st8rocks
New member
I cringe when I see people at car washes here at the coast, those things are full of sand!
$15 carwash = $4047.18 in damages and repairs
- Thread starter Mikedezzy
- Start date
I cringe when I see people at car washes here at the coast, those things are full of sand!
gm350reratliff
New member
OP- I hope things work out for you but use this as a lesson. Those washes just are not for modded vehicles.
I try to avoid them but sometimes life gets so busy we cave in and use them. I once had a Z71 silverado that was damaged in one of those washes. Apparently, the workers "bumped" the 4x4 button when they pulled it onto the rollers they "accidentally" put the truck in park. Well the truck was actually sliding ok through the soap area but once it entered the rinse station, it jumped the rollers and was pushed sideways. I watched the whole situation through the windows as I was paying. Luckily, it only scratched the bed (actually buffed out) and the front fender (this didn't buff out, repainted). I threw a fit and had my boss lean on them (we had a corporate account with them) and they covered everything.
I swore to never use them or a wash like that again but, years later, here I am still going back. I just used them yesterday, in fact. Like a bad habit, I don't think I will be going back. However, it was convenient being me and the kiddo are sick and I had ran over a bunch of grease somewhere (I cleaned the grease off before I took it but it left a bunch of "clean" spots on the 4runner).
Las Vegas, NV drivers are lucky. There is a great little car wash outfit just on the other side of the freeway from the strip and down the street a little from In-N-Out burger. They wash and dry the vehicle completely by hand, inside. It is just a little more expensive and takes a little longer but I feel they do a much better job than the automatic washes. In the time it takes to eat at In-N-Out and/or poke through this forum, my 4runner was spotless.
I try to avoid them but sometimes life gets so busy we cave in and use them. I once had a Z71 silverado that was damaged in one of those washes. Apparently, the workers "bumped" the 4x4 button when they pulled it onto the rollers they "accidentally" put the truck in park. Well the truck was actually sliding ok through the soap area but once it entered the rinse station, it jumped the rollers and was pushed sideways. I watched the whole situation through the windows as I was paying. Luckily, it only scratched the bed (actually buffed out) and the front fender (this didn't buff out, repainted). I threw a fit and had my boss lean on them (we had a corporate account with them) and they covered everything.
I swore to never use them or a wash like that again but, years later, here I am still going back. I just used them yesterday, in fact. Like a bad habit, I don't think I will be going back. However, it was convenient being me and the kiddo are sick and I had ran over a bunch of grease somewhere (I cleaned the grease off before I took it but it left a bunch of "clean" spots on the 4runner).
Las Vegas, NV drivers are lucky. There is a great little car wash outfit just on the other side of the freeway from the strip and down the street a little from In-N-Out burger. They wash and dry the vehicle completely by hand, inside. It is just a little more expensive and takes a little longer but I feel they do a much better job than the automatic washes. In the time it takes to eat at In-N-Out and/or poke through this forum, my 4runner was spotless.
Jernik
New member
+1. I never take any of my vehicles through an automatic carwash that has brushes, we only use the touchless ones. They don't do a great job, but are OK in a pinch. The undercarriage spray when I was in Indiana was pretty good at helping save our vehicles from salt/solutions over the winter.
Martinjmpr
New member
Hopefully this is all covered by insurance so you will only be out your deductible. Some insurance companies will only cover add-on accessories up to a certain dollar value unless you declare them ahead of time.
As far as car washes go I always use the wash-it-yourself type with the foaming brush, and I always spray off the brush before I use it on the truck. I'm never really satisfied with the quality of the drive-through car washes. I guess they're "better than nothing" but not much better IMO.
As far as car washes go I always use the wash-it-yourself type with the foaming brush, and I always spray off the brush before I use it on the truck. I'm never really satisfied with the quality of the drive-through car washes. I guess they're "better than nothing" but not much better IMO.
Mikedezzy
New member
Luckily! I say luckily.. My light bar was not damaged.. I have $1000 in aftermarket coverage and the roof rack was offset by the cost of an OEM roof rack so my insurance is covering it all. The deductible has already been taken out of the the check and my body is really helping me out.
I ordered me a BAJA Long rack and got it for $1029.14 to my front door. I was extended a 10% discount... 5% for being a repeat BAJA user and 5% because they took pity on me being an idiot and driving through the wash in the first place lol...
I ordered me a BAJA Long rack and got it for $1029.14 to my front door. I was extended a 10% discount... 5% for being a repeat BAJA user and 5% because they took pity on me being an idiot and driving through the wash in the first place lol...
