Have you avoided an automatic car wash, and how long do you have your MINI?

I have mine one year and I have only hand washed it. I bet the majority of NAM members fall in this camp.

How do you wash it when it is freezing out?

Regards,
Red

 

My cars have not been thru an auto wash since..... 1997 maybe???

of course i've been in Houston since 1998

_________________

 

Down here in South Florida..we don't know the meaning of the words "freezing outside". :smile:

 

Being in Florida "freezing out" is a non-issue. However I have never put thru the carwash neither one of my MINIs....they only get hand washes.


Probably I haven't been to an automatic car wash in more than 10 years.

 

>>Down here in South Florida..we don't know the meaning of the words "freezing outside". :smile:
Are you here in Miami, too?

 

>>Being in Florida "freezing out" is a non-issue. However I have never put thru the carwash neither one of my MINIs....they only get hand washes.
>>
>>
>>Probably I haven't been to an automatic car wash in more than 10 years.

Wow! You are the "winner" so far. Must be nice to live where it's always car wash friendly.

Regrads,
Red

 

No freezing issue per se here in North FL.

Hand washed once a week, waxed (yes wax) once a month.

 

>>>>Down here in South Florida..we don't know the meaning of the words "freezing outside". :smile:
>>Are you here in Miami, too?
I've been thru an automatic car wash several times (Turtlewax) Winters in Chicago are cold so I go to the hand operated pressure washers

 

they make buckets so you can use hot water and get the crud off. do we need heated car wash facilities in your area. i pull it in the gurage when its cold and wash it with the bucket. it looks good and im ready for spring.

 

My garage unfortunately looks like a garbage dump (2 kids and no basement)

 

I just spec'd our MCS so I can't comment on the mini portion of your question but I had a 90 mustang I bought in december 1989 and sold in November 1999 and it never saw the inside of an automatic car wash. We have a Lexus we bought in 1999 and it hasn't seen the inside of a car wash. However, we had a 2k Corolla that saw the auto car wash all the time.

So I guess you can see the pattern here..MCS no auto car wash!

 

My intention was to never do the Gas station wash thing but I have to confess that on two occasions I found my self in desperate need of a quick fix. Just the other day I spent $6 for a touchless wash because I was too busy on the weekend to give my MINI the proper care it deserves.

I'm not proud of what I did and I am not making excuses. I hope that by coming forward and admitting what I have done I will be able to move forward from here and get back on track.

Its just that my wife is 9mos pregnant and I am trying to finish a bathroom remodel at home and spent all weekend painting. Sunday was her bithday and she had complained to me about our front yard and how ours is the ugliest yard on the block so on top of the bathroom I spent many hours landscaping.

Both projects are still in progress but I promise I will hand wash my MINI on Sunday. One upside is that in about 14 or 15 years I can make the boy do it.

 

Only hand washes for me in 14 months of ownership. This is the first car I've had that got such care. I do use a commercial do-it-yourself car wash as I have no such facilities where I live. I bring my own bucket and other supplies though. I can wash my MINI for $1.00 in quarters...two rinse cycles. (...vacuuming is .50 extra ) The car wash is one of the more ghetto ones in the area but surprisingly one of the best equipped. It has a faucet area where I can fill my bucket (free) for shampooing. I haven't found this elsewhere. It also has a covered drying area which is also rare here.

It gets pretty cold in north Texas, but only on occasion...I have been known to bring warm water from home in gallon jugs just to suds up my MINI. The rinse is still mighty cold though.

BTW, I have also become quite the meteorologist, too. Soon as the skies begin to clear, I'm off to the car wash!!!

 

I'll be the first one to admit that I take it through the car wash all the time. In fact, in 17 months of ownership I've probably only hand washed it twice.

It may be a MINI...but it's not fragile. If I can't go through an automatic car wash for most of the cleanings, I'm not going to own it! I bet most MINI owners fall into this category...but don't want to admit it here!

Besides, who wants to be washing their car when it's FREEZING outside!

 

 

>>I'll be the first one to admit that I take it through the car wash all the time. In fact, in 17 months of ownership I've probably only hand washed it twice.
>>
>>It may be a MINI...but it's not fragile. If I can't go through an automatic car wash for most of the cleanings, I'm not going to own it! I bet most MINI owners fall into this category...but don't want to admit it here!
>>
>>Besides, who wants to be washing their car when it's FREEZING outside!

I wouldn't mind taking it to the auto car wash but something about using recycled water and brushes that have touched over dirty cars doesn't appeal to me. Plus, if it's touchless they use chemicals to take the dirt off. Other then that, I think it's fine to take it to the car wash!

 

August 2002 Production....NEVER EVER as long as I own it. Car Washes and MINIs don't mix well. Like oil and water.

 

My MINI has a tag inside that says "Hand Wash Only"

 

I don't have outside water or a place to handwash so I've used auto washes ever since I got my MINI. I only go to ones I know are well maintained and I prefer the 'Laserwash' style since it is touchless. There are no scratches or swirlmarks on my paint. I handwash it when I can, but usually if I want it clean, its an autowash. 43k miles and counting!

 

Had my MCS since Aug 2002 - no automatic car wash yet!

 

Little Chili only gets the hand wash from me.

 

Forgot, my MINI was bought May of 2003, has 5600 miles on the clock and looks as good as the day I got it. :smile: It helps if you have a garage

 

NEVER! 6 months and hand wash in the driveway followed by drying with a microfiber cloth. Still looks new...

 

In the MANY years I have been an adult, I have never had a bad experience with a car wash (other than of my own making like forgetting to turn the radio off and thus not retracting the antenna). I have taken PKT RKT through 3 or four times, (3400 miles) but only touchless ones as it has fog lights.......I take it home and finish the job with my pressure washer for the underbody, the rear hatch (gets dirty in 5.2 seconds it seems), door insides, engine compt etc.........I do have hot water in my garage but PKT RKT will never see winter so washing it in the cold is a moot point for me :smile:

 

Don't count me in this category:

>It may be a MINI...but it's not fragile. If I can't go through an automatic car wash for most of the cleanings, I'm not going to own it! I bet most MINI owners fall into this category...but don't want to admit it here! <


I'm 60 years old and own five cars which I still wash and wax myself. Hard to believe someone would take a Kia through an auto car wash, let alone a MINI!


R.E.