I went to one of those drive in carwashes where you just stop and the cleaning things go back and forth. I figured it was safe. When I pulled in that thing that guides the wheel made a 2" scratch in 1 of my my brand-new 2017 Jaguar Matiava rims and a small chunk out of the brand new tire. I did not see any directions or warnings anywhere as I looked. In fact, I sat there for 5 minutes wondering what to do since I did not see any instruction anywhere. I finally cautiously pulled in until I saw the sign hidden (obscured) at the end of the wash area that said "go, stop or backup". It was on "go".

Do I have any recourse or am I screwed?

 

Hindsight is always 20-20. You should have taken pictures with your smartphone when that damage happened and reported it to the carwash attendant and gotten the owner's contact information to make a claim. You may be too late, but if you don't ask you don't get. If the owner rejects your claim, you can file a claim with your insurance company for the damage (assuming the cost of to refinish your wheel exceeds the deductible, which is doubtful, and the tire doesn't need to be replaced) and hope that they pursue it against the other party. But that might cause your rates to increase.

If the small chunk out of your tire is merely cosmetic and poses no hazard, you'll probably have to live with it. Have a tire shop inspect that tire for safety.

My guess is that you're screwed ... but it's only money, and the damage can be easily repaired without adversely affecting the value of your car.

 

JagGate, what Stuart said is true about contacting someone and seeing what they will do. Unfortunately my experiences with car washes is that it will be hard to prove especially if there wasn't an attendant there to talk to immediately. Sometimes threatening to post bad reviews on the internet about your experience will get you a little compensation or at least a free year of washes from a place you would never go back to, haha. Or if you have a friend that is a lawyer and can write a demand letter saying exactly what your loses are it could help. I've had a few experiences with a Vegas hotel valet (curbed a set of 10k wheels with under 200 miles on them! Still mad!), a car wash and even a paid parking lot (just 2 weeks ago in a rental) and they all ask you to fill out a claim form. Then they will say that they will send it off and we should know something within 7 days. Then about 7 days later you get a phone call saying your case was reviewed and your claim was denied. They will even send you a very nice very official letter a few days later to remind that they are jerks and don't really care what happened and/or don't believe you. I wish I had better news but that has been my experience all 3 times I've had any sort of issue. Fortunately the mobile repair wheel guy we use is a magician. But that still doesn't make getting screwed around any better. I'll be rooting for you.

 

I don't normally use this type of place but I was in a hurry and the car looked terrible from me hosing off pollen, not drying it, then it dried in the sun. I will go back today and take pictures of everything. I do not remember seeing a damage waiver sign anywhere but I will look. I don't think the damage waiver sign matters if this happened from defective equipment. It only happened on 1 wheel which is the front driver's I assume as it first went into that chute thing. Rear wheel on that side was fine. Never hurts to ask and if the evidence is enough, I'll go to small claims. The wheel will be around $500 or so from eBay or $1500 from Jaguar for a new one. Not sure it can be fixed or not it appears the clear coat was scraped off in that area down to the aluminum. I'll let them decide if they want to pay the eBay price or go to court for the Jaguar price. Tire is probably ok I don't think the chunk effects safety.

 

My experience with wheel repairs by experienced / dedicated shops - that do this kind of work (and this work only) has been excellent. Curb rash (and this includes some pretty deep damage) can almost always be repaired and the wheel repainted / clear recoated (assuming the damage is "cosmetic" which this reads to be the case). The going rate per wheel is ~ $125.00.

Suggest you Google "wheel repair" for your area and go that route vs. replacement.

 

JagGate,

Pick your battles wisely because some things simply aren't worth the aggravation. To me, this is one of those times to pay $125 to have your damaged wheel professionally refinished. Put a dollar value on your time and calculate how much you'll "spend" on your small claims court case - with no guarantee of success. Just because your wheel was damaged does not, per se, prove negligence on the part of the car wash. They probably have hundreds of cars drive through every week without any damaged wheels. How do you prove it was their fault? Bottom line is that going to court will cost more than the $125 to refinish your wheel and if/when you lose, you'll be way more aggravated than you are today.

So, take it easy, save your ammo for a more important battle, and take comfort in knowing that it only cost $125 to refinish your wheel.

The road of life is short, so enjoy the ride in your XJ.

Stuart

 

+1, Good advice.

 

Yeah good advice and what I decided to do. Not worth the effort a local shop said they will fix the wheel for $140 and it will look almost as good as new. The tire they said is superficial only no biggie. Lesson for me no more automatic car washes!!!