Car wash damage claim checklist and incident form
When a customer says your wash damaged their car, fill in an incident form before they drive off, save the camera clips for that car (before entry, during the wash, after exit) the same day, and photograph the damage and the VIN. Then compare the before and after footage, check the cars washed just before and after it, and give the customer one clear next step with a date. If you can't settle it on the spot, send the whole file to your insurer.
This page is a working checklist for tunnel and in-bay automatic operators. Print it, keep a copy at every pay station, and use the same form at every site. It's written by an operator-facing build team, not a lawyer or an insurer, so check the details with your own insurer.
Updated November 13, 2026.
Quick answer
When a customer says the wash damaged their car, fill in the incident form before they leave, pull and lock the entrance, tunnel or bay, and exit clips for that car the same day, and photograph the damage and the VIN. Then compare before and after, check the cars washed just before and after, and give the customer one clear next step and date. Send anything you can't settle to your insurer with the file.
What should you do in the first 10 minutes?
- Stay calm and listen. Let the customer show you the damage. Don't argue and don't agree.
- Find the transaction. Get the receipt, member ID or plate so you can tie the claim to one wash, one lane and one time.
- Photograph everything with a timestamp: the damage up close, the whole side of the car, the VIN plate through the windshield, the plate, the odometer if relevant, and anything loose on the car (racks, antennas, aftermarket parts, cracked trim).
- Fill in the incident form below with the customer there, and have them read and sign it.
- Give one next step: "We'll review the video and call you by [day]." Write that date on their copy.
Some POS and pay-tablet systems now have this built in. FlexWash, for example, lets an attendant file a claim from the order on the tablet with a VIN photo, up to ten damage photos and a short audio recording, then routes it to a manager review queue (FlexWash docs). If yours does, use it, and make sure the fields below are covered.
The incident form
Copy this into your own form or print it. One form per vehicle.
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Site and lane or bay | Site name, tunnel or bay number |
| Date and time of the wash | From the receipt or POS, to the minute |
| Time the claim was reported | And who took it |
| Customer name and phone | As given |
| Receipt, order or member number | So the wash ties to one transaction |
| Plate and VIN | From the photo, not from memory |
| Vehicle | Year, make, model, colour, and any lift kit, roof rack, ladder rack or aftermarket parts |
| Wash package | Package name, any add-ons |
| What the customer says happened | In their words |
| Damage location | Panel or part, with photo numbers |
| Visible on arrival? | Fill in after the video review: yes, no, can't tell |
| Cars washed just before and after | Order numbers, and whether either reported anything |
| Equipment notes | Any alarm, stop or fault on that lane in the hour |
| Next step promised | What, by whom, by what date |
| Staff member and customer signatures | Both |
Which camera clips answer most claims?
The clip that matters most is the one from before the car touched anything. Without it, you can only show the car came out damaged. An entrance camera shows the condition going in; tunnel cameras show contact; an exit camera shows whether the damage was there coming out. As one video security vendor put it to DRB, without cameras at the end "you'll only be able to show that there was no scratch when they entered the wash" (DRB).
| Angle | What it proves | Tunnel | In-bay automatic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay station or entrance, both sides | Condition before the wash, loose items, roof racks | Must have | Must have |
| Prep or loading | Whether staff touched the car, mirrors folded, antenna down | Must have | Not usually |
| Along the tunnel or inside the bay | Contact with brushes, wraps, arches, the gantry | Several, spaced along the conveyor | One or two covering the gantry path |
| Exit, both sides | Condition coming out | Must have | Must have |
| Vacuums and lot | Damage after the wash (hoses, doors, other cars) | Helpful | Helpful |
Save the right clips the same day. Pull from the moment the car reached the pay station to the moment it left the lot. Export them, name them with the site, lane, date and order number, and lock them so the recorder doesn't overwrite them. Do this even if you expect the claim to go away: many systems only keep a few days of video, and a claim that comes back by email a week later is very hard to answer without it.
How do you review the claim?
- Before vs after. Compare the damaged area on the entrance clip and the exit clip. If it's on the entrance clip, it was there on arrival.
- During. Watch the car through the tunnel or bay. Look for a brush or wrap catching something, a car stopping or rolling, or the gantry touching the vehicle.
