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The damage was minimal but I am **** about trying to take care of the car and not tear it up more. With her being up on the nose it really didn't do much damage, guess I was lucky......Besides the OBVIOUS broken commandment of taking it to a car wash.....
A good detailer can get the spider web scratches out of the clear coat on the nose from the reflections but, that scratch is going to need some paint......
Being pretty tough on the guy aren't we? Not everyone has had the "opportunity" to encounter the cop/insurance/lawyer/legal/justice system cabal up close. But with experience does come wisdom, doesn't it?
To the OP, very sorry this happened. You will obviously gain some wisdom from this. First when 'stuff' happens gather as much info as you can and WRITE it down. In this age of cell phone cameras take pictures, you need to have documentation to protect your options, both offensively and defensively.
At this point your options are somewhat limited. Take the car wash's offer or pursue a claim with your insurance as I take it you have no id on the other driver. To help you decide I would take the advice offered above and go to a reputable body shop for an estimate. With that in hand you can decide on the car wash offer, or not.
If you pursue and insurance claim it WILL be reported to the CarFax agencies. If you hang around here long enough you'll see that a CarFax accident report is a death sentence to future buyer's of your car.
So I, at this point would go to a body shop and learn what they would do to fix the damage and the $$$ and go negotiate with the car wash. Hopefully you can come to an agreement. If not you might just have to bump into the cop/insurance/lawyer/legal/justice system cabal.
Whew!! You got bruised up enough already, I'm sure you've gotten the messages. I'll just offer a standard practice of mine when driving any really low car, like my lowered 911 or my vettes. I try to leave extra space between me and the vehicle in front to allow me time/space to react if they back up for any reason. If the vehicle in front is a high SUV type (Suburban, Expedition etc) or any kind of truck, I stay way back, way, way back or if possible, change lanes. Low vehicles just disappear to the operators of those big high behemoths if you are close. Anyway, sorry for the damage to your baby, hope it all worked out. Sometimes responses here are a little harsh, but well intended. Take good care!
Last edited by friou; 05-15-2017 at 04:50 PM.
Reason: add
Whew!! You got bruised up enough already, I'm sure you've gotten the messages. I'll just offer a standard practice of mine when driving any really low car, like my lowered 911 or my vettes. I try to leave extra space between me and the vehicle in front to allow me time/space to react if they back up for any reason. If the vehicle in front is a high SUV type (Suburban, Expedition etc) or any kind of truck, I stay way back, way, way back or if possible, change lanes. Low vehicles just disappear to the operators of those big high behemoths if you are close. Anyway, sorry for the damage to your baby, hope it all worked out. Sometimes responses here are a little harsh, but well intended. Take good care!
Yeah, I got enough asshat replies but I don't "bruise" easily and really care zero about what those people say so "IF" they wanted to teach me anything they went about it the wrong way.
As for the rest, I wash my car by hand but when I have to because of time constraints i WILL USE THE CAR WASH.
I didn't even know she was ahead of me due to the curtain of felt strips hanging but yeah I always allow extra time & space and drive EXTREMELY defensively. Contrary to the belief of one member I am NOT 21.....I am 51 and have never had an accident before in my life.
Due to it being on private property the police around here won't do much of anything about it. I got an incident report from the manager of the establishment and if it didn't buff out from their detail shop then the convenience store / car wash would have had to fixed the front end and paint the car.
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Originally Posted by C5 Newb
Yeah, I got enough asshat replies
What did you expect?
I worked at an automatic car wash years ago. I'm aware of the damage they cause without interaction with another vehicle.
From the pics you got of lucky. Corvettes are "typically" low enough to cause problems, wheels, exhaust...
Yeah, I got enough asshat replies but I don't "bruise" easily and really care zero about what those people say so "IF" they wanted to teach me anything they went about it the wrong way.
As for the rest, I wash my car by hand but when I have to because of time constraints i WILL USE THE CAR WASH.
I didn't even know she was ahead of me due to the curtain of felt strips hanging but yeah I always allow extra time & space and drive EXTREMELY defensively. Contrary to the belief of one member I am NOT 21.....I am 51 and have never had an accident before in my life.
Due to it being on private property the police around here won't do much of anything about it. I got an incident report from the manager of the establishment and if it didn't buff out from their detail shop then the convenience store / car wash would have had to fixed the front end and paint the car.
Don't take some of the responses too personally, verbal/written sniping is just a part of forum life. Please don't write the forum off, stick with it. This forum is an incredible source of knowledge and generally speaking forum members are extremely helpful in providing that knowledge to anyone who asks for it. Fabulous resource! Best wishes and take care!
If I had a Lamborghini, I would never take it to a car wash or at least I don't think I would.
I never understand these car wash bashing threads,.....if it ain't your car, don't worry about it. These are not some irreplaceable classic, I saw a post yesterday where a guy bought a nice vert for $9k with under 100k mi.
Im quite certain more Vettes are damaged on the street...on sunny days, then at car washes.
I had a lady back into my car last fall (not in a car wash). Scuffed it up pretty good. I had cleaned and buffed it out and thought it all came out, until I looked at it again in the sunlight.
I had a friend who owns a body shop work his magic, and he was able to get much more out, but there was still some "smudges" and "swirls". Looking at some of your pics, looks like you have some of those micro swirls and smudges too. I've since used Chadwick's Triple Play and their "paint correction" kit, and now, nothing left and the finish looks fantastic!!
Car looks AWESOME! But with black cars as soon as you clean them they are dirty again
Backed up a foot onto the nose of your car and left 3 buff able scratches? The car wash will consider the detail and buff compensation for damaging your car. It also constitutes acceptance of guilt/responsibility. I wouldn't let them touch my car. I would have gotten the women's info, license insurance etcetera and then contacted my insurer. Then go to a reputable body shop and obtain an estimate. Lastly no vehicle has a feature that will automatically shift your trans into reverse and start backing up. Front and rear proximity sensors sound an alert/alarm and apply the brakes. If the SUV sensed an issue in the front it would have also sensed you in the back. Car wash is blowing smoke. Good luck.
I had a Pontiac Grand Prix (1978?) years ago and was going thru a car wash when I heard this loud thump/bang. After exiting I found the top right fender had a big impact dent at a fold in the sheet metal. Spoke with the manager and they paid for body repair which turned out well. You just never know when machinery like that can go awry. Glad your damage wasn't worse and outcome ultimately was good.
agreed .. I used to work at an auto car wash in my teens . I saw what they do I saw what kind of cars ( farmers and mud boggers )were brought through the wash covered in feces and thick mud .. also saw nice cars get damaged halfway through it from old people applying the brakes and cars colliding and you can't see because your windshield is covered in soap .in fact I was asked to appear in court because I witnessed this before at my work . You are taking a stupid risk by not washing it at home . Those brushes and felt ribbon hanging things are covered in dirt and crud particles at the end of day .car wash bays are dirty places with dirt everywhere .plus the steel track will give your rims a bad curb rash or rip off your front splitter . I saw a Porsche get the front fascia hung up and several of us had to literally tear that car off the track
05-15-2017, 03:16 PM
or at least I don't think I would.
