Have you ever thought that a car can be totally lost in a car wash? This is exactly what happened to one driver. He left his automobile at a station and went to run errands in town. When he came back it was not there and the workers had no idea where it was. They thought that the owner had taken it. In such cases, it may be difficult to place blame and it may even be harder to sue car wash places that are here today and gone tomorrow.
If you have full coverage with Comprehensive and Collision, your insurance will pay for damages sustained in a car wash, a parking lot or valet if the vendor isn’t accepting responsibility, isn’t responsible or doesn’t have insurance. If the vendor has insurance but being difficult, policyholders can still claim on their own policies and let their insurer go after the vendor.
If the vehicle was stolen when it was in someone else’s care like when you leave it with the car wash people or valet, they are responsible for it to a degree. But things still happen beyond their control and they may not be negligible in handling your auto. It is hard to prove that it was their mistake and they had anything to do with it. Yet, there are many of these practices and businesses popping everywhere and you cannot check each one’s insurance details before handing your car over to them.
In the end, what matters is that your vehicle is stolen and you have Comprehensive coverage you can claim on. Failing to find any responsible third party or their insurers, you can turn to your own auto insurance policy for compensation and they will deal with it.
If the vehicle isn’t found in a reasonable period of time, they will accept that it will not turn up and they will pay its Actual Cash Value as a settlement. If it is found and damaged, they will pay for the repairs or total it if it is beyond repair. Usually, it isn’t relevant that you left the car and the keys with someone else because it is a usual practice and most people do.
There are other ways your vehicle may sustain damages in car washes. If your car was damaged because of your mistake and you caused damages to the machine as well in the process, two of the covers on your full coverage auto insurance policy may have to pay damages. Your Liability coverage would pay for the damages you caused to the car wash machine and your Collision coverage would pay for damages to your automobile.
If it was indeed something falling onto your vehicle or machine malfunctioning and causing damages to your auto, your Comprehensive coverage would pay for the damages, if the car wash refuses to pay.
At times, the fault may be argued. For example, you may believe that the accident happened because of faulty machinery catching your automobile and they may blame you for not following instructions. There are actually experts looking into these accidents and offering opinions. Still, it may be hard to prove one way or another. In such cases, you can turn to your own vehicle insurance policy for your own damages and let them handle any liability claim they may lodge against you.
In the end, if the car wash is found at fault, your auto insurance carrier can go after them even if they already paid for your damages. Once they manage to get the money back from the insurers of the car wash, they can pay you back your deductible and peg the accident and claim down as no-fault. This would reduce the impact of the claim on your car insurance rates to minimal or none.
If you had liability only car insurance, you would have to fight with them on your own and hope that their insurers would pay for your losses. A full coverage policy would handle most damages to your vehicle even if it was your fault or someone else’s fault but denies responsibility or uninsured.
Motorists may have to pay more for a full coverage automobile insurance but the protection and peace of mind offered is much more too. That is why drivers should shop around hard to find the cheapest insurer for their circumstances so that they can afford the coverage they want more comfortably.