Drive Thru Car Wash - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ichiro75 · 10-05-2007, 08:44 AM

I just realized I asked a very stupid question. :chicken: I will spend the time to hand wash it.

Perfectlap · 10-05-2007, 08:53 AM

well if your in Mass washing it yourself in winter can be hard. I have a garage now but before this I would take the BoxsterS to an underground parking garage and use the one bucket (with a lid!) filled with warm water and Optimum No Rinse. Good excuse to get out of the house when its too cold to do anything else.

ChrisZang · 10-05-2007, 09:06 AM

realistically, what damage can a touchless car wash do to your car?

Perfectlap · 10-05-2007, 09:11 AM

to the paint nothing really but for your canvas top those detergents are no good.
Detergents attract dust. which gets into the threads, brings on fading, and ends up tearing threads and gives you those weird looking creases.

If you have a hardtop its fine, that's if you can find a touchless car wash.

ChrisZang · 10-05-2007, 10:53 AM

oh, thanks I didn't know that.

So I guess I could drive with the top down through the car wash then

7th gear · 10-05-2007, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

to the paint nothing really but for your canvas top those detergents are no good.
Detergents attract dust. which gets into the threads, brings on fading, and ends up tearing threads and gives you those weird looking creases.

If you have a hardtop its fine, that's if you can find a touchless car wash.

agreed .... up to a point though.

since i've joined up with the pca, i attended a clinic for detailing (http://polishandwax.com). the local automatic carwash probably doesn't attend to their chemicals as well as we could at home. and if i'm proven wrong by those that own a local auto-wash, i'll bet that the next guy down the road hit the snooze button on his/her auto-wash maintenance.

ichiro75, you'll do more for your car's appearance, up-keep and a longer lasting shine when you spend just a little time with a nice meguire's wash/wax. (insert your favorite here) when you do a little searching around here on this subject, you'll see some in-depth knowledge to learn from & hold on to. i did.

'nuff said.....

CJ_Boxster · 10-05-2007, 11:24 AM

I know from experience, i took the boxster to a carwash and the tire guide track scratched up my drivers side from rim, it scratched up the lip pretty good.

rick3000 · 10-05-2007, 11:50 AM

I would stay away from any car wash that is not a hand wash or a DIY carwash with the canvas top. I got a hardtop so I might try the drive through automated ar wash, but the one that does not use a track.

Dr. Kill · 10-05-2007, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichiro75

I just realized I asked a very stupid question. :chicken: I will spend the time to hand wash it.

That was not a stupid question. Since you didn't know the answer, it was a very good question to have asked!

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum.

ichiro75 · 10-05-2007, 07:57 PM

So I took your advice and hand wash and wax the car. I also vacuum and clean up the interior. It took me 4 hours!!! but it was well worth the time and effort. The car looks soooo clean and good now. I am going to take some pictures tomorrow and post it here. Thanks again!

Franco · 10-05-2007, 08:10 PM

Hi, Congrats, that wasn't a stupid question at all and I'm sure some others learned something from this post just like myself .

Thanks

der Geist · 10-05-2007, 08:32 PM

Let's not forget how many of these places recycle their water as well. I stopped at a self serve wash in NM and for the kife of me could not get the black Benz clean. There was a lot of crap in that water, even the rinse was not 100% fresh.

achillian · 01-13-2009, 12:07 PM

This is an old thread, but I have to leave a comment after todays experience. I work in Novato, CA and I work a lot. Which in the winter time, when the sun goes down at 5 p.m. , makes it very difficult to wash the boxster during the week. So if I'm busy on the weekends, it does not stay as clean as it should.

Today I decided I would let someone else wash my car (big mistake). There's a handwash next to where I work but they use a track system. I drove over there anyway (big mistake #2) and they told me their track system doesn't damage wheels. I even showed them my perfect wheels before the car went in for a wash. Anyway, car came out, and big suprise...scratched wheels!

They told me the scratches were already there. I am having the wheels fixed then heading back to this carwash place to have them pay it. They don't know it yet, but they are paying one way or the other.

Moral of story: as has been said before, never, ever use a carwash with a track.

ekam · 01-13-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by achillian

they told me their track system doesn't damage wheels. I even showed them my perfect wheels before the car went in for a wash. Anyway, car came out, and big suprise...scratched wheels!

What else do you expect the 18 year old minimum wage employee to say?

"Sir, please don't use our excellent auto wash as it will mar your perfect Porsche wheels. Thanks, have a nice day and don't ever come back."