Car wash drive through's bad?
 

A buddy of mine who had a Infiniti G35 told me to never go to a car wash and do it yourself. He says the material they use scratches the paint and not to waste my money. Is this true? it's 20 degrees here and I need a wash, but I don't wanna do it myself.

Yes. Would you wash your car with an extremely dirty rag?

How many cars were at the car wash before you? Is their dirt not on those rags?

I shudder just thinking about it.

If it's too cold to wash, try talking it to one of those hose washer places?

There's more to it than that. They also use harsh chemicals to clean off the car, the chemicals can clear off any wax that is on your car, causing your car to get dirty faster.

Some car washes also recycle the water, which isn't so great.

+1 for power hose self wash places

PS: I was talking about touchless and DIY car washes.

better than than someones dirty ass rag getting pounded against my car.... I can always wax it in the garage.

Yes, I should clarify. Best to wash often anyways. Just dont use the soap brushes they provide, bring ur own microfiber towels 4 that...
Exactly. No problem with waxing more often ^.^

Also some car washes have narrow tracks that will scratch your wheels.

Wow, this stuff is serious business huh? I never thought car washes were so bad for your car, I guess from now I'll do them by myself. Damn.

I personally think it depends on the carwash. Those where you spray and use the bristle brush... those that are laserwashes (no brush).... those that are professional systems w/ clean water and good chemicals...

I can put it this way:

When I first got my car I was bringing it to automatic carwashes 2 or more times a week before I started hand washing in summer. When I started washing by hand I noticed new faint to borderline -repaint required- scratches I didn't have before. Those that were borderline were too deep and long to have been caused by me.

What it really boils down to is if you are willing:
to put the time and effort into continually repairing auto wash defects,
live with the dirt,
or find a place where they hand wash your car for you and pay the extra $ to get it done

I NEVER take my car to the autowash places for reasons already stated.

I also wouldn't take it to these 100% hand washes either. Have you ever seen how dirty those rags are that they use to dry your car? My black Lexus used to be pretty scratch free until I took it to a few of those 100% car washes. Never again.

If it's too cold to wash your car, you just have to wait until the weather improves.

HELL, I don't even let the dealership wash my car. I specifically tell them not to when I take it in for an oil change or service. The Mazda dealership that I take my car to tells me they use a machine to wash their cars too.

son of a bitch! i didn't think about this.....

time to ask my mazda dealership what they do.

If you like your finish you should avoid car wash places.

But the car wash place with the DIY bays are okay, right? As long as you don't use the soap brush and aim the pressure washer too close?

After washing a section it's best to rinse the rag out well with water before starting on the next section with clean water and soap again. Paint job will last much longer. Everytime you wash you cause scratches in the paint, the key is to minimize that as much as possible.

This is serious stuff, I didn't know how complex it could to be wash a car. I checked for scratches and I don't see any visible ones but thank god I caught it ahead of time before I went back.

When we say auto carwashes, are we talking about the cheap ones at gas stations? Or are we talking about the ones that cost 25 bucks or so for a wash.... say like an AutoBell?

Check for swirl marks using flourecent light. Chances are you already have some.

In summer I wash my car by hand but in winter I wait for day at or above freezing and take it to the touchless pressure wash.
There aren't any tracks because the equipment moves around the car. Nothing touches the wheels or any panels of the car. As a bonus it washes the bottom of the car to get any salt off.
Cost is equal to what I spend at the DIY spray booth.

I learned my lesson the hard way. I got some free passes from a customer who co-owns a local carwash in our area. It was oh I'd say close to 40 degree's out my interior was filled with pebbles and debris and the outside was slowly starting to look like I was going off roading. So I used one of the passes.

I figured they can't be that bad my brother years ago used to work here, they have their own "detailing" bays, and I always see some Mercedes and Lexus's rolling on out. The car came out and was still wet in some area's so I grabbed my own microfiber towel and start drying the car off. I noticed on the passenger side wheel well several scratches. Hairline sure I only noticed 'cause I was bent down drying around the fender vents. I cursed to myself 'cause right there for everyone to see one of those famous signs of "Not responsible...". Thankfully some detailing spray seemed to fill in the scratches.

Oh also toss this in. The same company has a "Lazer wash" and its awsome, havent had any problems with it and I've only been using it since the weather dropped below 50 (about 5 times already). I refuse to use the bays they have though I've seen to many big rigs and other types of heavy duty trucks being washed. God knows what is stuck between those bristles. For the Lazer Wash I live in MA and our town loves to use salt on the road so yeah.. rust is my enemy and is always around durring the winter months.

I totally agree with all of you re: "touch" automatic car washes. I occasionally take one of our comapny vehicles thru a local car wash with the rotating bristles and hanging foam strips that drag over the car. Buy the time these things get done beating the car to death I'm amazed there is any finish left on the car at all!!!! And if the vehicle that went thru before you had just come in from an off-roading trip with half an inch of mud...heaven forbid!!

Since I drive my 8 all Winter, I do try to keep it as clean as possible. We have a gas station nearby that has one of the "touchless" washes with the apparatus that goes around the car as you sit still. It actually does a decent job if you pay a couple extra bucks for the extra spray and clear coat protectant. I'm pretty picky about keeping the paint swirl free, and after two Winters, it's still good. My only complaint is my painted calipers. As those of you who have followed any of my previous posts know, I have had problems with flaking calipers during the Winter. I, rightly or wrongly, associate this phenomenon with the first couple of times I take the 8 thru the car wash when Winter sets in and I can't hand wash in the driveway. Whether its the thermal shock or the pressure spray, I don't know. But it sure is a pain!!!

Anyway, since I drive the 8 all Winter, I feel I have to keep it as clean and salt free as possible, so I use the touchless wash, with a personal towel dry after I pull out.

So far, so good! :ylsuper: :mdrmed: :ylsuper:

Don't let anyone else drive your car into any sort of car wash machine PERIOD (at least I won't anymore). I went to a full service wash and after getting the car back, it made all sorts of weird noises. I take it to the dealer to see what happened, and they discovered a cross bar under the car was bent, causing the noise from the exhaust system (not covered by warranty, of course; $150). It was too much of a headache for that money to go back to the car wash place and say they broke my car... but I will never go there again for sure! I later discovered a nice 1 inch gash on the front right corner of my air dam (aero package). On a side note, will smoothing this a bit with sandpaper and using touch up paint cover the black?