How to keep car clean in winter?

[thumper]

haha i only wish... suddenly scratches don't bother me

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[thumper]

great idea by Rated B... never thought to look on youtube.

touchless (esso one is not as nice but u get the idea):

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no liv tyler optional wash option though

[thumper]

i have to take back whatever i said about the esso car wash at the corner of willingdon/kingsway.

i just came back tonite after getting a wash and under the lights at home the results this time was very disappointing. i had noticed while in the wash bay that the amount of soap dispensed was pretty diluted. and now i can see a horizontal strip around the entire car that had not been washed, which may indicate that one of the nozzles on the wash arm is not working.

i guess i'm staying with the other one at the corner of burrard/w. broadway again.

[Rated B]

I like this one more

http://www.abhd.nl/video/meer-tempta...ash-op-zolder/

Originally Posted by thumper

haha i only wish... suddenly scratches don't bother me

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[hi-revs]

are the touchless car wash at Esso safe for soft tops?
im tempted to go just for the under body wash though.....

so which esso is the best? the one on broadway and burrard???

[FatalCloud]

if your car has a decent paint job and you have undercoating, then road salt shouldn't be much of a problem, i wouldn't worry about it?

[Toast]

Went to the automatic carwash on Terminal Avenue tonight. Thought I'll offer my experience to the RS community.

First of all the place certainly looks nice. Its right infront of the new Mini Yaletown service facility on Terminal, they have a huge sign right by the road that says they're open 24/7 so its pretty hard to miss. As you approach the machines to pay attendants head out and offer their hand and clearly explains what each package includes.

1) The basic wash just gives you... a basic wash. They have a grand opening special on this, currently $7 (reg. $9).
2) The next level washes your wheels and offers 1 coat of "wax, $12.
3) The full deal offers all of the above, plus undercarriage wash, tire shine and a rust proof spray for the undercarriage, $14.

After the long snow storm I went for the full deal. As I finished paying and approached the entrance I noticed the place is actually not a touchless carwash place, its one of those with huge rollers and the conveyor belt to move move your car forward. At first I was worried about not clearing the rails (I drive a 2001 330i 4 door with oem M sport kit on H&R cupkit, front bumper ground clearence is a little more than 3 inches) but the attendant assured me the rails will not damage the car and wheels as it has polyurethane protectors on all edges, so I proceeded. After about 2 minutes the whole process is done and I left. When i reached home I inspected the car and noticed its actually quite clean. I looked at the car's finish with a flashlight and there appears to be no visible swirl marks (I'll check again tomorrow in the morning), even the tires are shiny (not sure how they managed, but they did).

I think the place is great if you REALLY needed a wash and undercarriage rinse. Of course nothing beats the traditional wash mit and bucket of soap at home, but during the winter months sometimes we're left with no choice but to make sacrifices. But it would be interesting to find out how well the "wash rollers" hold up after a while when more cars use the service, will it cause swirl marks, etc... But tonight I am a happy camper.

And I did my homework before going, here's a link with pics of the site while its still under construction.

http://www.kindredconstruction.com/g...g2_itemId=1140

[Fafine]

just went the one on marine and fraser, the most expensive one "luxery" is 9.99 then the one under it don't remember the name but it was 8.99. they both have under wash. i went for the 9.99 and gonna try onr tmr

[Death2Theft]

Too bad that fancy wash system wont work with a bike rack.

[Death2Theft]

I'll be sure to do some offroad muddin before going to the terminal location,afterwards u guys can wash your cars and tell me if theres any swirl marks.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by Toast

Went to the automatic carwash on Terminal Avenue tonight. Thought I'll offer my experience to the RS community.

First of all the place certainly looks nice. Its right infront of the new Mini Yaletown service facility on Terminal, they have a huge sign right by the road that says they're open 24/7 so its pretty hard to miss. As you approach the machines to pay attendants head out and offer their hand and clearly explains what each package includes.

1) The basic wash just gives you... a basic wash. They have a grand opening special on this, currently $7 (reg. $9).
2) The next level washes your wheels and offers 1 coat of "wax, $12.
3) The full deal offers all of the above, plus undercarriage wash, tire shine and a rust proof spray for the undercarriage, $14.

After the long snow storm I went for the full deal. As I finished paying and approached the entrance I noticed the place is actually not a touchless carwash place, its one of those with huge rollers and the conveyor belt to move move your car forward. At first I was worried about not clearing the rails (I drive a 2001 330i 4 door with oem M sport kit on H&R cupkit, front bumper ground clearence is a little more than 3 inches) but the attendant assured me the rails will not damage the car and wheels as it has polyurethane protectors on all edges, so I proceeded. After about 2 minutes the whole process is done and I left. When i reached home I inspected the car and noticed its actually quite clean. I looked at the car's finish with a flashlight and there appears to be no visible swirl marks (I'll check again tomorrow in the morning), even the tires are shiny (not sure how they managed, but they did).

I think the place is great if you REALLY needed a wash and undercarriage rinse. Of course nothing beats the traditional wash mit and bucket of soap at home, but during the winter months sometimes we're left with no choice but to make sacrifices. But it would be interesting to find out how well the "wash rollers" hold up after a while when more cars use the service, will it cause swirl marks, etc... But tonight I am a happy camper.

And I did my homework before going, here's a link with pics of the site while its still under construction.

http://www.kindredconstruction.com/g...g2_itemId=1140

if you can update with pics it would be appreciated... my only experience with this type of carwash was the oasis near metrotown, and it got me a big scratch on the trunklid and i never went back

[kc1337]

i personally go to a local self serve car wash with the pressure washer and just spray off all the gunk and dirty and salt off the car. too bad i spent $24 to just spray my car clean. don't ever try to use the brush at those places because you'll end up doing more harm than good.

[!Yaminashi]

I tried out the esso wash station near coquitlam centre, and it actually cleans a bit better than the marine/fraser location.
Seems it dispenses more soap, and rinses twice

Seems a couple dollars cheaper as well?

[threezero]

anybody try out that washworld place in richmond by steveston and no.4 or no.5?

[thumper]

Originally Posted by threezero

anybody try out that washworld place in richmond by steveston and no.4 or no.5?

i've heard of it, but it's so far away...

[Toast]

thumper: I'll try to get some pics when I go again with my mom's car on Thurs night

I've been to the Washworld in Richmond before, slightly better than the Husky wash station on Bridgeport near No3, but not much better. Washworld is also touchless.

[thumper]

meh that husky station... i was there on friday (where i noticed an RS member's stolen integra but didn't know it was stolen until i got home afterwards )... i paid for the regular wash and after i came out the car was just as dirty as before i went in!

at least they gave you the cleaning brush and the garbage can of wash detergent to clean your wheels with. i watched in horror as someone with a black e-class merc used that brush to scrub his entire car... oh the pain

[TypeRNammer]

Originally Posted by threezero

anybody try out that washworld place in richmond by steveston and no.4 or no.5?

I tried it myself and it worked pretty great.

But here's the catch, if you drive a slammed miata and tried to do one at washworld, sensors won't detect your car

[jing]

It's so hard to keep the car clean in winter time =/

Having a white car doesn't help either -.-"