I'd always prefered the at-home-hand wash to your local DIY'er car wash, however, when the temps get cold real quick in the winter, sometimes taking it to a DIY'er carwash is more pleasing/faster then sticking your hand in a bucket of water.
However, we had the opportunity this spring to finally put in a watersoftner in the house - made a huge difference on laundry, dishes, water texture and taste. So I figured, what the heck, give it a shot on the trucks - on a HOT sunny day, mind you.
I've NEVER before walked away from my now 10yr old burgundy Rodeo for 2-3 seconds without becoming Speedy Gonzales in trying to dry it before the water spots become real noticeable.
The color that was brought out on my 2 burgundy trucks was amazing! The old Rodeo looked like it had a brand-new paint job.
It was then that it dawned on me, that the old DIY'er carwashes haven't been doing this truck any good - thankfully we've waxed this sucker at least 3 times yearly.
It was obvious as well, that the DIY'er washes leave behind a nasty haze on the paint irregardless if you spend $10-15 or even $20/wash.
Unfortunately, with living in the cold Colorado winters, the DIY'er carwash facilities are more practical then freezing; but, I'll have to think twice about doing it so often next winter versus washing it at home.