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Mirror got smashed

Michael231

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I don’t own car wash, I’m just a customer. Today I went thru automatic car wash and my mirror got smashed. It’s the moving iron panel that smashed the mirror. Does anyone know what went wrong? I go this place monthly for many years and never had issues. Later I saw a car went thru and no issue. Couldn’t get hold of the owner, left a couple voice mails and no reply so far.
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washnshine

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There really isn’t anyone on this forum that can assist you. You will need to speak to the owner/management, they will have the video footage.
 

washnvac

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All my washes have signs for; Fold in Mirrors and Remove or lower antennas.

When customers ask me: "do I really need to do that?", I respond to that by saying: "Do it or pick them up out of the bay when wash is over."
 

Axxlrod

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Is it his responsibility to fold his own mirrors in ?
At an IBA wash with no employees, who else would fold them in??????


But, the only way for the gantry frame to contact the mirror was if the car was way over to the left. Most gantry-type IBA have guidebars mounted to the ground to ensure that a vehicle is not too far over one way or the other.

Only way to know for sure what happened in this instance is to review the video.
 

Dirt

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Really ? In todays society, any responsibility that the general public is expected to have just gets passed on to someone else. Is it a pedestrians responsibility to wait til there are no cars coming before they cross the street ? Not any more. It's your fault if you hit them. " It's not my responsibility to not walk into the path of a moving 5000 pound car ! "
Lady pulled into my wash a couple weeks ago so far off to the left that her car rubbed the rear and front brushes. Enough to move the machine. Then again when it told her to back up. SO, the first thing she did was run her car into my machine. When it did wash her car the front brush took her mirror cap off. They were in there taking pictures after they pulled out. Haven't heard anything, yet, but I guarantee that she don't think she did the wrong thing.
It don't matter how many signs you have, or how many reflectors are on the floor, etc., todays society will not admit that they are at fault when the consequences are revealed. Seen it so many times in 32 years of automatic carwashing.
The OP practically admitted it by saying... So it’s my responsibility if I wasn’t centered?
 

patkelly1336

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While our tunnel layout is different than what the OP was talking about, I will explain our system. We have disclaimer signage at each terminal that states we are only responsible for vehicle damage related to our equipment. We are not responsible for damage to mirrors, antennas, loose fitting chrome or paint, aftermarket wheels or tires, non OEM equipment, or vehicles older than 7 years. We are also not responsible for damage due to collisions or braking in the tunnel.

Whenever we have an accident or a complaint about scratches or damage to a vehicle, we have a process. The manager looks at the damaged vehicle and then looks at the entrance and exit cameras. Entrance area has three outdoor cameras as well as four prep area cameras. Exit area has two cameras by the tire shine as well as three outdoor cameras. We also have cameras in our vacuum area. Almost every single damage complaint has been found to be pre-existing damage to vehicles or damage as a result of dragging vacuum hoses over vehicle surfaces.

If it is found to be our fault for damage, we would send your information to our insurance company or have you get at least two quotes for repair. After we receive the quotes or our insurance company decides to pay out, we arrange payment to the customer.

In my almost 10 years of washing, I have only seen one incident where we paid out and that was because a former employee didn't send enough rollers behind the vehicle at one of our older locations and the roller actually pulled the vehicle out of the conveyor into an arch leg.

For OP, I would recommend looking for disclaimer signage at the wash entrance and keep trying to get hold of the owner. If they don't respond back to you, you might try filing a small claims suit or contact the BBB.
 
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