Who braves the automatic car washes? (1 Viewer)

[RickC5]

I use the brush-type car wash about 90% of the time on our vehicles. Can't see that it does any harm to the paint, and they even have a "mud blaster" option if you have gotten the underside messy with mud or mag chloride.

In the winter it's too cold here to hand wash, and in the summer it's too hot. And I'm lazy.

 

[Markuson]

Soapy Joe's here in Southern CA, about $20/month unlimited washes. Cause you know... Gotta get the SAND off!!

I'd say I roll Soapy's once a month, and hand wash and a wax a few times a year.

Another Soapy Joe's customer here!
Man, I love that place!
UNLIMITED washes per month means any time I get dirty...BOOM. Wash the heck out of my rig.
I figure the car wash is nothing compared to the brush/twig/branch pin-striping I end up with anyway.
I've been through the wash probably a hundred times, and it is full contact.

PS. I go through fine, despite full bull bar, huge 35" spare and hi-lift sticking up in back on, tire swing-out, heavy ladder and rotopax piled on. Once Soapy Joe's finally figured out how to calibrate their washer "dimension sensors"...I go through without an issue. At first, it kept stopping while I was in it since it through I was too tall, etc. But now it's no problem.

 

[Rigger]

I use the swirling, rotating brush car wash near my place routinely. Bull bar, rear bumper with tire carrier, roof rack, not a problem.

I hate scrubbing automobiles.

 

[RussBow6]

I do. I go to a Mr. Carwash on Kirby Drive in Houston. I also see Porsches, Land Rovers, Bentleys using the car wash. If its good enough for those type cars, its good enough for my truck! But I do hand wash every once and a while, but only when the weather is warm.

unlimited monthly membership for the win! i use their washington ave location more tho

 

[Reckless]

I just signed up for unlimitted car washes at Delta Sonic for $12.95/mo. Car got dirty over the weekend offroading in the corn fields trying to tweak/test suspension. Mud was extra wet and stuck to tires, wheel wells, and rear chin guard and leaving a huge trail everywhere I park. Washed it twice and there is still mud stuck.

 

[Sandroad]

Well, in a sad twist of fate, I just discovered (in the right light) that the car wash at the dealer following the “free” 15,000 mike service left noticeable swirl marks in the brandywine paint. It’s the only automatic car wash I’ve ever used, so I know the damage was done there. No more car washes at the dealer for me.

 

[linuxgod]

All the time. Even when the rigs were almost new. Still take my 100 series through a drive-thru, but since I added the snorkel to my 200 I've not tried it.

Anyone here with a snorkel on their rig do the drive through carwash? I'm wondering of the wash will shoot water into the snorkel and then it gets into my intake.

I can't imagine it's any worse than driving at 70mph through a heavy rain

 

[tabraha]

Well, in a sad twist of fate, I just discovered (in the right light) that the car wash at the dealer following the “free” 15,000 mike service left noticeable swirl marks in the brandywine paint. It’s the only automatic car wash I’ve ever used, so I know the damage was done there. No more car washes at the dealer for me.

Not surprised. We have the lifetime service at our dealer (kinda their thing for some reason) and when my wife took ours in the service manager told her they didn't run the Land Cruisers through their car wash as they were too nice and didn't want to get any complaints. She called me while she was waiting on the service and I told her to tell that guy thank you!

I run the white LX through the brushless car washes but since ceramic coating the onyx blue pearl LC 4 months ago I have had no need other than to rinse other than one wash with a sponge for some stubborn dirt. I cannot stress enough how hard that blue is to keep clean either. Makes white or black look as easy as "road grime grey".

 

[M1911]

When a third of the year the water in my hose is frozen solid and the driveway has snow in it, I run the LX through the car wash once a week to get the road salt off. So yes, I do.

Same here in Boston. And even in the summer, I've got better things to do than spend time washing my car by hand.

 

[Mogwai]

If you've ever clay barred your vehicle you realize just how much bad crap gets into your paint (and my truck has never seen salt, and always parked in my garage). The bad stuff piles up, and piles up quickly. I can't see a few swirl marks or added pin stripes (already plenty on there) being worse than letting the elements sit on your paint for any period of time. Is what it is, a few swirl marks instead of hand washing your truck every week which is probably optimal and a pain and who has time and not better things to do. Plus, not all automatic car washes are created equal, I would think dealer auto-wash is NOT top of the line. Putting my truck through the car wash is not something I'm worried about, I see old LCs with terrible paint all the time and these are the same guys who would never put their trucks through a car wash and are self proclaimed hand washers (or just rarely wash cause you know a dirty truck is cool).

 

[Reckless]

What about the no touch car washes that brushes don't come in contact with the vehicle?

 

[Sinister]

Same here in Boston. And even in the summer, I've got better things to do than spend time washing my car by hand.

Same here on LI.