Touch free car washes

[deerefan]

As my responsibilities have grown at work and home with the new baby, I just do not have the time to hand wash my 3 vehicles. They opened a new and very nice touch free car wash in town. The prices range from $4-$8 and it does a nice job. I usually grab the 5 dollar wash as my vehicles do not go long between baths. Do you guys use these things? Any damage to your vehicle or vehicles finish?

 

[Bird]

Maybe you've got a good one, but I've never seen a touch free car wash that cleaned the car worth a hoot. However, I used to hand wash our vehicles in the driveway myself, but I quit doing that almost 4 years ago. I use a car wash that actually has it all; gasoline, quick lube, detailing, engine cleaning, etc. But the only thing I use is the "Express Wash" for $5, drive through, don't even get out of the vehicle or turn off the key. But there are lots of revolving brushes, as well as the detergent and rinse sprays, a powerful blower that blows off most of the water, and then they towel dry it by hand. Just too quick and easy for me to get it done there. So I use the place frequently for both vehicles.

Either my wife or I do still vacuum and clean the interior ourselves at home.

And I'd never thought about them having a website until just now, so the place I use is Star Car Wash.

 

[timswi]

As my responsibilities have grown at work and home with the new baby, I just do not have the time to hand wash my 3 vehicles. They opened a new and very nice touch free car wash in town. The prices range from $4-$8 and it does a nice job. I usually grab the 5 dollar wash as my vehicles do not go long between baths. Do you guys use these things? Any damage to your vehicle or vehicles finish?

No damage, but if there is salt or anything sticky on the vehicle, it does an OK job..I use one from time to time, but hand washing is the best.

With the touchless you can see the pressure marks in the dirt if you're **** about appearance, and I am.

Nice in the winter to blow the salt off, but that's about it.

 

[CowboyRon]

I use one by my house that I pay 35 per month for. It does everything it even put some shine on the tires. I really like it because when I leave the ranch my truck is filthy, and she leaves nice and clean.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I do in the winter and when on road trips but around home I wash by hand.

Chris

 

[irvingj]

Likewise... in the winter I'll go through one every so often and add the "undercarriage wash" just to get salt off, but doing it myself at home is far better. I, too, have seen minute scratches from the brush types so I stay away from them.

 

[deerefan]

Likewise... in the winter I'll go through one every so often and add the "undercarriage wash" just to get salt off, but doing it myself at home is far better. I, too, have seen minute scratches from the brush types so I stay away from them.

The brush washes scare me. I worked at one my sophmore year in high school and it seemed 1 out 10 cars had some type of damage done to them. The worst was a fellow went thru in a pickup and the brushes snagged a short piece of chain in his bed and beat the tar out of his truck. Amazingly, he took responsibility stating he should have known better than to leave that in his bed and go thru the wash. We saw a lot of broken mirrors, bent antennas, a few broken windows and scratches. After a couple years, the owner shut it down and converted it into an oil change shop.

 

[2manyrocks]

A friend of mine owns several of these touch free car washes. Whether you get a good wash depends on a lot of factors including the various chemicals used to break down the dirt and carry it off your car. Every time we start talking about this, it turns into a 30 minute discourse on many technical issues. His car washes will clean your car.

Not everybody uses the same stuff.

Brush washes--asking for trouble.

 

[clemsonfor]

I must be lazy as we just pay $15-25 and go to the places that wash it and minor detail including armorall and vacume about once a month or 2.

Many guys talk about how much their time is worth, and mine is not worth that much but i hate washing cars and the same thing would take be close to 2 hours to do.

 

[Mace Canute]

That reminds me...it's almost time to give my truck it's annual wash...just another couple of months...

 

[Toyboy]

We had a really decent one here in town but it was old and kept breaking down so they replaced it with a "Scratch -O-Matic". What a mistake. They've lost over 1/2 their business now. Anyone with a nice car won't use it. There was a guy that went through it (when it was just installed) with his pick up. He forgot a rod & reel in the bed. Well that ole' overhead brush snagged the hook and the next thing the rod, reel and sinkers are flailing around just beating the snot out of everything. He couldn't get away from it because both overhead doors had closed prior to the wash starting. He said that he didn't know that they had changed to a non brush less and once he did, he couldn't escape. Took them over an hour to get all the line and tackle off that dang thing.

