Please, no insults. You seem to use the word retarded a bit liberally, let's keep it civil? I never insulted you, and I expect the same level of respect in return.

I said it before and I say it again, you haven't lived where I do, so you obviously don't know the effects of wind and rain here. Also, I never said there is no damage, just that the effects of an occasional carwash are minuscule compared to the effects of driving every day.

As to the TA top, sorry, having owned two convertible corvettes, I can say with some authority GM convertibles are not as well made as the MINIs. What you are describing is most likely not the effect from carwashes, but rather salt, grime and sun. It is a known issue with some domestic made tops, including fords and chryslers as well. Read up on the subject, it is enlightening.

As to why some people with expensive cars and/or paintjobs never use a car wash? Well, this is why there's a detailing section in this forum, some folks are just more particular than others. And, those with expensive cars probably don't have to worry about driving their ferrari in the snow... and/or probably have their own cleaning crew to take care of their prized possesion(s).

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

No, the touchless carwash is concentrating thick streams of water righ into the paint. There is no rain that powerful.

what year Corvettes? And you've only owned two, that doesn't make you an authority. What quality in the Mini's are you talking about? the transmission of pre '05 Minis that had problem with the stock measly HP? or how about quite a few needing a new top replacement under warranty?

how does alt, grime and sun cause the convertible top's flap under the rear window to come lose and off of it's stitchings?

what cleaning crew? some people finance there $200k cars. what about those with $10k paintjobs? it can be a Civic with a $10k paintjob.

 

Supposedly produced by MINI

 

That's funny! Thanks for posting.

 

Not a problem. If you look closely you can see that it is a 2009. the center console is the new one.

 

My wife's grandfather ran his CL500 ($125k car, cash, no financing) through the automatic washes about once a month or so. We run the MINI through about the same frequency. And being in drought-ridden Atlanta, it's illegal for us to use our garden hose outside at the moment, so we have to go to somewhere that recycles their water. We wax the cars once or twice a year real well, and don't really see any swirling issues on any of our cars. Anyhow, just my two cents.

 

Yes, just ask the friendly people at the car wash next to Ferrari of Atlanta. The Ferrari Dealership is also attached to Maserati and Aston Martin, and they take those cars to the car wash too. You might think you know how the wealthy take care of their cars, but unless you're around that crowd on a regular basis, you have no idea.

 

Just been reading this thread and find it very interesting.

First off I am **** about my MINI. I hate to see it dirty and nobody but me is allowed to clean it. Secondly, we are in a severe drought area and so are not allowed to wash my car by hand with fresh water. Thirdly I am on my 3rd MINI, BlackII followed by LY followed by PW (the last being the cabrio).

Cars are made to withstand car washes, in the short term there are going to be no ill effects on you car. It is still going to drive and your soft top is still going to work. However, it all comes down to choice.

My first MINI was black and had major scratching due to car washes, it had a union jack roof that had faded due to clearcoat being removed and then the vinyl being erroded by the car wash. The paint also had horrible swirl marks, obviously from a rotating brush. Obviously the first time it went to the wash it was fine, as a few scratches are not noticable and it went again and again and again. I hasten to add the car was like this when I bought it, as only my second car, I was not well versed in looking over cars and did not notice the scratches till later, as it was raining when Ipicked it up, the scratches weren't that noticable. Obvioulsy the scratches built up.

So don't tell me that car washes don't damage your car. Because over time they will. MINI don't car if you paintwork is scratched, it's not a warrenty issue unless you get rust. MINI only care that your car goes whilst it is in warrenty. And 3 years of car washing isn't going to make your car stop working....unless of course you do it every day.....I would have thought though that a car wash would remove the protective coating on the cloth though as just uv will do this as well.

I do use pressure washers, but only very sparingly, as I don't have much choice and I don't always have time to use a waterless system. I only ever use the rinse function, never the brush, as this scratches also, and dry it by hand. I have had a high pressure washer pull of my Vinyl before too. I also never use it on the roof of the cabrio, just on the bodywork and always at a very acute angle, so the water flows as it would when driving.

The choice at the end of the day is yours. Do you want show level shine, or just a clean car? I understand that the cold can do what the heat does here, put you off cleaning your car yourself! I wash my car when I can with rainwater from our tank. I do that in my garage.

The roof will withstand washing in a car wash, but it is upto you whether you have you car for the long haul or it is a tempory thing. It is the same with doing an oil service out of sink with the schedule. I want my car for a long time so I look after it. I only ever vacuume my cabrio roof and it gets an oil service every 12000kms. Cabrio roof's are not reknown for their reliability so I do everything I can to help it last longer. Thats all.....

At the end of the day the choice is yours.

 

Agreed. We just want a clean car that gets us from place to place. The car washes we use don't have rotating brushes, and the car is garage kept, so it really only picks up grime and oil from the roads around here when it rains. The longest we've ever kept a car was 10 years, so who knows whether we'll have this thing 9 years from now. Either way, I'm not nearly as **** about the swirls / paint as most car nuts. I just want something to have fun in, knowing that cars aren't good investments and that it *will* be less valuable when we sell it than when we bought it.

 

yeah that video was made by mini. it was in toronto (90 foot long, 2 min carwash). they have put up the making of the video at:

http://www.miniunited.com/web/guest/car-wash/cast

 

Still makes me laugh everytime! Thanks for posting that link... I liked "the Making" part. I love when they're all soapy and getting walked by the big flat blue noodle things!

