carwash mishap

[kdkg]

Took my 90 RRC through an auto carwash the other day. Came out on the other end with one rear bumper endcap ripped off and the other one broken in half.

The CarWash manager is taking the position that it must have already been loose for it to rip off. As for the broken one, it must have already been cracked.

The manager, however, said if he ever see's it again, it will make it right by me. I am tempted to take my 88 RRC though it just to prove the point, but I am betting then I would be out the big bucks times two.

It is a nice carwash, I take my 01 Ford Wagon through it with no problems. I, however, wish I had not taken the RRC through it.

Just curious if this is a common problem. I do know that 4x4ing can rip them off, but this rig is an "on-road only" rig.

The carwash manager said that he has no notices on the subject of the RRC bumper endcaps having problems with that brand of system.

[OkieRover]

That sucks.
I know those caps are a problem. You could put the 300$ towards a nice rear bumper.

[RageRover]

This sort of thing is why, I wash my own vehicles, I just can't trust those spinning brushes to clean my truck, plus with all the mud stuck on the rover, I don't think the manager would ever let me go through anyways.

Yeah that sucks man, must look real funky.

I usually spend the extra dollar at the Do-it-yourself car washes and do it right, or i wash her at home.

[Muddy Oval]

End caps on those RR's often just fall off, so a car wash ripping them off isn't unusual. New ones are $39...

[Roverdude]

I also had an end cap ripped off in the car wash once. Luckily, one of the workers entered the machine and gave it back to me so I could reattache it. But carwashes are really one of the worst things you can do to your car. They're supposed to recycle the water and filter it etc, but there isn't any sort of regulating authority to ensure they do it right. You are so much better off in the long run just washing it yourself or finding a hand wash place.

[kdkg]

I usually do it myself, but we had a pretty good snow up here a couple of weeks ago. I took two road trips in the deep snow and had the snow/road grime all over it. Then it got warm as I went on vacation. So by the time I got back, the grime was baked on. Figured that would be the quickest way to get the rig clean.

Yeah Muddy Oval, I was looking at your site the other night pricing the endcaps. Are the after market ones comparable to the OEM? I had quoted the OEM price to the carwash manager.

I need to either try to fix them or go ahead or replace them. Been watching the prices on ebay, but dang they usually run pretty high used. I hate driving the rig with them missing.

[yieldsign2]

The aftermarket ones (at least the ones I have extras of) are a touch longer than the originals. Besides that they aren't much different.

[smileyq]

I went to one of those big time car washes 1 time and my disco came out with a tar like substance stuck all of my hood and top. Needless to say I complained that my disco came out dirtier than when it went in but they didn't seem to care. Needless to say I take mine to a do it yourself wash everytime now and well if something goes wrong there its my fault. Sorry to hear about your RRC.

[Muddy Oval]

If you are doing both, I'd go aftermarket so they match each other. There's only a very subtle difference. If my RRC had end caps, I'd get the cheap ones.