 

[clemsonfor]

Im a forester and we get one carwash a month for the work truck. Its almost poitless as it seems if i wash it its muddy the same day or next couple. Even those brush washes dont get 90% of the dirt off, the touchless are even worse. May be good if you stay on the road 1005 of your time and wash every week.

 

[Bird]

As I said, I've never seen a touch free that came even close to getting a car clean, but obviously such must exist and some of you have had good luck with them.

On the other hand, several of you have either had bad luck, or heard bad luck stories, about the ones with brushes. So I looked back at my vehicle logs and see that the '02 Crown Vic that we've only had 2.5 years has been through the Star Car Wash 32 times. And the '01 Ranger has been through it 47 times, and no way I'd go through the car wash with anything in the bed of the truck. They unscrew and remove the radio antenna on the Ranger before it goes in, then put it back when they hand dry it. I can't tell that the brushes have hurt anything, so I reckon I'll keep using them.:laughing:

However, there was one time (9/19/2009) when that big blower that blows most of the water off before they hand dry it, blew a small metal piece off one windshield wiper blade support structure on the Ranger. Since the wiper blades were a year and a half old at the time, I didn't even tell the folks at Star Car Wash about it; just went directly to buy both new wiper blades and put them on.

 

[Bird]

Im a forester and we get one carwash a month for the work truck. Its almost poitless as it seems if i wash it its muddy the same day or next couple. Even those brush washes dont get 90% of the dirt off, the touchless are even worse. May be good if you stay on the road 1005 of your time and wash every week.

:laughing:I have no idea what they do now, but the Dallas police sedans used to be used on their assigned beat 24 hours a day, six and two-thirds days a week. Each car went into the garage once a week for an oil change and wash job; made no difference if it was raining at the time, it got washed on its assigned day and shift. And if it got muddy later the same day it was washed, it was going to be a week before it got washed again.:laughing:

 

[clemsonfor]

Im a forester and we get one carwash a month for the work truck. Its almost poitless as it seems if i wash it its muddy the same day or next couple. Even those brush washes dont get 90% of the dirt off, the touchless are even worse. May be good if you stay on the road 1005 of your time and wash every week.

I meant to say only the brush washes only GET 90% of the dirt off and on the road 100%..

 

[Big Bri]

We have a new brush wash (cloth fingers that go back and forth). They offer a $3 wash and wax. Does a real nice job and you get free use of the vacuums. I run my truck through once a week and on the third week i go for the 7 dollar wash that does a double wax and some other fru fru stuff. My truck looks as good as the day i bought it.
Brian

 

[Bird]

(cloth fingers that go back and forth).

I couldn't think of how to describe what the Star Car Wash has besides the revolving brushes, but you just did it.:laughing:

 

[clemsonfor]

I was thinking those things were like a foam, but i guess there like a thick chamy (spelling) like cloth usually red in color that are like split into like 1" wide strips.

 

[Bird]

I was thinking those things were like a foam, but i guess there like a thick chamy (spelling) like cloth usually red in color that are like split into like 1" wide strips.

Well, that's going to be a little different than the ones at Star Car Wash. Theirs are blue, strips I'd guess are 4" wide, "look" much like terry cloth, but thicker and heavier. They swing a bit side to side and up and down and are heavy enough that you, sitting in the car, feel them.

 

[Mounted Madness]

:laughing:I have no idea what they do now, but the Dallas police sedans used to be used on their assigned beat 24 hours a day, six and two-thirds days a week. Each car went into the garage once a week for an oil change and wash job; made no difference if it was raining at the time, it got washed on its assigned day and shift. And if it got muddy later the same day it was washed, it was going to be a week before it got washed again.:laughing:

Still better then each member being given the option to wash the car or not...there are some people that are slobs not matter what they drive and job they do. I hated driving a dirty cruiser, showed poor image IMO. Then again I pressed my shirts, pants and polished my boots, but there are a lot of the new age members that don't...or worse, wash there stuff and don't iron it...okay...off topic and getting P'd off.