The ready availability of automatic car washes makes it simple to just swing in, hit a few buttons, and drive through a stall while your car is washed. About 28 percent of vehicle owners in one
survey
were considered heavy car wash users, which means they visited a car wash several times in a single month.
The convenience of an automatic car wash is great, but automatic car washes may also leave your vehicle with auto body damage on rare occasions. The damages sustained during an automatic car wash can be from either driver error or problems with the equipment. Take a look at typical auto body damages sustained in automatic car washes.
Damage to the Vehicle's Paint
Damage to a vehicle's paint in automatic car washes is rare but can definitely happen under certain circumstances. Older vehicles that may not have the highest quality paint, ailing paint, or weaker clear coat can be especially prone to sustaining damage during the scrubbing and spraying processes. Nevertheless, faulty equipment inside the car wash may lead to:
- Scratches in the paint
- Dings in the paint
- Cracks in a clear coat
When you pull out of the car wash, before you actually leave, go ahead and do a quick examination of the vehicle body to look for damages to the paint. Spotting a problem immediately after using an automatic wash makes it easier to prove the equipment at the facility caused the problem.
Dents and Dings
Pulling away after an automatic wash and spotting a dent or ding is disheartening. Unfortunately, several problems within an automated car-washing system could lead to a dent or ding. Primarily, dents or dings occur when some debris on spinning brushes hits the body of the vehicle during the wash.
Dents, dings, and other cosmetic damages are more likely to happen in automatic car washes with brushes because they have direct contact with the vehicle. For this reason, some professionals
recommend
using only brushless car washes because the systems use only pressurized water to do the cleaning.
Broken Exterior Vehicle Components
When you pull up to an automatic car wash, you may notice a few signs that give instructions about certain exterior vehicle components. For example, the sign may state:
- Detachable hitches need removing
- Side mirrors on large vehicles need folding back
- Light bars, spoilers, and other accessories may need removing
Even though the instructions are easily overlooked, minding these warnings really is important. You may sustain damages if you don't follow the instructions. For example, side mirrors on a larger pickup truck can extend out so far that they may get caught in a spinning brush and break. People have reported
light bars
being knocked off and doing damage during a car wash.
Cracked Windshield or Auto Glass
Perhaps the rarest type of damage in an automatic car wash is damage to the auto glass. However, a few scenarios can lead to this unfortunate damage. For instance, if the spinning brushes have a rock on the cloth-like bristles, the auto glass could potentially have damage when the rock smacks against the glass.
Another situation in which auto glass could have damage is if your car is not properly situated on the tracks inside the wash. Perfect positioning is important because your car has to perfectly align with the equipment to avoid coming too close to your vehicle.
Trust Auto Body Repair Professionals After a Bad Car Wash Experience
You likely work hard to keep your vehicle looking good, and trips to an automatic car wash may be a common occurrence. If your vehicle has damage from a car wash facility, be sure to properly document the damage, file a damage claim with the facility owner, and then reach out to
Automotive Super Sports
for help.
