Car wash
 

Just curious if all dealers offer complimentary car washes on weekdays. The dealer I bought from does but is not the closest to my house.

Has anyone tried to pull into another dealership for a car wash? Does it matter if you didn't purchase your car there?

:stickpoke:spit: this gave me the chills just thinking about the swirls and crappy job delearships do on washing the car. Buy some product and wash it yourself.

Me too, although many folks just don't have the same criteria as us....

I wouldn't let the dealer wash or detail the car when new! Paint was near flawless- actually better than expected.

A

I dont event expect them to wash it when I bring it in for service (they washed it twice out of 4 times there). Local car wash is $12 and is a 10 minutes round trip from the house including wash time. Dealer is 25 minute drive away each way.... just not worth it.

There is no "free lunch"... they will just rush through it and do crappy job

Actually Fields BMW Orlando is not too shabby other than its 50 mi from where I live. I agree buy your own product and do it yourself! You'll have better results.

The only time I do not wash the X myself is in the winter when it is well below freezing for several months at a time and my hose is frozen. My local dealer hand washes cars and does it inside their building. IMO, a crappy wash is better than no wash when the alternative is driving around for a month or two with the car covered in salt and chemicals. You guys living in the South have it made. I washed religiously at least once a week when I was back home in TN.

As a preemptive strike, I always walk over and tip the guys BEFORE they start washing mine.

Agreed. Washing car yourself is best. That being said. If I washed my cars myself, I would not have any time left over to make money to buy the cars.
M

I never wash the X5 myself. its too big and I consider it our utility vehicle - so no special treatment :) Also, I would never get the inside as clean as a car wash can and I drive 2 little litter monsters around it in...

True, I can never seem to get all of the empty 9mm shell casings out from under the seat. But the guys at my carwash never fail to get every last one.

shell casings are one problem... cheerios, cracker crumbs, dirty napkins is another...

My dealer in Boston always washes the car when I take it to them for service. Although their wash is as crappy as it can be (the wheels still look dirty with lots of brake dust).

I live in New York City. Unfortunately the apartment lifestyle means you can't wash your own car. Taking the X5 up the elevator to the 18th floor and washing it in my kitchen just doesn't work.

I always take the car out to get washed. The dealership actually is hand wash and more reliable than the regular brushed carwash in New York City. I've never had a problem with the dealer and they do a great job washing the wheels and even the floor mats. At least if the dealership screws your car up, you know they can fix it and be held liable. Unfortunately, my dealership is about 40 minutes away.

I actually take it there not to save costs but because the local brush carwash put some scratches on my paint and pissed me off. Being complimentary is just an added bonus but I'd gladly pay double or triple for my local car wash if they did it right and saved me the 40 minute drive.

That's why I'm wondering if I can take it to a closer dealership. If someone has a good car wash place in NYC I'll take that suggestion as well.

I have thought about putting 3M on the entire car and then not caring about crappy car washes. Here in WI, you just cannot wash it enough.

Marc

Bucket wash it yourself at a manual car wash. It's the next best thing.

That's a good idea to tip them first, but my pre-emptive strike is to ask them not to wash it! It takes me less time to wash it, than it does to fix all of the stuff that they can do to the paint, but I do understand your thinking.

Our dealer just had a Free Service Clinic and the mechanics looked at me like I had three heads when I asked them not to wash it. It also cut an hour that I had to wait because I skipped the wash. That's a win/ win to me! :beerchug:

Optimum car wash products makes a product that is rinseless and it works as long as you follow the directions. I use that in the winter. It surprisingly works pretty well, that and we also have a Very Nice touchless car wash Very near our house that does a Great job for those times that I'm not feeling like washing it.

I agree, but when it's 20 below 0, I'm not washing a car no matter what products I have.

I'm the same way. Mine goes to the car wash, and every spring/fall I put a coat of rejex on it.

Just for the record, mine is a lease, if I owned it and it was smaller I might wash it myself more often.