You guys are nuts to be taking your X5s through car washes, especially those of you with dark colors.

There's a reason you see spider webbing "minute" scratches in the clear coat.

If you're not drying your vehicle with a clean, frequently changed terry cloth, you're slowly destroying the finish of your vehicle.

For the proper manner on how to wash your car visit autopia.com

But, you should clean your vehicle with NO FEWER than three separate buckets, and 3 sets of cloths.

One bucket and one set for the wheels (brake dust is metallic and will scratch clear coats)

One bucket for the lower portion of the vehicle, where large grain dirt and road grime collects.

One bucket for the upper portion of the car.

Lastly, you'll need a separate set of towels to dry your vehicle, while using auto-detailing spray to make sure no water droplets occur.

If you're not taking those steps, which take about 30-mins., with practice, you're not cleaning your car properly.

Lastly, EVERY CAR, MUST be "clayed" after delivery and at least twice per year.

If you've not "clayed" your car and you think it's well waxed, take this test. Put your hand inside a ziplock plastic bag and run your hand over the hood of your freshly cleaned and waxed car. It will feel like sand paper.

If you do the same thing, after "claying your car" and waxing it, it will feel smooth as glass, which is how it should properly feel.

Everything from rail dust (which attaches to the car during transport) to road dust, from normal highway driving, and brake dust which is microscopically as sharp as mini-razor blades can and will embed itself in your vehicle's clear coat.

Claying the car will remove those impurities. If left, overtime, they will rust. The iron from brake rotors, and rail dust, will slowly damage the clear coat to the point that the car will never look like new, no matter who works on it.

Spend a little elbow grease! Typically the cars I bring back to the dealer, to trade in after 1 or 2 years (which is my normal cycle) look far better than the day I purchased them.

Detailing is my hobby, so the above is for reference only,but it's also the ONLY way to remove the contaminants that are already present in each of your cars.

If you don't care, and you just like to take it to the car wash and be done with it, then obviously the above does not apply to you. But, if you like to tinker, and work on your vehicle, this is the only proper way to clean your vehicle and the method used by every detailer in the world.

There's no secret as to how detailers are able to make cars look new again, and I've just highlighted the major tricks of the trade.

The only thing missing is how to use an orbital buffer, but that's a bit more extensive and requires practice. If you go that route, it's best to pick up a fender or a hood panel from a junk yard and practice on it, before practicing on your new X5!

Enjoy and watch those car washes! Ever seen a car wash worker drop a towel on the ground, pick it up, and then continue drying your vehicle? If so, they've also just scratched the hell out of it, without a doubt, and in bright sunlight on a dark car it will be visible from a mile away.

xoxoxoxox you dirty car owners.