Toronto family claims car wash malfunction caused $3K in damage

An Toronto family claims a car wash malfunction caused nearly $3,000 worth of damage to their vehicle.

"I couldn't believe it. I was using the ultimate car wash, and it jammed up against my fender, damaging my car," Richard Pragg of Scarborough told CTV News Toronto.

On June 1, Pragg was using a Circle K automatic car wash at an Esso gas station in Scarborough when the car wash suddenly stopped.

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Pragg said when he left the car wash, he inspected his 2022 Honda Pilot and found a large dent on the passenger side.

"Their soft cloth machine malfunctioned and bumped up against my fender, causing a big dent," said Pragg. The cost of the damage would set Pragg back $2,973.

As soon as he noticed the damage, Pragg told the car wash manager what had happened; however, he was told the surveillance footage was unclear about what had taken place.

"We don't have access to their security cameras, and without dash cameras, there is no proof," said Pragg's wife, Lisa Pragg.

The family contacted Circle K and the company agreed to an investigation, but the Praggs were told there was no proof the car wash caused the dent, and the case was closed.

"We have received the complaint about this issue and are grateful it was brought to our attention. Following a thorough review by our operations team, we found no evidence of responsibility on our parent," a spokesperson for Circle K told CTV News Toronto in a statement.

CTV News Toronto visited the car wash a month after the incident and saw a sign stating that the "ultimate wash is unavailable," which Pragg said was the wash option he used.

Using an automatic car wash comes with a bit of a risk. According to Circle K's website, the company's disclaimer states it is not "liable for any damage or injury whatsoever caused by the car wash including damage caused to you, the vehicle, your property or to any person in your vehicle."

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), damage caused by a car wash could be covered by the car wash's liability policy. However, if they won't pay, the owner may have to go through their own insurance.

"If the car wash won't accept responsibility, or there are conflicting accounts of what happened, the owner of the vehicle can file a claim with their own insurance company (if they have collision/comprehensive) to have the vehicle repaired," the IBC said in a statement to CTV News Toronto.

"If the owner of the car wash is found to be responsible, the owner of the vehicle's insurance company may choose to subrogate the amount that they had paid from the owner of the car wash insurance policy," IBC added.

The Pragg family said if they decide to make a claim, they will have to pay $1,000 a deductible.

"It's quite a big expense for us when it wasn't even our fault," said Lisa.

The Praggs said they were hoping for a better outcome and will be leery of using automatic car washes in the future.