Mechanic thought he was doing me a favor

dude that sucks. Whenever I drop my car off anywhere i always tape a do not wash sign on the drivers side window

yes, tell them to pay. I fortunately have not had to take my cars to a shop. If I ever do, it will be noted on the service slip not to wash or lean any cloths against the paint or they will be responsible for a $500 correction.

That does suck. That first pic is amazing. I definitely think you're right for calling them. If anything maybe they'll at least ask in the future.

I don't know why repair shops do such thing that's one of the reasons why I am glad that I am a auto technician/auto detailer but they should not touch a persons paint/ask before taking it in there own hands

I used to do contract work for a dealership. They'd ALWAYS run every car brought in for service thru their 1995 old school automated wash. The pads, cloths, etc hadn't been touched the whole time I worked there. I remember one guy throwing a huge fit about his 911 being scratched to hell and the DETAIL MGR saying he didn't see any real scratches. I took a look and it looked like it was driven thru a thornbush. Needless to say... I always say do not wash, touch, or even look at the paint. They know why when they see the paint...

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I am so sorry. I had the same thing happen to me at Carson city dodge... Long story short they refused to fix it even after going all the way up to the general manager who I quote "we don't do botch work this is the work of some one who isn't competent enough to wash a car. Our techs are skilled so this must be your doing" believe me when I say I was f'ing furious. It was a very VERY long process that went nowhere. Tried filing an insurance claim and the shop quoted me at $1700 but then gave a quote to my insurance company for $300 which was under my deductible so my insurance wouldn't cover it. I call the body shop saying ### is going on and they were like " well if we gave your insurance company a quote for $1700 they wouldn't no longer do business with us so unfortunately this you will have to pay out of pocket. But if you want we can take $300 of your $1700 estimate. We also need to remind u this is an ESTIMATE" I about lost my mind at this point. The experience is actually the reason I joined this forum so I could fix the paint my self. Not to mention it wasn't only my paint it was also all my glass and my 4 day old blacked out tail lights. To be honest it still to this day boils my blood. But from my experience here is what you should do.

Call them asap and talk to a manager. Explain the situation. Print some before pics out to show how well you have taken care of your car. Meet with them to show the damage and do what ever you can to get them to fix it. Take pictures.

If they refuse to fix it go to your local court house and file a claim for punitive and irreparable damages.

Be firm with these ppl. They messed your car up they need to fix it. If your gardner killed your lawn you wouldn't go and buy sod to fix it your self. Why should you. The shop has insurance make them realize they are idiots so it doesn't happen to others. This is one of your most expensive investments is it ok for them to vandalize it and not be held responsible? Absolutely not. "F" them and all other companies that get away with this on a daily basis. You should not have to fix some one else's mistake just because you know how to.

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Another horror story, I'm so sorry.

It looks like you have plenty of evidence to show it was their fault. Where I'm from you can use for up to $3000 in small claims court without needing legal counsel. If I'm not mistaken, corporate law requires them to have legal counsel in all forms of litigation so even the threat of going to court should be enough to make them realize it would be cheaper just to take care of their mistake the easy way. I would not let this go, you work too hard on your paint for some kid to make it look like that. Think of it like this, if I showed up to your house, rang your bell and told you I just painted your fence and now you had to pay me, would you? You didn't ask for them to wash your car, you never signed off on that on the repair order I'm sure, why should you have to cover the cost of fixing their botched work?


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All the stress involved going back, getting mad at people, trying to get them to pay, filling claims. Not worth it to me, I would chalk it up as a learning experience, and polish the car back yourself the way you want it.

Whos to say a body shop will buff it out right, to your expectations, because they probably wont.

Lakeside Detail said:

All the stress involved going back, getting mad at people, trying to get them to pay, filling claims. Not worth it to me, I would chalk it up as a learning experience, and polish the car back yourself the way you want it.

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:iagree:

Despite being an pesimist and a synic, my thought is they wash the cars as an extra service so you get your car back better than they did when you dropped it off. The vast majority of the motoring public are thrilled. It's only the execution that goes wrong.

It is terribly frustrating that people won't simply do what is asked, but life is too short to go through the hassle. Scratch it up to another opportunitiy to practice you technique or try new products.

^^ I agree with these 2 previous posts. Learn next time to put a sign "Do Not Wash." I learned my lesson already as well.

i would speak with them and politely explain what they did wrong and make clear that the next time you have your car there not to wash it....or you could take them to small claims court like a jerk and blackball yourself from the shop, and any other shops who the people at that shop interact with. it isn't like you brought your car into the place to get the coil pack replaced and they screwed up something and tried to hide it, they thought they were provided good service by cleaning your car for you as so i don't see why everyone is so quick to demand money or take it to court. think of the long term consequences for pitching a fit like that.

Luckily that just looks like some marring from the pics, nothing too deep. I would try to get the shop to cover the costs of a repair from a reputable detailer.
Maybe get a quote and have them write you a check and then polish it yourself.

WOW no way!!!!

unfortunately same thing happened to me when i was getting my front bumper replaced. Who knew they would decide to "detail" the entire car inside and out!! My whole car was greasy and they did a terrible job.

jerethemiah said:

So my Saab 9-3 blew out a coilpack last week. I took to to my neighborhood indie saab shop...

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I always try to find something positive about an unpleasant situation:
I would be thankful it wasn't my neighborhood emo Saab shop that I had to take my vehicle to!!


Bob

jerethemiah said:

Thanks for all the replies guys. I have been pleased with the shop's prices and honest work so I would rather not make an enemy of them. I don't think I'll try pushing my luck to have them pay for a detail. But I plan to let them know it's scratched and maybe change their SOP to ask customers first and make a note in my file (if they have a file on me) to not wash my car. Like a couple posts have said - most customers wouldn't have noticed this and would be pleased so see their car washed and vacuumed out when they pick it up. They meant well and I think I'm just going to chalk it up as a learning experience as some have mentioned to tape a "do not wash" note to my window. So now I'm off to the autogeek store to stock up on pads and opticoat.

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:xyxthumbs: At the end of the day this is always going to be the best approach. It's still a hard pill to swallow. Sorry man!

Yeah that stinks...

So these things vary from state to state, but unfortunately if they had you sign any kind of paper work prior or after they did the damage to the car is is possible that you signed away any legal liability that may have fallen onto them. That being said I don't see where it could hurt to go an talk to them and see if you can work out some kind of deal with the owner... If he was smart he would view this as a minor cost to make a long term costumer happy. You also have the option of taking him to court, but I think that would be silly given the damage that has been done and cost to fix it. As others have said I take my car to the dealer and every time I drop it off I tell them not to wash it or add washer fluid to the tank.

JohnsHandWash&Wax said:

^^ I agree with these 2 previous posts. Learn next time to put a sign "Do Not Wash." I learned my lesson already as well.

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I put those signs in my car and they still wash it. They always say that they are a professional detail shop. I always make them see my car before I take it in and after I leave. They won't pay me to detail it, and I don't want anyone else touching my car so I have learned to just use glaze until I am finished with the 3 years free service I get with VW.

I understand why everyone here would be pissed, but you have to understand that most people would have been thrilled for a free "car wash". I doubt they will pay you anything, I would not if I was in their position. Chalk it up as a mistake and next time ask them not to wash your car for you.