Singaporean hit with $900 repair bill after JB car wash worker's polishing demo goes wrong

An impromptu decision to engage the services of a car wash facility in JB turned into a nightmare for a Singapore driver after his vehicle was defaced.

He has reportedly been unable to receive compensation for the damage, which will cost an estimated $900 to repair.

The driver, surnamed Lee, told Shin Min Daily News he had visited the facility in Taman Maju Jaya on Sept 29. The facility is about 15 minutes drive away from Woodlands Checkpoint. 

When he enquired on the price of a car wash, an employee deflected his questions and insisted on polishing his car, pressing the machine to its bonnet for a demonstration.

When the machine was lifted, however, large and obvious spiral marks were left on the bonnet. The worker then returned the machine to the facility owner and fled, according to Lee.

"I asked the boss who should compensate me. He told me to pay RM450 (S$139) for a full car polish and said he would fix the marks, but it couldn't be removed," he told Shin Min.

The owner then brought down the charge to RM100, before eventually offering the polishing service for free after subsequent attempts to remove the marks failed.

When Lee demanded compensation from the facility owner after his repair efforts failed, the man reportedly turned aggressive and said he was not the culprit, and did not have money.

He was told to seek compensation directly from the employee responsible for the marks.

Lee later arranged for his car to be sent to a local workshop on Monday (Oct 7), with repairs costing an estimated $900 to his bonnet.

According to Shin Min, the car wash has a low Google rating of only 1.8 stars, with many reviewers claiming that the staff would hard sell their buffing and polishing services.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com