldn't "easily come off" if a proper job was done.

the_syco

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Even a fresh paint job shouldn't "easily come off" if a proper job was done.

So soon after the job was done; it can happen. Heck, I've heard some dealers tell people who've bought a brand new car not to machine wash it for a few months after they get it!

JohnBoy26

the_syco wrote: »

So soon after the job was done; it can happen. Heck, I've heard some dealers tell people who've bought a brand new car not to machine wash it for a few months after they get it!

It can indeed I won't argue with you there. if a proper job is done though and the paint is baked it should be durable enough to not easily come off. I know there probably is a higher risk of scratches and swirl marks on fresh paint though and you are indeed best to avoid those washes.:)

If I was the dealer id be telling the new owner to stay away from the those car washes full stop.

rolexeagle1

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

It can indeed I won't argue with you there. if a proper job is done though and the paint is baked it should be durable enough to not easily come off. I know there probably is a higher risk of scratches and swirl marks on fresh paint though and you are indeed best to avoid those washes.:)

If I was the dealer id be telling the new owner to stay away from the those car washes full stop.

It definitely is nothing to do with the job on the bumper as it was top and I know the procedure they follow when painting. 100% convinced that it was the car wash, but I know it is impossible to prove. I may have to just get one of those pens and hope for the best.