WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An Oakland County man is asking for answers tonight after he says his car was hit with over $600 worth in damages at a Jax Kar Wash. The car wash company says they believe it was a customer-to-customer collision.
The man reached out to our Local 4 after we covered a similar story about this happening to a man in Chesterfield.
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On Feb. 24th, Steve Rotenberg said he was pulling up for his regular car wash. As he waited in line, he noticed the car in front of him was having issues on the conveyer.
“I am probably maybe eight feet behind them,” he said.
He was on the tracks at a Jax Kar Wash location in West Bloomfield Township. Rotenberg says the attendant motioned for the car in front of him to back up.
“He puts his hand into the car, grabs the wheel and turns the wheel to adjust it because she obviously couldn’t figure it out and then she backed up again,” Rotenberg said.
Inching closer, Rotenberg says things got worse.
“She hit my car, so I immediately put it in park,” he said.
Rotenberg told Local 4 that he immediately got out and asked what happened.
“He looks at me like ‘dear in the headlights’ and doesn’t say anything,” Rotenberg said about the attendant’s reaction.
After the two cars went through the wash, he says they pulled over and exchanged information.
He went back inside and spoke to the manager.
“He was like, ‘let’s look at the video.’ You can see exactly the same thing I just told you happened on the video,” Rotenberg said. “You can see his grabbing the wheel and turning it and she backs up again.”
Rotenberg went and got an estimate of the damage. It totaled $650. He also went and filed a police report.
He got the car fixed soon after.
Around the same time, family of the person in the car that hit Rotenberg’s car reached out and they met up.
“We were negotiating and he gave me half the money,” Rotenberg said about what was given to him from the family.
But, Rotenberg still wants the other half of what he paid to have it fixed. He says he even wrote a letter.
“I wrote, ‘To Whom it May Concern, I was in an accident at your location. I was hit waiting for the vehicle in front of me to proceed. The vehicle backed into me. Your attendant told them to back up twice,’” Rotenberg said, describing the letter.
He says the manager at that location offered him a yearlong free membership.
“I said I am sorry, it sounds like to me that you’re admitting guilt, but I don’t want another membership. I want the money to replace what it’s just cost me to repair my vehicle,” he said.
Local 4 reached out to Jax.
“After a thorough review of all available information — including documentation related to the February incident — we determined that this was a customer-to-customer collision involving two guests at our West Bloomfield location,” the company said. “A Jax team member was present and provided directional guidance to the drivers involved. However, as is always the case, each driver retained full control of and responsibility for their vehicle. The collision occurred when one driver failed to follow the team member’s directions. Based on our site manager’s account of the incident and our internal review, the driver of the Porsche accepted responsibility for the collision. We have requested a copy of the official police report and will review it upon receipt. Our review of the available facts did not find evidence that Jax or any Jax team member caused or contributed to the collision. The two parties subsequently reached a direct settlement, with compensation provided by the at-fault driver. Regarding the customer’s later request for additional compensation: our records show that request was first raised on June 15, 2026 — several months after the February incident. Upon receiving it, the site manager reached out to the customer on June 17, 2026, and left a voicemail to discuss the matter further. We also note that the customer returned to and continued using Jax locations following the incident, visiting 12 times in the months that followed. Jax serves millions of customers each year across our locations, and incidents of this nature are rare. When concerns are raised, we take them seriously. We review the facts carefully and work to ensure every situation is handled fairly.
We are committed to continuous improvement in both our operations and our customer experience. That includes strengthening our escalation protocols so that customer concerns are reviewed and addressed promptly through a dedicated customer contact form on our website that gives customers a direct avenue to submit concerns and reach our support team when needed. The safety and satisfaction of our customers remain our highest priorities. We remain committed to earning and maintaining their trust at every location.”