using the car wash

I just came back from the car wash and TBO it does a better job than me ( apart from the alloys). it is a pretty sophisticated one that does it all whilst you remain stationary. Shampoo, wash and wax. I reallt could not be assed to clean my car myself to often so I either take it to a handwash guy or use this carwash. I know most of you guys here will think this is sacrilige but is it really worth your time being **** about your car? When I have handwashed it the rain comes a few hours later and I am sitting there getting splashed with mud thinking what a waste of time

I go through the touchless car wash in the winter months but I have a coupe. I wouldn't recommend it for cabs. Before I decide to even wash the car I look at the weather report and look to see if the roads are dry. Spring, Summer and Fall when there is no chance of freezing I wash the car in the driveway. Winter I go to a coin operated wash once a week or if I am really lazy go through a touchless car wash. Touchless does a half *** job. I keep my car clean as possible and if the roads are still wet and the car is dirty I will usually just clean the windows so it feels like the car is clean when your in it driving around.

Never use machines of any kind here, only hand washes.

I once took a new car through the car wash... broke my heart when I saw the fine scratches all over the paint the next day in the sun. Having said that, I wash all my other vehicles at the car wash. I just make sure they always have a good coat of NXT or Rejex. The only machinery that touches the Porsche is the Porter Cable RO buffer.

^Ditto what Jasclass said, avoid machine car washes at all costs. Those things are made for beaters.

I think it depends on your color - I don't take our Porsche or BMW to the car wash, but I have a white Chevy Tahoe and that only goes to a car wash (which is brushless). The white shows no swirl marks, so I have it polished and waxed once each year and it looks better than my other cars. As you start to get into darker paint jobs, I would avoid the carwash unless you want to be looking at a bunch of horrible swirl marks, even if it's a "touchless" wash - those will eventually do damage to the finish..

Touchless or whatever, automated car washes use recycled water. Lots of grit...

But even if you do get the swirl marks you can get them buffed out, so save yourself the bother and get it buffed once a year.

care4era - you are a better man than me and will probably live longer because you're more relaxed about things that shouldn't matter - like swirl marks - perhaps your machines are also better in Prague?!

Hand wash only!

Don't get me wrong, I love my porsche but at the end of the day it is a car. The main problem in Prague is people keying your car or stealing parts of it. So swirl marks are the least of my worries I get bored of cars after a year anyway, so I expect by next summer I will be ready for a turbo or something. When that time comes I will get it buffed up and stick it on the net for 2k under the market value for a quick sale. One thing I can say for this particular car wash (OMV, so german company I guess) It does the underside which is way cool this time of year due to the salt on theroads.

JUST SAY NO to carwashes.

Too much crap in the water and/or in the brushes. You're pretty much guaranteed to get fine scratches in the paint!

Majority of our cars are garaged. If your car stays out day and night, gets keyed, etc, I would not bother w handwash and probly won't buy a Porsche since I can't take care of it.

Please enlighten me. WTF is a touchless car wash!? Sounds to me like something as impossible as touchless sex Clueless in Germany, Thorsten

Thorsten, Touchless is when the car moves down a track and there are a series of jets that spray the car...first pre-wash, then wash then wax then air dry, typically. Nothing ever touches the car but the water (and chemicals). No brushes used. It uses high pressure spray and dubious chemicals so I would never put my cabby through one.

Okay, I get it. Don't think we have 'em here - at least I've never seen one. Must be a reason why... Sounds like what I do to my terrace every spring with the high pressure cleaner. I hit my bare toe once and I'll never ever do that to my car. Nice wording though.

Hand car washes here... Never take mine to a machine

Touchless are relatively new, most Car wash owners won't upgrade to them because the are to cheap. Meanwhile their car wash sits totally empty and brings in no money but the Touchless car wash up the street is busy about 16 hours a day on Weekends with a 15-45 min line up and busy most evenings depending on the weather. I would never my car through a car wash with brushes and things that touch the car.

No doubt hand wash is the best way to go. However, if you live in an area with snow and a lot of salt used on the roads, I think you are better off occasionally using a touchless wash than just letting the salt sit on the car. Unfortunately hand washing in not always an option due to weather in some areas. I would never use a wash that has brushes no matter what. Just my 2 cents. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony Westminster, Maryland USA 2004 40 Year 911 2000 Ford Excursion V10 1998 BMW 540 6 speed sport 1985 GMC Suburban (4" lift w/35" Super Swampers) 1980 Triumph TR-7 (367hp Buick GN powered) 2003 Yamaha Roadstar

It actually advises not to take cabs thru a machine wash in my manual. I take my other cars through one, but the P-car is hand wash only.

Some of the Touchless washes do a pretty good job getting rid of the salt that accumulates on the bottom of the car, which would never be reaches by a hand wash (at least when it's freezing cold outside!).