The cleanup of several hundred cars that were splattered with a tar-like gunk from a Virginia road project has not been going very well, according to the car owners.
Nearly 700 vehicles were damaged after liquid asphalt splashed on them on Minnieville Road on Aug. 8. Owners complained to the Virginia Department of Transportation, who referred them to the paving company that created the mess.
That company, Slurry Pavers, referred owners to Tackett’s Mill Car Wash in Woodbridge for a special cleaning. However, when the vehicles emerged from the washing, owners found problems with the job.
“I noticed the grill part of my car. It wasn’t like this when it went in,” said Brenda Veney, a damaged car owner. “It was black. It’s now been faded.”
Veney saw fine lines on the car body paint, which she blamed on the cleaning procedure and products the car washing company used to remove the liquid asphalt.
“That’s a lot of discoloration from the chemical or whatever they used to clean that gunk of the car,” Veney said. “It has ruined the plastic or rubber parts on the car, took the shine and sheen away from it.”
Javed Butt, owner of the Tackett’s Mill Car Wash, said he has received many emails from people who were satisfied with his company’s work. He wanted anyone who was not satisfied to contact him and work out a solution.
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“We try to work it out in a professional way,” Butt said. “I have done close to 200 cars as of today, and I do have a complaint, one or two. That’s it.”
Butt said he hired extra staff to handle the work load, cleaning about 20 cars a day. He wanted to make all the customers happy, but Veney said she had to contact an insurance adjuster.
“I told my husband this looks like I need get my boxing gloves,” she said. “Put my boxing gloves on because I might have to box around a little bit with this.”
VDOT said drivers who are unhappy with the cleaning should contact Slurry Pavers again. They said the paving company is responsible for fixing the problem, and if customers hit a brick wall, they should contact VDOT to let them know.
