Carwash options

D

dlc

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Hi guys,

I would like to get an idea of where you guys take your cars for a car wash/valet.

I need to take my car for a valet(wash,polish and interior) but I'm very cautios of taking my car to any place.

IMO, the traditional carwash rollers leaves your car with unwanted swirls on the paint. I wont go near those.

I prefer a place where cars are hand washed and the staff are actually educated around car care. This might sound
stupid, but we pay a lot for our cars here in SA and need to take care of them in order to keep as much value as possible.
No orangebags to scrub off bugs, harsh chemicals which eats your paint, dropping of the cloth and continueing without rinsing etc etc.

I know if I want to avoid all the above mentioned factors I should do it myself. But I really dont have much time to fit in all the things I need to do on the car.

I would like to hear you guys thoughts on this.
thanks
 
From my experience there are tons of hand car wash joints all over the place. Between them service is on par at most of them - usually depends on the mood of the actual guys that do the washing/drying etc whether they take interest or just try and get the job done as fast as possible.

You need to find a place where the manager inspects the car once its done before giving you the all clear to drive off - I only found that at a sasol garage near my house in Jhb - and not at any other Sasol.
 
Canal Walk parking area (middle level on Checkers side)

Joe Soap Car Wash
 
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Wash it yourself. Its therapeutic and you will be looking after your paintwork.

True story.
 
dlc said:
Hi guys,

I would like to get an idea of where you guys take your cars for a car wash/valet.

I need to take my car for a valet(wash,polish and interior) but I'm very cautios of taking my car to any place.

IMO, the traditional carwash rollers leaves your car with unwanted swirls on the paint. I wont go near those.

I prefer a place where cars are hand washed and the staff are actually educated around car care. This might sound
stupid, but we pay a lot for our cars here in SA and need to take care of them in order to keep as much value as possible.
No orangebags to scrub off bugs, harsh chemicals which eats your paint, dropping of the cloth and continueing without rinsing etc etc.

I know if I want to avoid all the above mentioned factors I should do it myself. But I really dont have much time to fit in all the things I need to do on the car.

I would like to hear you guys thoughts on this.
thanks
Click to expand...

DIY


sunlight liquid
5L of water
MirrorPlate Polish or shield.

Use Blue Shirt to wash your car.
 
The last time I picked up my car from the car wash, it had R32k worth of damage.
Luckily the guy that was standing between the car and the wall prevented more damage to my car.
 
member2204 said:
The last time I picked up my car from the car wash, it had R32k worth of damage.
Luckily the guy that was standing between the car and the wall prevented more damage to my car.
Click to expand...

Ouch, sorry to hear. Needles to say you wont ever make use of their services again.
What was the outcome, did they cover your eccess or anything?
 
Cool E said:
DIY


sunlight liquid
5L of water
MirrorPlate Polish or shield.

Use Blue Shirt to wash your car.
Click to expand...

Fo sho.
Try using your briefs for the wheels, helps get into the grooves ...

OP - if you would like me to put you into contact with proper detail centres in CPT send me a PM. They are much more pricier, but you looking at a full 7 step process on your paintwork. Might be worth doing it initially and then getting a good car wash to maintain thereafter. ;)
 
It happened 2 weeks ago. I immediately logged it with my insurance. They authorized the claim and my car went in yesterday.
Not sure if I should get them to cover my excess, even though they offered to and give me a year's free car washes.
The kicker is that I've been with Santam for 10 years and never had a single claim; I only switched over to Alex Forbes a month ago.
 
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member2204 said:
It happened 2 weeks ago. I immediately logged it with my insurance. They authorized the claim and my car went in yesterday.
Not sure if I should get them to cover my excess, even though they offered to and give me a year's free car washes.
The kicker is that I've been with Santam for 10 years and only switched over to Alex Forbes a month ago.
Click to expand...

1) Which car wash?
2) Santam is an insurance company and Alex Forbes is a broker. So you could still be with Santam.
 
For the big washes like you describe I do it all myself because I don't trust anyone to do it properly.

NEVER take it to a "roller" car wash. Do you ever get those any more?


For the normal in between washes I these days take it to the Pink Car Wash at Willowbridge out of the sheer convenience of getting easy parking and having it washed while I go have breakfast or do some shopping and then get SMS'd when it's done.


Normally I would wash it myself because it's less hassle than actually going to sit around at some car wash for an hour.
 
Do it myself. Have urethane film covering on most panels so cannot push it through a car wash or any using those high pressure spray gun things
 
SauRoNZA said:
For the big washes like you describe I do it all myself because I don't trust anyone to do it properly.

NEVER take it to a "roller" car wash. Do you ever get those any more?


For the normal in between washes I these days take it to the Pink Car Wash at Willowbridge out of the sheer convenience of getting easy parking and having it washed while I go have breakfast or do some shopping and then get SMS'd when it's done.


Normally I would wash it myself because it's less hassle than actually going to sit around at some car wash for an hour.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know I will never ever put my car through a roller wash. I do still see some of them around, usually at petrol stations.
I try to wash my car myself at least once a week, but been very busy lately so I've missed quite a few washes. That's why I'm looking for a good and "trustworthy" washing centre to do a full valet, especially a polish in order to protect from the summer months and industrial fallout. Another place I can think of is auto-armour. They have quite a few branches.

After that, I can just maintain with weekly washes myself.

Another thing I dont do is dish washing liquid or handy andy. I always use car shampoo.
But I've recently bought some prepsol wich I use when washing my quadbike to easily get the dirt and grease off. Do you know if it would be safe to use on a car? I'm thinking to put it on some of the bug splatters and see if it comes off easier?
 
dlc said:
Another thing I dont do is dish washing liquid or handy andy. I always use car shampoo.
But I've recently bought some prepsol wich I use when washing my quadbike to easily get the dirt and grease off. Do you know if it would be safe to use on a car? I'm thinking to put it on some of the bug splatters and see if it comes off easier?
Click to expand...

You can, if its diluted say 10:1 but .. it will still strip your wax or sealant on the paint.

If you consider the risk of "scrubbing" the bug residue off vs stripping the wax, I would rather strip the wax off and then just reapply once I dry.
 
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