Car Wash???

I know that this post will probably sound stupid but you never know, there might be more interest in it .

I was thinking of going to one of those full service car wash places.

There is one in mississauga, seems pretty good as each time I drive by there is a huge line up for it. (Denny's car wash)

I just don't know if its really worth the money. I know how to wash a car and dont mind doing it but they also do some waxing and crap like that. (i dont have all those products)

here is what they offer for $27

• touchless car wash
• hand dry
• wheel brightener
• vacuum interior
• clean interior windows
• triple foam clear coat polish
• clear coat sealer
• tire dressing
• undercarriage wash
• underbody rust inhibitor

DO you guys feel its worth it. OR is there another place you guys recommend.

I work for an automotive marketing company, and detailing is a large part of our business. Denny's is right around the corner from us, and when we are short staffed, we sometimes take a car or two over to them. They do a good job. Better than any other full serve car wash I have ever been to. They have quite a few staff there, and they all come out with towels/chamois and hand dry your car. If they miss spots, just tell them, and they'll touch them up!

$27 is not cheap, but it is definitely worth twice what a touchless car wash does.

I go to that TYPE of car wash about twice or three times a year. In between, I just go through a touchless car wash and have had good luck finding them on sale for $3.00 (USD),discounted from $9.

In my opinion, it's worth the money!

Bill

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't consider a touchless car wash worth $27.00 even with the rest of the freebies.

I've never known of a touchless wash to get rid of all of the dirt, especially after a harsh winter. A hand dry with potential dirt still on the car is one of the ways swirl marks are introducted into the clear coat on your car.

I don't know what triple coat clear coat polish is, but it's very difficult to effectively polish a car by hand so I'm not sure what value this step offers.

~~
If you don't mind washing your own car, and you have the facilities to do it, do it yourself. If you want a list of products that you could get locally, send me a PM and I'll help you sort through what's available.

Maybe in May it'll be time for a detailing GTG of sorts... I have all the supplies, just no driveway with hose to do it in...

I guess I am spoiled...powerwasher, hose, lots of room and a loud stereo.... Central vac in the garage...nice way to spend a morning. We need a couple of warm days...the interior of my car is getting a little earthy....

Craig

Car wash GTG - I'm in! I am guilty of going through the touchless car wash at the Esso Station quite a bit in the winter. Depending how dirty the car gets it can be as frequent as once a week but usually every other week. The wash does miss a lot of dirt but in the time it takes that machine to wash my car and the temperature of the weather outside it does a pretty decent job. When i hand dry the car afterwards the chamois usually comes out pretty dirty.

I still want to learn how to claybar my car, effectivley wax and pick up some small detailing techniques on cleaning the engine bay. Currently the way i wax my car is much like the way Daniel Son was taugh in the movie Karate kid - Wax on - Wax off. i'm sure theres a better way!

I use one of those $2 pressure washer DIY thingies 1-2 times a week... Might not do as good a job, but no swirlies, and I can wash underneath as much as I want

Silver02TDI said:

I use one of those $2 pressure washer DIY thingies 1-2 times a week... Might not do as good a job, but no swirlies, and I can wash underneath as much as I want

Click to expand...

yes those are good too, i might do that today just to get all the crap off of my car and do a better job at home when the temp is a little higher.

You could always get this guy to wash your car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmZveqyU5E

MrVermin

Paul Dalton definitely has an attention to detail. The citrus degreaser, paint readings and expensive zymol wax are out of my league, but the steps with some substituted products achieve fantastic results.

craig01b said:

I guess I am spoiled...powerwasher, hose, lots of room and a loud stereo.... Central vac in the garage...nice way to spend a morning. We need a couple of warm days...the interior of my car is getting a little earthy....

Craig

Click to expand...

I guess all we need now are some girls from the Manor to wash the cars

craig01b said:

I guess I am spoiled...

Craig

Click to expand...

Craig you dont know what spoiled is. Here in Mexico I take my car to the local car wash and 7 or 8 guys work on it for one and a half hours, completely vacuuming the inside and the trunk. Then they wash it and dry it. After that is done they Armorall the dash and the tires as well as the BRA on the hood of the car.
For that I pay the princely sum of 50 pesos or about 4.75 Cdn.

To get the car oil undercoated it is another 190 pesos or about Cdn 17.00

That and the price of Diesel at under 60 cents per liter. Next week I´ll be driving home and will have to pay those high North American prices again, YUCKS!

Jetta_Pilot said:

Craig you dont know what spoiled is. Here in Mexico... Next week I´ll be driving home and will have to pay those high North American prices again, YUCKS!

Click to expand...

I know! Bring some of those mexicans home with you and start a carwashing business. I for one would defineitely pay 50 pesos for what you describe.

Jeez, with two teenagers in the house, I might as well be one of those mexicans....Nice...minimum wage just went up in Ontario. Interesting..I will keep washing my own car for now....

Oh yeah, a couple of manor girls would help alot...??? Wait till the pool and hot tub are both working.....errrr, and my wife is out of town....*L*...did someone mention car washing?????

Craig

Do your teenagers drive your car? In that case, you got free labour! Or, at least I had to keep my dad's car clean in exchange for the privilege of using it once upon a time

People of many cultural backgrounds work for minimum wage.---not only Mexicans.
And, any teenagers or young adults in the household who don't split the payments for car+repairs and insurance really should be required to clean it inside out regularly to drive it at any time. --- Either that, or they can rent cars with their own solo credit card (no gaurantors).