Ok, I know that most people will say the car wash is a no-no. It leaves swirls and stuff. Here in Phoenix there are tons of brushless car washes that have good deals to do a nice wash and intierior detailing ($7-$11).

I just got a mint '03 Maxima that at some point will need to be cleaned. Is it worth it for me to use the local car wash, or should I do it myself. The reason I ask is I have 2 small kids, so spending a few hours detailing my car isn't gonna happen like it use to.

 

I do a full detail twice a year and a quick wash maybe once a month. I'll admit to taking the car to a brushless wash every once in awhile and nothing bad has ever happened.

 

do it yourself if you can or get the kids to do it =)

 

$7-11 and the word detail should NEVER be used in the same sentence.

If I lived somewhere it was warm all year I wouldn't ever go to a car wash. As it is I only do the self serve kind once in a while.

 

I can't imagine living somewhere where it is warm year round and considering taking my max to a car wash.... I detail my car about every two to three months, and wash at least twice a month, usually more. Even when it is 40 degrees outside I'll handwash it. My max hasn't seen a touchless car wash, nor will it. To each his own though.

 

You guys didn't read the whole thread. I have 2 young kids (4 yrs and 1 yr) so spending 2-4 hours in the driveway ain't gonna happen on a Saturday. Luckily, the car I got is MINT, and it should be easy to keep it that way.

I'm thinking about getting that Mr. Clean Auto Dry. Any thought on that product?

 

Theres Threads here in detailing about the mr clean stuff.

My dad takes his accord to a self serve car wash where you enter $3 and you use the high pressure water, then high pressure soap, (while another person being me uses the foaming brush lightly) then spot free rinse and clear coat protectant.

It dries by itself completely spotless and looks fantastic but I'd rather do it at home so I don't use it for my Maxima (On a weekend when I don't have excessive homework which is really rare)

 

I dont know why you all think touchless car washes are so bad. Its better than you guys that only wash your cars once a month . I do touchless wash in the winter and when its cold, the only downside is that it doesnt get your car completely clean like with a hand wash. Go for the touchless wash once a week or every other week and try to get a handwash in when you can.

I do recommend not goin to the booths like DesiGLE said because the wand or whatever that you use to soap the car will swirl your paint

Ive used the Mr Clean Auto Dry before and I dont think its that great of a product. Plus the filters and soap you have to use with it get expensive

 

"Is it worth it for me to use the local car wash, or should I do it myself. The reason I ask is I have 2 small kids, so spending a few hours detailing my car isn't gonna happen like it use to."

Sounds like you answered your own question, only you can decide what it's really worth.

Personally I like to spend some "me" time with the car, I got 2 kids (5yr and 1yr) once they go to bed it's my time. Get a haolgen light setup and wash that car yourself if you want it to remain MINT. Check www.autopia.org for different methods, find one you like and just do it.

Haven't tired Mr Clean Autodry, but search and you'll find info on that one.

 

I got the Mr Clean thing and wouldn't recommend it, however I still use it because of the built in soap dispenser. I don't use the filtered water option because it didn't work very well IMO. I just use an Absorber to dry the car. I've been able to wash and wax in an hour before, but yeah, for the clay/paint cleaner/polish/wax/interior/glass you better just get a babysitter for the day.

 

I never really noticed that but i knew nothings better than a good old hand wash so thats all my maxima gets

Im just saying that's what my dad uses as a car wash on his

 

Touchless washes aren't all that bad. I only use them in the winter when its too cold to wash by hand and the hose is stored away.

Id rather take my car through a touchless wash than watch my car sit with a layer of salt over it. The salt will do 10000000x more damage than a touchless car wash will ever do.

 

+1 for the touchless wash if you don't have the time or in my case, when it's too cold to hand wash. They have not damaged my paint, but as said, they can leave a thin film of dirt. I usually do a QD when I get the car home after the touchless wash.

 

Dont go through those automated car washes with the track system, especially if you have aftermarket rims, if your car isnt aligned correctly your rims will mostlikely get chewed up pretty bad, i know this because i worked at one over the summer.

 

agreed. i only use touchless in the winter when it is just too cold out and thw water is turned off. wash by hand the rest of the year.

 

Are you a single parent? If so, I can see how difficult doing a detailing on your car could be. It just isn't happening with kids that young if it is only you and them. It's a toughie. If you are not a single parent, then you can certainly do this twice a year yourself without problems as I always have.

 

In the winter I just pull into a coin operated wash and do it myself. None of the touchless washes around here seem to do a very good job and at the coin-op I can spray the salt off of the underbody better.

 

Thats what I found at first. Then I found a great touchless wash at a BP near my house. $7 w/ purchase of gas (Ultimate Wash), double pass, underbody wash, etc. I timed the damn thing for nearly 9 minutes. So honestly, it is well worth the money. Only thing is touchless washes never get the windshield 100% clean, the rest of the car though looks great after.

 

That sounds like a pretty good deal, especially with the underbody wash. I need to find a good wash around where I always stay. I used a coin-op in Eagan before our last meet and it was really crappy...the machine kept running out of time too fast and I tried to buy some tire shine spray but the machine took my $2 and gave me nothing. I wrote a complaint and left it in the suggestion box and they mailed me my $2 back

 

For me as long as it is not a touch wash i dont really care. Most of the time I try to wash my car by hand but its hard when it 20 degrees outside.

 

That's exactly what I do. I think it's a good idea to let the touchless get all the bigger pieces of dirt off and the QD to get the rest off. Of course this works the best if the car has been fully detailed within the last month or two.

 

I used to go to touchless one to two times a week, a kid there would give me them for cheap. I've seen nothing wrong with it and would go back. I have to admit, it doesn't compare to handwashing in terms on spotless CLEANING!

Off Topic: Any way to wash my car without hoses and only soap, a bucket, and sponge/shamoi??

 

OOmaxSE do a search for QEW, no hose involved.


I do the touchless wash for the undercarriage in the winter, otherwise I use QEW.

 

hey
just purchased an '06 and wanted to hear from fellow maxima owners about new cars
is it true that you shouldn't take a car to a car wash for at least a year?
here's another question...if not, where can i find a touchless car wash in the NYC area?

 

*DING* THE ONLY WAY TO GO...JUST SHOVEL THE QUARTERS IN...!

 

Read the stickies here for the new car detail....ull find it

 

allright, i found a hand carwash in the NYC area

for anyone that's interested, it's in astoria off the GCP. i went there for the first time yesterday. they charge $15 and do a pretty good job. it's worth it i guess if you want to protect your paint job.

just puttin it out there for my fellow maxi-mites

 

what does he mean by detailed? like waxing and polishing it? in addition, i read somewhere if i was going to clay my car, i wouldnt need to polish my car? so it would be wash,clay,and then wax? or wash,clay,polish, then wax sorry for the noob question

 

clay removes dirt and overspray and all that stuff above the surface, clay will not remove/fill in scracthes like polish does.

 

I took mine through a BP touchless wash for the first time over the weekend and it was mediocre at best. It did a good job as far as removing the salt but other than that it was a waste of $7. I couldn't get out of the line either so I was stuck.

The only reason I could see doing this would be if I was suited up and didn't want to get my clothes dirty but needed a detail really bad. Other than that it didn't save any time, money and the quality was sub-par. Oh well lesson learned. I'd rather wash my car in below freezing temps than to pay 7$ to have my car look less dirty.

 

so would i would polish my car still if i clay my car?, the order would be wash, clay,polish then wax... am i correct? all in one day? thanks for the help and sorry for the noob questions