I didn’t own a car nice enough warrant being wary of automated car washes until I finally got a Car I Really Wanted: a 2012 Mustang GT just like the one below, brand new, complete with Coyote engine and frankly not much else.
For the same $25,000 or so, thanks to my X-Plan discount, I could either get a 6-cylinder Mustang with all the niceties of the Premium package, or a base GT with 412 all-American horsepower, cloth seats, and a radio (even a single-disc CD player, as I recall). I didn’t even consider the six-cylinder, and yes, I got manual – but if I could go back, I think I would have had more fun with the auto. The gearbox wasn’t particularly good, and I found it a little too easy to money-shift the thing.
Anyway, I resolved to hand-wash the Mustang, but I probably only broke out the buckets and sponges three or four times before I was over it and just went to the car wash down the street. It never seemed to harm my wife’s RAV4, and I figured any harm it might do could just be polished out – if I noticed at all, ’cause the red paint was bright. For the record, Kona Blue was my first choice, but I was extremely OK with red. And it really helped the police do their jobs, you’re welcome the police.
Now, I should explain that my local Trademark Car Wash is very nice car wash. Not touchless, but nice. That doesn’t make it any less likely grit trapped in those slappy fabric belt things will goof up my paint, but the vibe is good.
On the other hand, I would not run my Mustang (or my wife’s RAV4, for that matter) through the very sketchy car wash at the 7-Eleven on the corner. I’m pretty sure I saw sparks shooting out of the doors once, I swear. But the Honda Civic I was driving before the Mustang? I would roll the dice on 7-Eleven. I don’t see how it could have made that beater any worse, but the whole point is moot, as I really never washed it. It was silver, I live in Texas, it was fine.
And now here’s Griffin, since he piped in on Slack and has a cool car. Sighhh … I remember having a cool car.
I don’t auto wash anymore. I stopped after getting my Corvette, as the turning radius is so bad it can be scary trying to get into the drive-thru washes, and I worry about the clearance of the guide rails. Now that I have an apartment with a substantial outdoor space, I can hand-wash my cars, usually once a week. I save money, have fun in the sun, and listen to “Summertime” by Will Smith. Happy Sunday.
Mercedes Streeter
I can’t wash cars at home unless I want to piss off my condo association in the summer or freeze in the winter, so I go to those wash bays with high-pressure wands. The cool thing about wash bays is that you can bring whatever tools you want. That said, if it’s a daily or beater I don’t care that much about, I’ll go to an automatic wash with brushes.
If you live in the Midwest or the East, I don’t recommend the old-school sponge and bucket hand wash job as your only form of washing. You have to get the underbody, too. Road salt has a nasty way of getting into places that you will just never get with a simple hand wash. Go to a touchless automatic wash that has an underbody blaster, go to a wash bay, or get a power sprayer and do it yourself. Either way, just clean that crap off of the bottom of your car! There are just too many cars here in the Midwest with pretty bodies that are completely rotted out underneath.
OK, your turn: What’s Your Automated Car Wash Policy?
Top graphic image: still, Breaking Bad/Sony Pictures Television
I only use automatic car washes during the winter, when it’s too cold for me to wash by hand at home. I refer to a car wash with spinning brushes as a “Scratch-O-Matic 3000” and I refuse to use them. I found a touchless car wash that really maintains their equipment and it does a pretty good job. Lots of new car washes have opened near me, and I’m shocked that none are touchless or have do-it-yourself wash bays. They’re all Scratch-O-Matic 3000.
The rest of the year, I wash by hand in my driveway. If the car just has an annoying coating of dust or pollen, I’ll use a waterless wash product in the garage.
For me, ‘handwashing’ involves the whole vehicle; the door frames and gas cap cover are opened so I can carefully clean them, and I’ll even lay down in the driveway to make sure the undercarriage is thoroughly rinsed. The TJ is handwash only; my dad wouldn’t even take it through a touchless wash. The ZJ is also handwashed, unless there’s an extreme emergency, like the time I got blasted by a state brine truck that was giving the tertiary roads priority treatment for some reason.
The WK and JL seem to do fine with car washes, but I think the WK has earned a hand-detailing. I would really like to dye the plastic trim; it’s gotten a little chalky.
I wash the windows, the lights, and the numberplates, why bother with the rest?
Wash?
Well I keep the blue stuff in the windshield squirter , does that count?
When I lived in LA I paid for hand washes and touches car washes – as they are easy to find and affordable.
No such thing here in Richmond – so I subscribed to a local car wash company (I sold the founder his house on the river) where I can run the car through as many times a month as I want….
….until I convinced my team lead to buy subscriptions for us high-performers. Now he pays for my subscription.
if my car’s got a sunroof or old seals: hand wash/pressure wash at home.
If it’s my daily driver it gets through the automated brushed carwash maybe once a month. There are no touchless carwashes near me and I like to DIY except when I’m short on time.
Automatic all the time assuming the car is weather tight enough to stay dry inside. I’m far, FAR to lazy to handwash anything anymore and I’ve never really been that concerned with cosmetics. The only exception presently is my c10, it’s not exactly weather tight and it’s got nice custom paint. My workaround is to pretty much never wash it, and it is absolutely filthy… I really aught to dump it in favor of a less nice project.
I’ve effectively stopped using them because honestly, they aren’t good value for money for me. We have a good coin-op DIY place near enough to home.
My automated car wash policy is to not use them. I prefer to wash my car myself by hand.
yes
I use the scratch and shine once a week.
I park under a sap dripping tree.
better to have swirl marks and sap washed off easily with a coat of whatever wax like substance they have applied regularly than to say I will hand wash it once a week (and never do it) and have the sap eat the paint.
everyone has whatever time they have to dedicate to taking care of their car the best they can. with 2 kids under 5, I get time to drive through the carwash once a week.
Daily beater (unless it’s one of the times I actually have a nice car for a daily), straight to the automatic.
Project car, even if running and driving? Wash it? It’s lucky if I clean the glass once in awhile.
Nice car? Hand wash only.
i joined the unlimited plan at the local automated wash chain. I go every time i pass by and have a spare 5 mins. car always looks great and keeps the michigan road grime off. i dont look closely enough at my cars to notice the micro scratches
The only automatic wash my cars get is from the weather.
I’ve just got a place with a garage, and it’s amazing how much dirtier my car is, because it never gets a proper downpour to clean it off.