Anyone taken their Tamura or Sport through a car wash?

[So Meister]

Afternoon all,

Bit of a dilemma:

I live at the top of a 3 storey flat complex (too much time and effort to walk down to my car with buckets of water!)

There is no communal hose 

Local car wash businesses are quite expensive and to be honest I dont really trust them especially with the 'rapid service'

The nearest petrol station has a car wash - this seems to be my only way to wash the car regularly (i like to keep it pretty clean)

The only issue is the rear spoiler - the car wash does say that cars with mods are taken in at drivers own risk (which is fair)

But since the tamura and sport rear spoiler is fairly low profile I reckon I could get away with taking the car in?

[AL2000]

I'd avoid a car wash with brushes at all costs as it slowly takes layers of paint off - do it yourself with autoglym and it pay off

[mld81]

I wouldn't dare go near 1 with the stripes I have on my car in the case it damages them! Only option is to do it myself, time consuming I know but atleast I know can be careful around the more fragile parts such as the stripe letters on the sides of the car

[cuke2u]

Hi, if it is a decent enough car wash you will only end up with some 'swirl' marks, however these can be polished out. Whether your car has been hand washed, or put through a car wash, it'll make little difference to the resale value...
Chris

[So Meister]

Thanks all,

Thought as much - looks like I'll go for the 3 or 4 bucket option 

Hate it when my car looks dirty!!

[Benji]

You could always do the third option if it is available to you round your area like mine. you will have seen all those hand car wash things at the supermarkets and random places were the people that cant get jobs peeling potatoes will wash your car for like 5 quid or something. Heard that they are not actually to bad, but your better of going were not loads do as the water will b cleaner.

[neogeo74]

Check this link out. It was an article on Fifth Gear about car washes.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/390-Fifth-Gear-Car-Wash_634705.htm

Personally I prefer to handwash my car myself.

[cuke2u]

Hi, I took a Mk2 Focus through a car wash over the two years we owned it, all it ever got was light surface swirling in the laquer. Less than you'd pick up in the car park of a supermarket...
Chris

[So Meister]

You could always do the third option if it is available to you round your area like mine. you will have seen all those hand car wash things at the supermarkets and random places were the people that cant get jobs peeling potatoes will wash your car for like 5 quid or something. Heard that they are not actually to bad, but your better of going were not loads do as the water will b cleaner.

Yeah sounds like a decent idea, but dont want to use places that use jet washes either - apparantly they do more damage to the paint work than a car wash could ever?

[Tankie]

I'd avoid the East European hand car wash types if I were you, just think how much grit etc is on their sponges and cloths, I treat my car as I would a good woman, with lots of love and attention especially the bodywork 
Change your sponge if you use one every few washes afterall they're cheap a respray isn't.
Saw a Jag have it's front bumper ripped off in a car wash once, it carried it over the bonnet, screen, roof and boot, loads of damage but if you read the small print before you use them!!!

[brianf]

yes I did at my local sainsbury's and it ripped the roof spoiler off. Beware and don't do it.