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      02-22-2020, 09:16 AM   #1
BeemerDreamerNYC
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How do you keep your car clean?

Hi guys! 2 month owner of an X5 in Black Sapphire Metallic in NYC struggling to keep my car clean - actually it's filthy between driving in the rain / freezing temps and leaving it parked in a dusty garage for a week at a time or so. Have seen a few people comment that they need to wait for warmer temps before going to a car wash - any rough guidelines on how often / what type of car wash to go to and or any other suggestions of products to use to keep it looking great a little longer? Or is this just what they mean when they say impossible to keep a black car looking good for long...?
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      02-22-2020, 09:24 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC View Post
Hi guys! 2 month owner of an X5 in Black Sapphire Metallic in NYC struggling to keep my car clean - actually it's filthy between driving in the rain / freezing temps and leaving it parked in a dusty garage for a week at a time or so. Have seen a few people comment that they need to wait for warmer temps before going to a car wash - any rough guidelines on how often / what type of car wash to go to and or any other suggestions of products to use to keep it looking great a little longer? Or is this just what they mean when they say impossible to keep a black car looking good for long...?
Just drive on black dirt!
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      02-22-2020, 09:28 AM   #3
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One of the problems with living in the Northeast/Midwest is that with brutal winters, salt on the road is the main culprit. Any car with any color paint other than white is going to show the effects of salt (white does too, just not as blatantly apparent as darker colors).

You can "winterize" your car by getting it detailed and waxed to provide an extra layer of protection from the salt that'll inevitably get stuck to your car.

We have like 3-4 days of sunny and relatively warmer temperatures here in Chicago and I was finally able to get a wash. You'll just have to wash the car every opportunity you get. Other than that, I'm honestly not sure what can be done during the winter months.
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      02-22-2020, 09:30 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Paladin1 View Post
Just drive on black dirt!
This is the best way.

I need to find some reddish/purplish dirt on my daily commute.
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      02-22-2020, 09:34 AM   #5
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I've had mine since May of last year. Also Black Sapphire Metallic. I pretty much always go for black cars, and when clean, this BSM is probably the nicest black.

But, as is the case with black cars, it looks terrible after a nice film of light brown dirt gets caked on it. I end up using a sheepskin mit to just wipe some of the dirt off between washes. It works to get about half the layer of dirt off in the 5 minutes it takes to wipe.
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      02-22-2020, 09:37 AM   #6
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What temp do you wait for to get it washed? Anything above freezing?
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      02-22-2020, 09:42 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC View Post
What temp do you wait for to get it washed? Anything above freezing?
Preferably yes. I once made the mistake of washing in below freezing temperatures and afterwards I could hear the sideview mirrors grinding as they moved to the lock position. It hurt my heart.
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      02-22-2020, 10:10 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC View Post
Hi guys! 2 month owner of an X5 in Black Sapphire Metallic in NYC struggling to keep my car clean - actually it's filthy between driving in the rain / freezing temps and leaving it parked in a dusty garage for a week at a time or so. Have seen a few people comment that they need to wait for warmer temps before going to a car wash - any rough guidelines on how often / what type of car wash to go to and or any other suggestions of products to use to keep it looking great a little longer? Or is this just what they mean when they say impossible to keep a black car looking good for long...?
It was 55 and sunny this past Monday! not going to get much better than that for February. It's been a super mild winter and plenty of opportunities to wash the car.

you can either go to car wash or find one of the waterless washes and do it yourself when the weather is ok.
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      02-22-2020, 10:48 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tellch00 View Post
It was 55 and sunny this past Monday! not going to get much better than that for February. It's been a super mild winter and plenty of opportunities to wash the car.

you can either go to car wash or find one of the waterless washes and do it yourself when the weather is ok.
Yes - missed opportunity - going to take it tomorrow.
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      02-22-2020, 11:00 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC View Post
Yes - missed opportunity - going to take it tomorrow.
Come to Phoenix. We are doing 80s these days.
But make sure you return back by May but you are welcome to stay if you want to experience triple digits.

On a more serious note : have you looked at AmmoNYC ? waterless wash and in your garage. There is an awesome video posted here with the entire process and also how its made.

We have the same problems in summer but on the other side of spectrum. It is around 95-96 in the morning and evenings are >105F. I am hoping to use AmmoNYC in garage in the evenings during our summers.

