Image Credit: Click on Detroit / YouTube.A Michigan man went to get his car cleaned and left with a repair bill and a lesson in how car wash chains handle liability when things go sideways on the conveyor line.Steve Rosenberg is not the type to make noise over nothing. He had been a regular customer at the Jax Kar Wash in West Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, for long enough that pulling into that familiar line was routine. On February 24th, routine went out the window. The car in front of him was struggling to get aligned on the conveyor track, which is not exactly an unusual situation at any automated wash. What happened next, however, is the part worth talking about.According to Rosenberg, a Jax attendant physically reached into the vehicle ahead of him, grabbed the steering wheel, and attempted to guide the car into position. The vehicle then rolled backward. Twice. The second time it connected with Rosenberg's car. He put his own vehicle in park immediately, got out to assess the damage, and received what he described as a deer-in-the-headlights look from the attendant who had just been steering someone else's car. The manager reviewed the surveillance footage on the spot. Rosenberg says it showed exactly what he described: a Jax employee with hands on a wheel that was not his to touch.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe repair estimate came in at $650. A police report was filed. The family of the driver in the other car reached out, met with Rosenberg, and paid half. Jax's location manager reportedly offered a year of free membership as a gesture of goodwill. Rosenberg declined on both counts and asked for the remaining money needed to cover what his car actually cost to fix.That request, Jax says, did not arrive until recently. The company's position is that this was a customer-to-customer collision and the driver of the other car failed to follow staff directions. Nobody is disputing that an attendant gave directions. The sticking point is whether giving those directions and physically grabbing that wheel are the same thing.What Jax Kar Wash SaidJax's formal response to Local 4, which initially broke the story, framed the incident as a collision between two guests. The company stated that each driver retained full control of and responsibility for their vehicle, and that the collision occurred when one driver failed to follow team member directions.They added that Rosenberg and the other driver had already reached a direct settlement and that his request for additional compensation had not been received until recently.The Attendant's Role Changes EverythingThis is where most car enthusiasts will want to slow down and pay attention, because the liability question here is not as clean as either side would like it to be. Courts have generally examined whether a car wash exercised meaningful control over a vehicle during the wash process. When employees direct a car onto the conveyor and the machinery takes over movement, that level of involvement can create what the law recognizes as a bailment, placing a duty of ordinary care on the business.AdvertisementAdvertisementAn attendant physically steering a customer's vehicle arguably pushes that involvement even further. At the point where staff hands are on a wheel, the line between "we gave directions" and "we took action" gets harder to hold. Waivers and Disclaimers Have LimitsCar wash companies typically post liability disclaimers at the entrance, sometimes printed on receipts, sometimes on signs you only notice after the fact. Those disclaimers do not automatically absolve a business of responsibility, particularly when negligence is part of the picture.Waivers cannot shield a business from gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct, and courts have treated such disclaimers as unenforceable when conduct goes beyond ordinary carelessness. Whether an employee reaching in and steering another customer's vehicle clears that bar is a question worth asking.What Drivers Should Do When This HappensMost people leave a car wash damage incident without taking the right steps in the moment. The priorities are consistent regardless of who caused the problem: document everything with photographs before the cars move, get the names of any staff who were present, ask whether there is camera footage and request that it be preserved, and file a police report.AdvertisementAdvertisementReporting the incident promptly and keeping all documentation in one place, including receipts, photos, and written communications, gives any future insurance or legal claim the strongest possible foundation. Rosenberg checked most of those boxes, which is why his case has any traction at all. Jax Kar Wash has been operating in Michigan since 1953 and now runs more than 55 locations across the state. That footprint means they have handled damage disputes before. Whether this one gets resolved to Rosenberg's satisfaction or becomes a small claims matter remains to be seen. For now, he is still out roughly $325 and whatever patience he had left for his local car wash membership.
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