Complaint Review: Lorton Station Carwash

I brought my 1994 Ford f-150 in to Lorton Station Car Wash tohave the engine steam cleaned. Owner Mike Lee explained he needed a waiver due to the age. I asked him why it was neccessary. He said there was a risk something could happen and cited only one incident had ever occurred in which the owner of a BMW had its headlights continually fog up.

To be certain before sighning the waiver I asked Mike some very specific questions. First whether they would have the engine running the entire time while cleaning it and Second whether they sprayed directly on the wires or if they tried to avoid them. Mike stated that yes the engine would be running and that they did not spray directly on the wires however the splatter gets all over the engine so there is a chance some gets everywhere.

I walked to the entrance of the carwash where they had begun cleaning the engine and found two workers there with the engine turned off spraying degreaser liquid all over the surface of the engine, wires and all. While the engine then started it cut out shortly afterwards and would not restart. They attempted drying the wires and plugs but after about 30 minutes they were not able to do anything. Mike refunded the amount of the steam clean but that still left me with the problem created by them.

I told Mike I was very annoyed as he had addressed my concerns specifically ahead of time and answered my questions without hesitation. Afterward when I questioned why they had done things differently then I was told Mike said that he didn't know exacly how they did it because he didn't steamclean the vehicles himself. This made me very upset because he should have asked someone who knew rather than answer my questions and concerns if he did not

I called AAA and had the vehicle towed to my mechanic. The next day I recieved the bad news. They had fried my Ignition coil and after a couple of hours diagnosis and the repair it cost me close to $300. I then returned to speak with Mike Lee and suggested that I wanted to settle things amicably. If he would agree to compensate me with carwashes rather than pay for the repair I would find that agreeable and figured the expense to him would be minimal. Mike would not consider any compensation and kept pointing to the initial waver. This made me more upset because I made it clear that what he told me was incorrect and had I known that I would never have agreed to it.

In short I think Mike Lee is very unethical. He knows the damage was a result of neglegence and he admitted to telling me something he did not know to be true in the first place. I recommend very strongly staying away from this location.