- Neighbours. Check the cars just before and after. If the same equipment hit two cars, you likely have an equipment problem, not a one-off.
- Equipment log. Check for alarms, stops or resets on that lane around that time.
- Vehicle fit. Check height, width, and anything the wash menu or signs say it can't take.
- Decide and write it down: paid, partly paid, declined with video, or sent to the insurer. Note who decided and why.
What about oversized vehicles in an in-bay automatic?
Some claims run the other way: a vehicle that's too tall or carrying a rack hits the gantry and damages your equipment. The same footage that answers a customer claim shows what the vehicle was carrying, where it stopped and what it hit. If you claim against the driver's insurer, that clip and a signed incident form are what they'll ask for first. Ask your insurer what they need from you for that kind of claim, and keep the clip and form together.
What should staff not say?
- "That's our fault" or "we'll fix it" before anyone has reviewed the video.
- "That was already there" before anyone has reviewed the video.
- A dollar amount or a body shop name, unless the manager has decided.
- Anything about the customer's driving or their car's condition.
- Anything on social media or in a review reply beyond "please contact us, we'll look into it."
What staff can say: "I'm sorry this happened. Let's write it down together, I'll get the video reviewed, and we'll call you by [day]."
When should you involve your insurer?
When the damage is more than you'd pay without a fight, when the customer brings in their own insurer or a lawyer, when someone was hurt, or when the video doesn't settle it. Your insurer will tell you what they need. Send the signed incident form, the photos, the locked clips and your review notes as one file. This page isn't legal or insurance advice; check your policy and your insurer's claim steps.
How do you keep claims down across several sites?
Track every claim on one list with the same fields at every site: date, site, lane, package, vehicle type, damage area, decision and amount. Once a month, look for repeats: one lane, one piece of equipment, one shift, one vehicle type. A cluster usually points to a brush, a wrap or a loading habit you can fix. Equipment checks before opening and staff watching for loose items and truck beds prevent many claims in the first place, a point DRB and Superior Car Wash Supply both make (Superior Car Wash Supply).
How Trilix fits
We build the camera side of this so nobody hunts through a recorder. On the cameras you already have, each wash is tied to its order number and plate, so pulling the before, during and after clips for a claim takes one search. Claims, decisions and amounts land on an owner dashboard by site and lane, next to car counts and sales. More on the car wash side on our car wash analytics page and in car wash cameras with AI.
Frequently asked questions
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly or call 416-262-2723.
What should a car wash incident report include?
The site, lane and exact time of the wash, the order or member number, the plate and VIN, the vehicle and anything aftermarket on it, the customer's account in their words, the damage location with photos, the next step promised, and both signatures. Add the video review result once it's done.
How long should a car wash keep camera footage?
Long enough to cover the time it takes a claim to reach you, which can be days. Whatever your recorder keeps, export and lock the clips for a car as soon as a claim is reported, from the pay station to the lot exit.
Which cameras matter most for damage claims?
Entrance cameras on both sides, so you can show the car's condition before the wash, and exit cameras on both sides, so you can show its condition after. Tunnel or bay cameras then show any contact in between.
Does a car wash have to pay for damage?
It depends on what the video shows, your posted terms and your insurance policy. Review the footage, decide case by case, and ask your insurer or lawyer about anything you can't settle. This checklist isn't legal advice.
Can a car wash claim against a driver whose vehicle damaged the equipment?
It's usually handled through the driver's insurer, and the video and a signed incident form are the core of it. Ask your own insurer what they need from you.
Can software handle car wash damage claims?
Some car wash POS and pay-tablet systems capture claim photos and route them for review, and camera platforms let you search clips. The steps above still apply: the same form, the same clips and one decision log at every site.
Keep reading
- Car wash analyticsCar counts, membership and call data for every site on one screen.
- TrixLink camera analyticsCar counts, bay time and a POS audit on cameras you already have.
- Car wash camera AIWhat camera AI tracks at a wash, and what it costs.
- Spot AI alternativeVideo AI agents for security and car wash lots vs cameras matched to sales and memberships.
- Car washMembership calls, churn saves and lane counts.
Want claims to take one search instead of an hour?
Tell us your POS, membership system and cameras, and we'll show you how each wash can be tied to its clips and how claims would look by site.