The hoseless lift kit from AmmoNYC puts you back by $150 but will go several days. You can also buy without a kit but you will need a lot of MFs

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      02-22-2020, 11:29 AM   #11
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not as extravagant as many of you. the local dealership offers free carwashes to bmw owners, so whenever its dirty we just go there. I have towels and microfiber cloths to clean the interior as an when there's dust or finger prints. and i take out the floor mats and hit it against the side of the wheels or something when it gets dirt or leaves lol that's it.
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      02-22-2020, 11:47 AM   #12
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Ah good point - I can call the local dealership and see if they offer that, otherwise not going to take it back to the dealership I bought from as it’s an hour away! The AmmoNYC thing looks cool, I guess I’ll see how much time and $$ I spend on car washes this year and if it’s worth it to me to put the effort to clean it myself hah. FWIW I would definitely need a hose less cleaning system.
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      02-22-2020, 12:00 PM   #13
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I've had an f15carbon black in NYC for 3 years. Garage parked for 2 years, street parked in Brooklyn for 1 year since there's no convenient garage near my new place. There's no shortage of nice cars on my streets (an X5M is parked in front of me now and an M3 behind me, never met either owner). My car is absolutely filthy most of the time. The others are also. I've stopped noticing during the winter! I plan to do a ceramic coat when my new BSM m50i g05 arrives.
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      02-22-2020, 12:41 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC View Post
Ah good point - I can call the local dealership and see if they offer that, otherwise not going to take it back to the dealership I bought from as it’s an hour away! The AmmoNYC thing looks cool, I guess I’ll see how much time and $$ I spend on car washes this year and if it’s worth it to me to put the effort to clean it myself hah. FWIW I would definitely need a hose less cleaning system.
yeah the local dealership cleans it inside and out, for free. I asked them about it, they said that BMWNA compensates them for the cleanings, so they'll service any BMW, not only the ones bought from them. We got ours from Atlanta, and I'm just waiting on the license plate to get here before I can take it for a wash because I'd prefer not to rub it in their faces that we got a better deal in atlanta than they were willing to offer.
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      02-22-2020, 12:56 PM   #15
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For those of you who are leasing the vehicle, do you care much about swirls and keep the exterior cleaned at all time? I live in NYC and my X6 will come soon. Without a garage, I can tell you for sure that any car will get dirty quickly here.
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      02-22-2020, 12:59 PM   #16
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i've never been a person who cared tremendously about the exterior stuff, but so no, not on our lease. but I keep the interior immaculate.
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      02-22-2020, 03:45 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rayray718 View Post
I've had an f15carbon black in NYC for 3 years. Garage parked for 2 years, street parked in Brooklyn for 1 year since there's no convenient garage near my new place. There's no shortage of nice cars on my streets (an X5M is parked in front of me now and an M3 behind me, never met either owner). My car is absolutely filthy most of the time. The others are also. I've stopped noticing during the winter! I plan to do a ceramic coat when my new BSM m50i g05 arrives.
Maybe a noob question (that can be answered with a google search) -- what is a ceramic coat?
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      02-22-2020, 03:52 PM   #18
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To be fair, black is one of, if not the toughest colors to keep clean.
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      02-22-2020, 03:54 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thereef510 View Post
yeah the local dealership cleans it inside and out, for free. I asked them about it, they said that BMWNA compensates them for the cleanings, so they'll service any BMW, not only the ones bought from them. We got ours from Atlanta, and I'm just waiting on the license plate to get here before I can take it for a wash because I'd prefer not to rub it in their faces that we got a better deal in atlanta than they were willing to offer.
Just called and BMW of Manhattan does not provide this service
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      02-22-2020, 04:12 PM   #20
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Received a jug of XPEL No Rinse car wash after I had the X5 ceramic coated with XPEL Fusion Plus. Made for a quick no rinse car wash, 52 Fahrenheit weekend.
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      02-22-2020, 05:04 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BeemerDreamerNYC View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by rayray718 View Post
I've had an f15carbon black in NYC for 3 years. Garage parked for 2 years, street parked in Brooklyn for 1 year since there's no convenient garage near my new place. There's no shortage of nice cars on my streets (an X5M is parked in front of me now and an M3 behind me, never met either owner). My car is absolutely filthy most of the time. The others are also. I've stopped noticing during the winter! I plan to do a ceramic coat when my new BSM m50i g05 arrives.
Maybe a noob question (that can be answered with a google search) -- what is a ceramic coat?
A google search or search on this forum would better answer this question than myself! It isn't cheap though. But after seeing my carbon black deteriorate over three years and only 18k miles I'm going to take the plunge in my next one.
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      02-22-2020, 10:33 PM   #22
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A little bit off topic, is it a waste of money to even wrap the front and rear bumpers and hood for a lease vehicle? If it were a purchase, then wrapping would be a no brainer for me. My upcoming X6 will be my first lease.
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