Sitting in my car in the car wash the beam containing the drying element approached my car at decapitation level. Of course it followed the contour of the car and safely finished the job.
I must confess to a certain sense of unease as the beam approaches. Can anything go wrong? Has a car wash ever seriously mangled a car?
What accidents and spectacular malfunctions have occurred in a car wash?
Automatic car washes tend to mangle cars as a matter of course, it’s not unusual at all.
The most common damage are scraped wheels as a result of rubbing against the guide rails. Other common damage includes broken antennae, side view mirrors, and other protuberances.
Less obvious damage includes scratched paint from all those nasty brushes and more subtle paint damage from the harsh acids and recycled water most automatic car washes use.’
To make a long story short, you will not find a car enthusiast willing to take his or her car through one of those automotive abbatoirs.
I used to own a car wash.
One thing to rember is that if you do see damage report it IMMEDIATELY and call the police to file an accident report if you get any guff.
The first thing the manager will do is point to the “We’re Not Responsible For Any Damage” sign…ignore it. They are completely responsible for damage done to your car and they know it.
Intersting, ChryslerBldg!
However, your advice is a bit late for me. I only noticed the damage recently. The dryer was the kind that hangs low and scrapes along your windshield and along the roof of your car. Several days later I noticed a nice, long scrape all along the roof of my car (along the top of the door frame).
My question is, Is there anything I do to buff it out? It looks more like the plastic from the dryer scarred my paint.
I’d take it to an auto detailer - They can work magic in an hour that would take you the better part of a weekend. Not to mention, they’ll generally know just the right potion and technique to get rid of the mark without:
a: Making it permanent
b: Spreading it further
c: Getting any on Opal’s car
Oh, what a bad memory you just pulled out of my past. June, 1971, and my '71 Dodge Challenger R/T, 383 magnum was 3 hours old and I just HAD to get the dust off it-still had the price sticker on it-got half way through the automatic car wash and the washing mechanism hanging from the ceiling just broke loose and crashed straight down onto the hood, windshield and roof. There I was laying across the seats as the car emerged from the building, and the boob car wipers began to towel off my car, actually going around the broken machine that was still laying on top of me. Totaled the car. AAAAArrrrrrrg!
I read about someone getting mangled in a car wash back in the 80’s. Lost their leg if I recall correctly. The quote in the paper at the time was that it “chewed him up and spit him out.”
This was a worker who had access to the machinery and was apparently standing where he shouldn’t have been, not a customer.