Personal Experience with Automatic Car Washes

Automatic car washes can be found on numerous street corners in nearly every city in America. The convenience factor makes them a popular choice especially when the car owner lives in a cold climate with extreme temperatures. It sure beats washing the car in sub-freezing temperatures in your front driveway. However, automatic car washes can damage your cars exterior. Let's look at a few ways the convenience of a automatic car wash could cost you more in the long run than just washing your car by hand.

Older car washes may use brushes

To keep your paint in pristine condition avoid older car washes which use brushes that are known to scratch the paint and finish on your car. The brushes are usually hard and abrasive which is bad for your cars paint. This is even more important if you own a older car with less clear coat or areas which are worn and damaged. I've had noticeable scratches which cost hundreds of dollars to buff out afterward. To keep the damage at bay, try to choose a car wash that doesn't use brushes, most newer car washes should use heavy cloth strips instead, or a system that doesn't physically touch the exterior of your car.

How to protect your paint at the car wash

To avoid the damage to your paint job, try finding a "touchless" car wash which uses simple jets of water to clean the car. This way you can avoid any costly repairs and insure you don't get any unwanted damage to your car. These can be found in most cities though they may cost a bit more than the older systems that use the brushes or cloth. The extra dollar or two could save you a bundle in the long run.

Always take a minute to inspect the exterior of your car after you use the automatic car wash. If you find damage, contact the company and explain your situation. However, most car washes have a notice that releases them from any damages associated with use of their facilities. Even if the policy is noted, you should still call and explain what happened to your car, they may be interested in helping you resolve the situation as a way to keep good relations with the local community.

Automatic car washes still may be safer then doing it by hand

An automatic car wash uses a specific amount of water, and cleaning products to keep the outside of your car looking great. Sometimes when washing by hand a car owner may use the same bucket of water for the entire cleaning job. As the car owner dips the same cloth into the water over and over the water becomes filled with gunk and grime which can scratch the paint and ruin the finish on the car. The car owner may also use a cleaning agent that's not be suitable for washing a car.

Sometimes in the rush of life we grab whatever cleaning product that's sitting in our garage. If this sounds like you, your actually better off finding the nearest automatic car wash and use it.