Lude Generation

There was a car wash near us that changed hands a three or four years ago. The new owners invested £100,000+ and we finally had somewhere we could trust when short of the time needed for a proper hand wash. I used it perhaps twice a year.

It changed hands again last year. I tried it again; it was fine.

But now I've learned how to get a rear windscreen wiper this shape:-




You have to break something:-




And there's collateral damage:-






The wiper had been caught by the 'fronds' on the large horizontal roller, torn off and wrapped around the drum. Luckily, there was no vehicle behind me: I'd hate to think what its paint would have looked like after being washed by a steel wiper arm.

I still don't know how the Integra's glass survived when the die-cast boss was pull hard enough to tear.

Lo
Glad You didn't get any more damage
Cheers
Toadster

ive never trusted any drive-through car wash, only a hand wash & pressure washer if on the rare occasion i dont have time at home with my own. gutted to see this though Sailor

That's terrible Sailor, is the car wash going to take responsibility for the damages?

yeah thats sad to see - ive always avoided car washes since i lost a wind deflector off the lude going thru one.
i think most if not all the drive thru car washes have a notice up saying its at your own risk so doubt they will pay up unless there has been a malfunction with the machine.

tom023 wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 8:46 am

That's terrible Sailor, is the car wash going to take responsibility for the damages?

Well, they do have a stack of pre-printed complaint forms!

vanzep wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 9:51 am

yeah thats sad to see - ive always avoided car washes since i lost a wind deflector off the lude going thru one.
i think most if not all the drive thru car washes have a notice up saying its at your own risk so doubt they will pay up unless there has been a malfunction with the machine.

I normally avoid them, too, but this one had been pretty good and I used for the first time only after a couple of mates had already been through.
The lead operator said he thought the head office would reply within 5 working days. he then told me that they had settled after an incident with a "£100,000 Mercedes". (He didn't elaborate.)

The facility is part of a large chain (IMO), so I'd expect them to have some relevant standard operating procedures.

Sailor wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 6:06 pm

tom023 wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 8:46 am

That's terrible Sailor, is the car wash going to take responsibility for the damages?

Well, they do have a stack of pre-printed complaint forms!

vanzep wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 9:51 am

yeah thats sad to see - ive always avoided car washes since i lost a wind deflector off the lude going thru one.
i think most if not all the drive thru car washes have a notice up saying its at your own risk so doubt they will pay up unless there has been a malfunction with the machine.

I normally avoid them, too, but this one had been pretty good and I used for the first time only after a couple of mates had already been through.
The lead operator said he thought the head office would reply within 5 working days. he then told me that they had settled after an incident with a "£100,000 Mercedes". (He didn't elaborate.)

The facility is part of a large chain (IMO), so I'd expect them to have some relevant standard operating procedures.

good luck Sailor, keep us posted.

tom023 wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 8:40 pm

good luck Sailor, keep us posted.

Very little to report, other than Honda telling me they can't find a replacement even in Japan ...
I think I need to find someone with a DC2 that's actually still got its wiper fitted, just to see if they're similar enough to use.