car damaged in carwash

George_Michael

bigjl wrote: »

The IMO near me has a damage waiver sign as you drive in.

Signs such as the one you mention are totally worthless as far as the law for a couple of reasons.


1/ You can't disclaim yourself out of damage caused by negligence or faulty equipment, (I'm not saying that the car wash was faulty in this case),
&
2/ More importantly, if the only sign is at the entrance to the car wash, this means that you only get to read the terms that it states after you have paid and received your car wash ticket/token.
Therefore the car was operator is attempting to add terms to the contract after that contract has already been formed.

bigjl

codierose wrote: »

i cant say i have ever seen one unless its that small you cant read it unless your stood in front of it.
dont know if it damaged the car before or after i was the only one there at the time.
damaged is to my roof hope it wasn't loose and no its not a convertible.
i had roof bars on and the bars got caught up. wasn't until i reported the incident the operator said he was not supposed to let cars through with roof racks.

You went through an automated CarWash with roof bars on?

Every automatic CarWash I have driven through has had a sign specifically pointing out that doing that would be likely to cause damage.

Would you be complaining if you drove through with your sunroof open or window down because you got wet?

bigjl

George_Michael wrote: »

Signs such as the one you mention are totally worthless as far as the law for a couple of reasons.


1/ You can't disclaim yourself out of damage caused by negligence or faulty equipment, (I'm not saying that the car wash was faulty in this case),
&
2/ More importantly, if the only sign is at the entrance to the car wash, this means that you only get to read the terms that it states after you have paid and received your car wash ticket/token.
Therefore the car was operator is attempting to add terms to the contract after that contract has already been formed.

The IMO washes I have used have taken payment as you enter the wash. They are not fully automated such as those in a petrol station and the warning signs are clearly displayed where you que.

I think you might be thinking about the automated washes attached to a petrol station where you buy a ticket inside.

But in that case the disclaimers have been positioned beside the till, on the same sign as the prices.

The OP has now said they had roof bars fitted. Simple common sense would probably indicate that was not the cleverest thing to do. And might explain why INO where not interested.

Though on the few occasions I have used an IMO the attendant has insisted I unscrew the aerial before going through.

So I can't really see how this attendant missed roof bars. Though everybody makes mistakes but relying on others to catch your lack of basic common sense and trying to blame other later is not cricket.

mcpitman

codierose wrote: »

i had roof bars on and the bars got caught up. wasn't until i reported the incident the operator said he was not supposed to let cars through with roof racks.

This has to be a wind up. Or the OP is galactically stupid.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Don't be surprised if a counter claim arrives for damage to the car wash from roof bars caught in the brushes flailing around clouting everything in their path.

Tilt

Can the OP clarify that he has 'roof bars' (as in a permanent fixed feature usually found on estate cars) or a 'roof rack' which is a temporary attachment to the roof?

bigjl

Tilt wrote: »

Can the OP clarify that he has 'roof bars' (as in a permanent fixed feature usually found on estate cars) or a 'roof rack' which is a temporary attachment to the roof?

In an earlier post the OP said he had roof bars and then stated that the person man if the CarWash said he shouldn't have let somebody through with a roof rack.

The only assumption would be it was a roof rack made up of two bars.

I have gone through car washes multiple times with vehicle equipped with the kind of roof bars that factory fitted and point front to back rather than side to side as I suspect the OPs where.

I think it would be rather difficult for car wash brushes to get stuck in a front to rear mounted roof bar to be honest.

Tilt

bigjl wrote: »

In an earlier post the OP said he had roof bars and then stated that the person man if the CarWash said he shouldn't have let somebody through with a roof rack.

This is the key issue. These IMO car washes have attendants who usually carry out a pre-wash by hand and then directs the driver into the car wash itself. It follows that the attendant could be deemed (at the very least partially) responsible for allowing/directing the OP into the car wash when it was surely obvious it had something on the car which was likely to cause damage.

I think the OP has a case but would advise speaking to a solicitor.

AdrianC

codierose wrote: »

I received a prompt replay saying they are only landlords and they can ensure me their equipment was in perfect working order on the day of the incident and they are referring it back to the tenant.

That sounds perfectly feasible. The parent company are likely to own the site and let it to an operating tenant, perhaps as a franchise. Maintenance and all operational liabilities are the operating tenant's responsibility. Marketing, branding etc are all part of the parent's responsibility.

photome

Tilt wrote: »

This is the key issue. These IMO car washes have attendants who usually carry out a pre-wash by hand and then directs the driver into the car wash itself. It follows that the attendant could be deemed (at the very least partially) responsible for allowing/directing the OP into the car wash when it was surely obvious it had something on the car which was likely to cause damage.

I think the OP has a case but would advise speaking to a solicitor.

I think the OP should know that to go through a mechanical car wash with something that is attached to the car is stupid.

There used to be a time when one would accept responsibility rather than blame someone else

why do some people need signs or a human to tell them the obvious.