Federal Court of Justice: Damage to the car wash – car driver wins at the Federal Court of Justice

A driver drives his car into the car wash. He parks the car, gets out and starts the washing process. Suddenly there is a crack and the rear spoiler falls at his feet. The man is suing the operator of the system for damages. What follows is a legal battle lasting years – which ends happily for him. At the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe he was proven right in the third and final instance.

According to the Federal Court of Justice’s decision, car washes must generally be liable if a vehicle is damaged during a wash. According to the judges in Karlsruhe, the decisive factor for this is that the car is standard and properly equipped. For example, it must not have been tuned or previously damaged. If a car wash is not suitable for a marketable vehicle due to its design, this risk is not borne by the driver, but by the system operator. (Af. VII ZR 39/24)

Car was equipped as standard

The case being heard in Karlsruhe is so interesting precisely because it is clear that both the car and the car wash were previously in proper condition, the presiding judge, Rüdiger Pamp, emphasized at the oral hearing at the end of October. The spoiler attached to the end of the roof was part of the car’s standard equipment. The rear of the vehicle was also damaged when the spoiler was torn off.

Driver Bernard Storm then sued the operator of the system in Tecklenburger Land for damages amounting to more than 3,200 euros. The lower courts disagreed on the matter. Initially, the Ibbenbüren district court convicted the operator of the car wash as requested. However, upon his appeal, the Münster Regional Court dismissed the lawsuit. The plaintiff from Rheine in North Rhine-Westphalia filed an appeal against this – the case ended up at the highest German civil court.

Gas station violated its duty of protection

The Karlsruhe court now agreed with Storm and reinstated the district court’s verdict. The defendant gas station that operates the car wash must pay him the full amount of the damages demanded. The system was therefore in good condition, but simply not suitable for the plaintiff’s car. According to the Seventh Civil Senate, the gas station must be liable for this.

For plaintiff Storm, the years-long legal battle was worth it in the end. “I think it was a groundbreaking verdict. There are many thousands of people in Germany every year who are affected by similar damage. That’s why it was worth it,” said the plaintiff. “I’m obviously relieved that I won.”

According to the Karlsruhe judges, system operators must fulfill their obligation to protect vehicles from damage during the washing process. The operator has the power to exclude certain vehicle models from using his system. However, customers are often unable to assess whether their car is compatible with the system before washing. Therefore, they should have reasonable confidence that their vehicle will come out of the car wash undamaged, said Judge Pamp.

“Significant consequences” for the industry

“This ruling obviously has significant consequences for the industry as a whole,” says Hans-Joachim Rühlemann from the North-East Garage and Gas Station Industry Association. The operators’ insurance companies could increase premiums as a result of the ruling. Ultimately, the additional costs would reach the customer through price increases.

The BGH ruling increases the requirements for the operators of car washes and car washes, commented the managing director of the Federal Association of Independent Gas Stations, Stephan Zieger. “Operators must pay more attention than before to vehicle equipment so that damage to the customer can be avoided.”

Despite his negative experience, plaintiff Storm did not switch to hand washing. “Immediately after the damage, I drove the same car into a very similar car wash,” says the plaintiff. “And since then I have repeatedly washed several of my cars in car washes.”