If you value your paintwork, automated car washes are best avoided.
Brushes are great at causing horrible swirl marks in the finish, especially when they’re giant ones rotating at speed.
One GMC Yukon Denali went through such a facility and came out with something much worse than scratches.
READ MORE! Watch as Range Rover gets destroyed going through a car wash
A video posted to TikTok by Prestige Carwash Media shows the large luxury SUV entering an automated car wash in Boston, Massachusetts.
Now, anyone who’s been through one of these car washes knows that before you proceed to get your vehicle cleaned, you must have it in neutral.
Putting your car in neutral allows the vehicle to roll through the cleaning cycles consistent with other vehicles and prevents collisions during the process.
The driver, who has his window down, can be seen talking to an attendant.
Presumably they were advising him of the correct way to use the car wash.
Judging by what happens next, though, the driver clearly thought he knew better.
The Yukon Denali proceeds forward at pace with the attendant following closely behind.
Clearly panicked by what was happening, the attendant can be seen banging their hand on the rear of the vehicle trying to get the driver’s attention.
Unfortunately, it appears to be in vain, as the Denali moves deeper into the car wash.
That’s when disaster strikes.
It’s not clear whether the SUV hits a car in front or whether it collides with the arm of the giant rotating brush.
But, the driver is quick to put the Denali into reverse and back up out of there.
In doing so, the vehicle comes off the conveyor and can be seen rocking all over the place.
While we can’t see if any damage was caused to the front of the vehicle, the TikTok video shows the Denali’s wing mirror hanging off.
Apparently, $17,000 worth of damage was caused in the incident, presumably to the car wash equipment.
It’s true what they say, sometimes the lesson is more important than the journey.
