hand car washes = regret, don't do it!

[agxster]

I usually try to wash my car myself, but lately I don't have time and the car was so dirty from the recent rain so it needed a jet wash and living in a flat I don't have access to one.

Nice and dry today so I risked going to the local hand car wash. ugh, the guy kept banging the jet wash wand against the edge of one the rear wheel arches. Think he may have scratched it. Then while vacuuming the interior he slammed the seat forward so hard i thought it was going to come off the runners.

Thinking about it I should have just waited till next week when I had a day off to tackle the job myself.

[mr_spock]

My local bunch of Bulgarians are pretty good. I haven't taken my new car there yet, but they took their time with my 928. Last time I was there a guy with a GT2 was in front of me, on our way to the Ace, and he seemed pretty pleased with their efforts.

[blueg33]

I haven't had a problem with these guys either. They do way less damage than an automatic carwash as long as you make sure that they dont use those silicone drying blades and that they thoroughly rinse off cloths if they drop them.

[paddy328]

they will ALL swirl your paint. Best to do it yourself.

[Showroom Valet]

Im affraid its true, these guys get your car clean visually to your eyes, but next time the suns on the car, take a look at your paint, this is the difference between 'quick wash' places and the pro's.

They do it for quick money and really don't care about your vehicle, where as people such as myself detail cars with an absolute passion and love for it.

I know they are only £5, but should that not tell people something, Ive seen top of the range Audi's and Beemers go to them and just cringe! knowing what they are doing to the car, I have had to correct a number of cars after they have seen the damage these guys do.

[blueg33]

paddy328 said:

they will ALL swirl your paint. Best to do it yourself.

Very true, its a case of what does the least damage if you dont have the time to do it yourself. The valeters at my local BMW dealership really screwed up the paint on my last car.

But when i washed my car at home my 2 year old watched me, then decided she would wash the other side with a stone she picked up and a muddy puddle......£600 damage to the paint! 10 years of immigrant carwashes would have done less damage

[Lost soul]

Showroom Valet said:

Im affraid its true, these guys get your car clean visually to your eyes, but next time the suns on the car, take a look at your paint, this is the difference between 'quick wash' places and the pro's.

They do it for quick money and really don't care about your vehicle, where as people such as myself detail cars with an absolute passion and love for it.

I know they are only £5, but should that not tell people something, Ive seen top of the range Audi's and Beemers go to them and just cringe! knowing what they are doing to the car, I have had to correct a number of cars after they have seen the damage these guys do.

But then you appear to have a vested interest

I have never had a problem with the hand wash guys i used when i lived in Manchester

[Auto finesse]

Its all about expectations, if you have a 1K chonker your dont care about to be fair what more do you need, but if you have a nice car that your like to take some pride in its best to avoid these places.