I think I'm done with drive-thru car washes

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Originally Posted By: surfstar
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
my mechanic takes his black BMW there 3 times a week for the past 8 months and there isn't a single scratch, the paint looks great.

Is that where all our water went?


No, you squirt it all out on the ground keeping your exotic non-native plants alive. Gotta keep the paradise illusion going.
crazy.gif


Seems like washing the car and changing oil are in the same "do it cause I'm a car guy" category. Next thing Nick will be moaning about going to Oil Can Henry's because it was 113 out at the exact time he wanted to change the oil... careful Nick you might lose your BITOG card!
 
Originally Posted By: surfstar
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
my mechanic takes his black BMW there 3 times a week for the past 8 months and there isn't a single scratch, the paint looks great.

Is that where all our water went?
Fortunately, Arizona has plenty of water.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: surfstar
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
my mechanic takes his black BMW there 3 times a week for the past 8 months and there isn't a single scratch, the paint looks great.

Is that where all our water went?


No, you squirt it all out on the ground keeping your exotic non-native plants alive. Gotta keep the paradise illusion going.
crazy.gif


Seems like washing the car and changing oil are in the same "do it cause I'm a car guy" category. Next thing Nick will be moaning about going to Oil Can Henry's because it was 113 out at the exact time he wanted to change the oil... careful Nick you might lose your BITOG card!
Lol the Arizona sun is starting to get to the paint a bit. Not worth it to try to make it drop dead gorgeous, especially since it doesn't get any covered parking.

I change the oil on it once a year in August-September. I have a garage at my house so I don't have a problem changing it or another car early in the morning in the shade. I actually am due for an oil change on my Camry tomorrow.
 
A rinseless wash once a week works great. I enjoy doing them unlike a traditional wash. A little exercise first thing in the morning before the sun hits. Figure around 7 to 8:30 am. Duragloss has an excellent product. Wash and protect in one step. Fill a bucket with two gallons of water and the soap, slop it on and dry off with a plush microfiber.
 
I do a weekly hand wash on the Accord, sometimes twice weekly if its dirty. I took my previous Accord to the local car wash every week for over a year before I knew any better. It inflicted plenty of swirls and made the headlights cloudy. I ended up doing some research and started hand washing after that. My current Accord has only seen hand washes during my ownership.
 
My local car wash is very good. Always the same people working there. Went to the car wash one town over once. They were maniacs. They're out of business now. Not all drive through car washes are the same.
 
Originally Posted By: John_K
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
I don't get any scratches from touch less, it just blasts my paint off completely instead.


I gave them up 25 years ago--too much damage, and too much hassle getting it fixed (and yes even on touchless ones).

John

Meh, Ive never had any damage and Ive been going for 3 or 4 years now.
Well, besides the paint, but that's Ford's garbage paint and not their fault.
Even when I had my nice blue car I only handwashed it once. Took too much time and I just didn't have the energy for it.
I have this image in my head of perfection when I hear handwash and I just don't have the skill to back that up, so its easier for me to give up and pay the $10 every couple of weeks to have the wash do it for me.
Plus when I hand wash, I get to see all the little scratches and dings in the paint and it just kills any motivation I might've had at the start.
 
Originally Posted By: gregk24
I do a weekly hand wash on the Accord, sometimes twice weekly if its dirty. I took my previous Accord to the local car wash every week for over a year before I knew any better. It inflicted plenty of swirls and made the headlights cloudy. I ended up doing some research and started hand washing after that. My current Accord has only seen hand washes during my ownership.

You have water to waste, we don't even have water to drink so I wash my cars 3-4 times a year(may be 5-6 times when we had more than 8-10" of rain a season).
 
The $3 car wash on Thomas? They do pull them in close but my guess is the guy behind you left in drive.

Hope your Grandpa's knee is okay.
 
I do the $2 wand that you use. I bring my own Meguires soap and use 2 buckets. I then put my quarters in and just use the rinse. I can't do this at the busy weekend times as the owner doesn't like it.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
The $3 car wash on Thomas? They do pull them in close but my guess is the guy behind you left in drive.

Hope your Grandpa's knee is okay.
He's feeling a bit better. Yes that's the car wash, the same one I pulled out of in the Camry 3 months ago and made it less than 2 blocks and they totaled it!
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: dishdude
The $3 car wash on Thomas? They do pull them in close but my guess is the guy behind you left in drive.

Hope your Grandpa's knee is okay.
He's feeling a bit better. Yes that's the car wash, the same one I pulled out of in the Camry 3 months ago and made it less than 2 blocks and they totaled it!


All of my trips there have been uneventful, but it sounds like you might want to find a new car wash!
 
I haave never had a problem with a touchless wash--used one yesterday, in fact, and my Vic is now white again, not pollen-yellow. I won't use any non-touchless wash after one took a very-expensive (power, heated) mirror off my Caprice many years ago.
 
I use the touchless for my Ridgeline and Fit....never had any issues with damage. Unless I had a loose part on the car or the machine falls apart in the middle of a wash...I see no reason to ever worry about damage.
I'd never use a carwash with brushes though. They DO scratch the finish. 100%. I can't even imagine putting a black car through one.....ever.

But....it is better to hand wash any car (if you do it properly...and most people don't). I only hand wash my MX5.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
It's well into the 90s early in the morning here, miserable.


You should come north. I think it was 50F when I left home this morning.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
It's well into the 90s early in the morning here, miserable.


You should come north. I think it was 50F when I left home this morning.

Check again in 6 months
smile.gif
 
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