Pkniland
Member
mikey's2010SR5
New member
This is the reason I do t go to a car wash with the spinning brushes, also scratches. Good luck with the fix.
Jeff614
New member
Sorry to hear that man, that really sucks. Will your insurance cover something like that under full coverage??? (I have no idea, rammed my tailgate into a semi-trailer once and they covered my dumbass mistake)
We've gotten quite a bit (for here that is) of snow the past 2 weeks and VDOT seems to have gotten seriously happy with the sand and salt. So many spinning brush car washes with super long lines of Beamers, Porsches, vettes, really nice diesel trucks....just can't believe they can't put 2 and 2 together and realize the salt and sand from the guy in front of them is going on the brushes that will then clean their car :shrug:
There's still a few true "touchless" washes around here, getting harder and harder to find though and I'm sure their chemicals are just great on the paint. I like the do it yourself/"quarter monster" ones that let you go to town on the underside to get all that salt off.
Least spring is almost here along with a good coat of wax.
Really sorry to hear about your rack and damage though. Everyone makes a mistake from time to time.
- Jeff
We've gotten quite a bit (for here that is) of snow the past 2 weeks and VDOT seems to have gotten seriously happy with the sand and salt. So many spinning brush car washes with super long lines of Beamers, Porsches, vettes, really nice diesel trucks....just can't believe they can't put 2 and 2 together and realize the salt and sand from the guy in front of them is going on the brushes that will then clean their car :shrug:
There's still a few true "touchless" washes around here, getting harder and harder to find though and I'm sure their chemicals are just great on the paint. I like the do it yourself/"quarter monster" ones that let you go to town on the underside to get all that salt off.
Least spring is almost here along with a good coat of wax.
Really sorry to hear about your rack and damage though. Everyone makes a mistake from time to time.
- Jeff
Windy City Was and Wax. I used them a couple of weeks ago. Great little setup they have. It is definitely time consuming. I went on a Sat and it was 90 minutes. Had I been 1 minute later, it would have been over 2 hours.
gm350reratliff
New member
Yes, that was the place. I think I "only" waited an hour but I had some forum surfing to do so it wasn't so bad. I'll definitely go back when I'm in Vegas again.
Brique
New member
Workin' a little side action to get some discounts, eh? Shake it if ya got it, I say.
Mikedezzy
New member
hahaha.. nice catch!
Workin' a little side action to get some discounts, eh? Shake it if ya got it, I say.
A/V1
New member
Ouch! What happened, Cookie? :wow2:
tH1e swiN1e
New member
Hand wash or nothing.... had an automatic wash damage my mercedes last year. Wipers ripped off a washer blade and then the air dryer blew off my locking gas door. Totally their fault and they tried to deny it even happened in their facility, kept saying my car was junk lol. Once I contacted mercedes and they called to explain to them how unjunky my car was and that it was the machines fault it was all taken care of.
I know its not exactly like your situation but those auto washes are trouble and they will always deny its their fault regardless of proof.... Hand Wash.
I know its not exactly like your situation but those auto washes are trouble and they will always deny its their fault regardless of proof.... Hand Wash.
CookieRoe
Senior Member
Brad,
This happened:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/99667-fried-ecu-wire-harness-2-months-later.html
What's very funny is that I'll be installing the very projectors that fried that fateful day sometime soon (this or next week). I had those retros redone recently.
After that sickening ordeal, when I approach a "mod project", I study it. Intensively. Before interior panels come out, I have everything drawn up (literally) so I don't screw up. If a project is too "electronic intensive", I walk away. Also, I've learned how to use a multimeter. I've learned to respect the electrical system and not "do things half a$$ed" (bad wiring/bad craftsmanship/etc). When I come at a difficult part of a project, I don't soldier on, I stop to asses what's happening and where I (if) went wrong. Works. I can't tell ya how many times this saved my butt.
So yeah, I feel for the OP. Tough lesson learned.
A/V1
New member
Holy crap, Ed! I read through your original post, and I couldn't help but think that would be like getting repeatedly kicked in your man-parts. I don't even want to think what I would have done, or how I would have felt.
:frusty: :repuke:I'm sure you'll be checking, and re-checking every step you do when you go to reinstall those lights!
Mikedezzy, I feel for you as well. Any time you have damage to your vehicle, no matter who's at fault, just plain sucks. I hope they got the sunroof corrected properly, or you'll have a lot more wet seats, to say the least. And hopefully all that moisture inside didn't / doesn't cause any mold, mildew, or associated smells that you can't get out, or electrical issues due to corrosion, etc.
You know this type of thing must happen maybe not often, but probably more often than we might hear about. Why else would they have those liability signs up, you know?
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