Car Wash
 

I have never run my car through the tunnel at the carwash, would it be OK to do it once in a while when I'm short on time to have an actual detail?

You should be fine as long as it is a "touchless" (no brushes) car wash.

You never want to take it to a wash with brushes. Used to you had to worry about the brushes scratching your paint - the newer ones aren't as bad. But the brushes can pick up things. My sister had a car beat up by a car wash brush that had picked up some kind of hook off of a vehicle and when she went thru the wash, that hook made nice dents from one end of the car to the other.

I would try to find one that does not recycle their water. Recycled water will slowly turn your chrome trim (if you have a non-sport X5) to a cloudy color.

I think 90% of them used recycled water though..Good luck trying to find one that doesnt. If i dont have the time to wash my X myself. It stays dirty until I have the time to do it myself. If its going to be washed, I'd rather it be done right, or not at all...

^agreed

I usually spend a good amount of time with a detail adding wax or some type of sealant. That will protect the paint for a few weeks between my handwashes.....I would highly recommend against going to your neighborhood carwash. The tracks inside the carwash are generally pretty good at scraping rims as well.

LOL ive only HAND washed my car once. the other 150 times its been through the tunnel at the car wash along with the Porsches, Bentleys, Mercedes and other nice cars in the neighborhood. i think you'll be ok.

you might also try some simoniz liquid diamond . i used some of my buddys this weekend in the hamptons as he regularly uses it on his 740 (it always looks wet). now my car looks wet :)

If you have the time, patience, and a driveway hand washing is better.
I have none of these so its autowash for me.

Silver is a lot more forgiving than black so that helps.

:iagree:

One caution:

Check the adhesive on the rubber strips in the rail before you go through a wash with a jet air drier.

If they are loose at the back, they will whip around in the high wind and may smack and shatter your rear glass.

:iagree: my stays this ways.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/...b964f8cd_b.jpg

given what weve seen of your engine bay, that pic shows a relatively clean X5...for you. :bustingup
:stickpoke obviously j/k

Considering that your 4.8iS has fender flares...I advise that you go with the touchless car was or just wash yourself if you have the time.

Was in a rush to an out of state gig and made the mistake of going through one of those brush car washes...
http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...el-arches.html

I've run my car through the car wash at least 40 times a year for the last 5 years. They have spinning brushes and soapy pads they drag across the car. My paint and trim still look like new. For the $12 "basic" wash I get a wash, interior including rear vaccumed, windows inside and out cleaned, and detailed wheels and tires, all hand dried. That would take me 3 hours at home. When I have time once a year, I wax, treat the leather, and treat the interior.

I agree with everyone that handwashing is best if possible. There are a few things that can go wrong in a drive-thru setting that can potentially mess up your car. Do you have any good hand wash places where you live? I woud use them first and if that is not an option I would then use the touchless ones. It also depends on how obsessive you are about your car. Most people can use drive-thru's and never think twice about it. If you are asking the question, you may be more towards the obsessive side.

I have been forced to find alternatives to hand washing myself and it is driving me crazy. We are under fairly heavy water restrictions here is Georgia becasue of drought conditions. I have not been able to wash my car in my own driveway since last summer!

Damn you vince. LOL.

I'm pretty obsessive about the X so I always do touchless. also since I got my 214 rims I just hand wash her, I don't need a reason for them to lock me up :-D

:D

Ok, this will sound dumb but what is a touchless car wash? is that the kind where you can hose it down and soap it up yourself?

stay out of jail until you get those rotors installed!:bustingup

No, that is a wand wash.

A touchless wash is a drive through, usually no track to mark up your wheels, with a moveable carriage that sprays strong soap, water, wax, etc, without ever touching the vehicle. The carriage uses sensors to get close to the vehicle without touching it. No brushes. Some risk of soaps stripping whatever wax you have applied, and in some locales they recycle the water.

Also, in many places they dont have enough pressure to actually clean the car, they just take off the top layer of dirt.

Touch Free only!!
 

Any auto wash using brushes is going to scratch/the worst is the soap brush wand at the corner car wash. Take a look at the other cars there and it speaks for itself. :wow:

www.detailersparadise.com has clay and lubricant, cut, polish, S21 Carnauba and the s21 polymer that lasts out to 6 months depending on how often you wash and how aggressive a detergent you use. WET WET WET. Also, they have towels, Leatherique etc. and at a fair price. Something you don't always find shopping for your BMW.

now that i know what it is, where is the closest touchless car wash to NYC?:bow:

I feel your pain, brutha!!

Regular car wash place with rotary bruses. My X5 is a 2001, paint is like new, glossy. As long as the engine runs I don't care too much where and how my car gets washed. It's just a car.

:wow: I think that warrants instant banning!!!!! :D jk

I agree

I’m sure there are tons of people out there that make love with their cars. It’s just not me. As long as it’s safe for my family and runs without too many problems is ok. Just a humble opinion. You guys don’t have to take it personally.

Gotta agree with Tomaz on this issue. Some car washes are better than others. My car wash is technically not "touchless", but the "brushes" are not exactly brushes. They are basically rotating cylinders of soft cloth strips to avoid scratching the vehicles. I go there religiously once a week and ask for the "Platinum" wash for $15. This includes an undercarriage wash, inside vacuum, and wheel/tire detailing. This would be a major pain in the A$$ if I had to do it all myself. If you have nothing but time on your hands, then I guess its fine to hand wash, but for us "working" folks, with kids to boot, a tunnel car wash is just what the doctor ordered.:thumbup:

Also, any small paint damage I've has thus far has all come from road pebbles, sand, gravel, etc. With the 80 miles of driving I do every day, the car wash is the LEAST of my paint worries. But of course, not all car washes are the same in terms of quality, so you should do your research.
The one I go to also gets visited by a large number of Mercs, Vettes, Porsches, Jags, and other high-end models. And I've also developed a good rapport with the guys that work there, so that they're extra careful with my X.

:stickpoke Dude, we were just kidding around.

Note to admin - please do not ban this individual. I had no intentions of having harm done to them.

Here is what turned me off from most drive-thru washes.

I went to one of those reputable places that is typically flooded with nice cars. You know, the type where they spray your car down first and get all of the tough dirt off, then the car is pulled through the tunnel on a track with the soft cloth strips and then the guys hand dry it at the end of the tunnel. The one I went to in the past had a huge window the length of the tunnel so you could watch everything from the waiting room. I was watching them drive my (2-weeks new to me at the time) X5 onto the track. The guy must have been new or something and didn't get the wheel in the rack correctly, so he started jacking the wheel left and right. You should have seen the look on the manager's face as he saw me looking at what was going on. He pulled the guy out of the car and did it himself. This is just an example of something small that can go wrong. Bottom line, IMO is that the less you trust others with your car, the less things like this can happen. However, I am married without kids and love to spend time making my car shine, but if I had kids or was busier I would take it somewhere I trusted and not think twice about it.

Anyone in the NYC area available to hand wash my car this sat while i chill by the pool? do a good job and theres a nice tip in it for you. :bustingup