10-21-2021, 01:41 PM | #23 |
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You guys are hilarious. Your paint is not made of butterfly wings.
I have no problem taking my car through a modern tunnel wash. I'd much rather do that than let some "lot guy" hand wash my car with the same wash mitt he's used for months and dropped on the ground who knows how many times. |
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10-21-2021, 07:44 PM | #24 | |
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but effective. |
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10-22-2021, 10:54 AM | #25 | |
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Totally get it, I don't judge how someone chooses to was their own car. If it works, it works! |
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10-23-2021, 05:16 AM | #26 |
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10-23-2021, 05:45 AM | #27 | |
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10-23-2021, 07:04 AM | #28 | |
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10-23-2021, 07:18 AM | #29 |
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I work in the automatic vehicle wash industry. The type of equipment, type of cloth, upkeep, and detergent usage all varies widely across the industry.
First, there's a difference between scratches and swirl marks. The simple fact is, your average person could care less about swirl marks and many don't even know they exist. As long as the car looks good in the driveway, the carwash was a success. This is starkly different than a scratch, which people get very upset about. A well maintained soft cloth car was could scratch your car in the right set of circumstances, but it will be rare and the scratch will likely have a pattern to it that pins it back to a moving piece of equipment. Some car washes around the country will wash hundreds of thousands of cars per year...they aren't scratching cars each week or else they wouldn't be in business...they'd be put out by lawyer fees alone. They will add swirl marks over time, given the frequency of washing and the level of protection on the car going in (wax, ceramic coat, etc). There's no getting around that. For any automatic carwash, do the "drive by" test. Look in the tunnel, is it relatively bright, is the cloth clean (can you make out the colors)? Is the outside well maintained, landscape tended to and trash picked up? This can give you an idea of how well the car wash gives a crap about the way they maintain their facility. Back to the dealer carwash...it's likely a carwash setup purchased out of a catalog with a maintenance contract. Meaning it's probably decently maintained for vehicle safety (again, the dealer has no interest in being inundated with damage claims). It probably doesn't have the best quality. If you're someone who is highly sensitive to swirl marks (I am), then skip it. If you make it a habit of waxing your vehicle every few months and want to go through every few weeks, it probably won't be a problem. If you are someone that doesn't care about swirl marks or any type of paint protection and just want the car "clean", send it |
10-23-2021, 08:32 AM | #30 |
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oh Hell no. That's what I have a wife for.
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10-23-2021, 01:07 PM | #31 | |
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10-23-2021, 03:06 PM | #32 |
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I only hand wash both our cars. I enjoy taking the time to clean each car and see the final product..if I were ever to use a car wash it would be a hand wash place only.
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10-23-2021, 03:52 PM | #33 |
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The OP had no idea what he was getting into with this question. I agree with most everything in here. I do the full two bucket hand wash about every other week but I recognize I enjoy washing the car plus I have a constant issue with pine sap so hand washing is a good way to spot any that needs removing. I also always go to dealer service with a spotless car but, actually, this is one time I try to use an automated wash so I can get an undercarriage bath. My dad is a mechanic so I grew up maintaining my car and know how nice it is working on a clean car. Plus it gives a good heads up to the techs that I’m particular and my dealer never runs a clean car through their wash (now on the third car and only once did they run it through the wash). Except for dark colors, occasional brushed washes often aren’t the end of the world. Lots of info out there about mild self healing of clear coat come warm summer days. So, to the OP, you do you and enjoy your new X5!
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10-23-2021, 04:13 PM | #34 | |
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Whichever way works best for you, that's the way to go. I personally like to hand wash mine until I start losing interest in the vehicle. Someone once said something like this... we all have eyes to see but we can only see what we know. I feel it's so true with swirl marks. It's almost certain that most if not all people will not see what I see on my car, but once I know it's there, it just bugs the heck out of me. So the best way to do is to not let it happen.
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10-23-2021, 10:54 PM | #35 | |
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My wife used to say my detailer's bay looked like an OR cause the ceiling was full of lights and I had those rolling fluorescents ... After we moved away and I had less time for that stuff I started noticing swirls less ... and then I also figured out how to more/less eliminate them (waterless wash in a single consistent direction); there's still some visible spiderwebs but they're all in one direction so it doesn't bother me much for some reason ... |
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10-24-2021, 05:40 AM | #36 |
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10-24-2021, 09:02 PM | #37 | |
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10-25-2021, 12:03 PM | #38 |
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LOL. Living up to that quote in your email signature!
But, yeah, I find I'm often trying in life to find the balance between making sure ppl know I care and will notice if something is not done right vs being "that guy." *Of course give me one bad wash experience and I too will be printing out those signs for my car. |
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10-25-2021, 12:57 PM | #39 |
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ha well it was more a joke of how many times I've told them "don't wash", put up the RVM sign, etc and then about 50% of the time they do anyway and apologize ... at least at most of the dealerships in the the SF South Bay Area. With my last car I only brought it in once in 3 years (after the break-in check up) but asked them to "show me what they did" before they completed ... then when they pulled me in, I asked them not to wash it and they didn't!
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10-25-2021, 02:21 PM | #40 |
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I do use the free car wash when I get the car serviced. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a new car before damages of any kind from these types of washes being to appear
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