So did they put drain plugs in the floor of these new ones (like the Jeep Wrangler) to drain the water?

They make it look SO fun... I wonder how many cars will MINI get back from owners that try this?

 

I have been following this thread with amusement for several weeks. I have attached a couple photos of "Mikey" looking pretty dirty after just one 130 mile trip to Bangor. We had 3" of snow Tuesday night and by Wednesday AM the roads were "wet". This is not just water, but a mix of water, calcium chloride and sand. The Mini throws this water on the sides and back of the car, the car in front creates a mist that you drive through and an 18 wheeler in the opposite lane will smother you.

Time for a cleaning - but the temp is only 15 degrees. Handwashing is impossible (not to mention brutal) and water freezes so quickly even the "quarter" wash is not feasible, unless you want frozen doors, locks and even brakes. It's probably even too cold for the "car wash" to be open. No one has a heated garage capable of washing except for the car dealers.

Bottom line - you do what you have to just to keep the car clean. Paint swirls are regrettable, but rust is much worse and replacing rusted brake lines is pretty expensive. One thing we haven't considered, the car wash can clean the underside of the car (where rust starts) which a hand wash won't touch.

I can appreciate those of you who are "****" about your paint jobs, but you have to appreciate that the creator of this thread lives in Wisconsin.

 

Now THAT is a dirty bum! You said 130 mile trip to Bangor... round trip or one way? Where in Maine do you live? Nice car BTW . I'm partial to red... but the Maine thing is giving me a bit of PTSD.

 

http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&sourc...&z=16&iwloc=r1

Road trip to Canada!

 

I live in Mid Coast Maine near Camden, about 80 miles up the coast from Portland and 60 miles south of Bangor. (130 miles round trip). Mikey looks much better when he is clean. It's supposed to go above freezing Sat. - Car wash time! I can't hand wash though. We turn the outside faucets off to keep them from freezing when it hits 15 below.

 

Just catching up on this thread... haven't read replies to this post because I couldn't get past it without going....

Bring that MINI to me... I'll find thousands of swirls for you !!!

Even the best-cared for MINIs are going to have SOME swirl marks on them. A MINI that's been through 75+ automatic car washes...

 

Was in Camden in September. Grew up in Central Maine and -40 to -60 wasn't unheard of. Lived there for 27 years.

When we drove down here from Maine in Jan. 1998, it was freezing down the entire East Coast... even in Florida! Our car was covered with the salty/sandy mess (big icy clumps jammed in behind the front wheels too). We drove all the way down not finding ANY carwash open... even at the truck stops! We eventually had to resort to a bit of muddied dribble from one of those water hoses (near the air and vac area) and some paper towels to clear the side windows!

I distinctly remember that the limited number of available automatic car washes would close when it got to certain temps and the one place with wand washers usually shut down before the automatics did.

 

That's a DEALERSHIP.

Dealerships have to wash their cars often b/c they get dirty sitting there on display. They're obviously not going to pamper each and every one of their cars and they know that you can't really see blemishes on cars that easily should an auto carwash causes very minor damage.

so you're a coolie for the wealthy then?

 

cool, that's one person...and old lady (who may not have the strength and/or desire to waste her time in her golden years..ie. not much life left) .... living in an area where there's a drought, thus illegal to wash it at home.

 

One of the things I have read most about care of the Cloth top is to not disturb the water proofing by using any detergent on it. To simply, and mostly, rinse that part. If it is beading up water when wet, then it is OK. But a detergent will remove the water proofing quicker and then it would need to be reapplied. I think a car wash would be difficult to get to not use Detergent or get detergent onto the fabric. So, if you were to use a auto wash, even a Brushless one, I would think a more frequent application of water repellent would be in order? Rather than a once a year thing it could end up being a once a quarter sort of thing.

 

with a cabrio you should never bring it thru a automated wash the solutions are not good for the top bring it to a spray wash that you spray then dont put the soap on the top. I have a 325I vert and I only wash the top 2 or three times a summer and it is with water only or a little soap. Make sure that you get the 707 top cleaner and conditioner and I think you will be alright. I want to say that a good touchless is a great way to keep your cars looking good and swirl free it is only the top that concerns me. I would never use the wax that they use as it has silicon in it.I am a pro detailer but these are just opinions do what eveer you want with them. Tragu

 

I guess if you do keep the top down you won't have to worry about any TOP DAMAGE!!!
Ronnie948

 

I only use touchless automatic car washes. Not only is it faster and more convenient, but I also believe it's better for the paint than hand washing.

I had my last convertible 8 years and over 90,000 miles. Same top. I never hand washed it once and regularly went through automatic, touchless car washes especially during the winter when salt and sand coated the car regularly. When I sold it, there wasn't a scratch on it and it was easily in MUCH better condition than all the cars I hand washed over the years.

I've had my MCSC over a year now and I have no intention of hand washing it. It doesn't pay off and I have much better uses of my time.

I didn't see it mentioned on this thread, but with the Mini Cabrio make sure the top is latched down in the boot and the tail gate is securely closed.

 

I recently went to a touchless carwash and now remember why I stopped going to them about 10 years ago after my first experience. It really didn't do anything. My car looks just a little bit cleaner, and that's it. Waste of $8.

I guess they're good during the winter months when you need to wash the salt off, but then again I still prefer the cloth machines and being run through the conveyor belt. Unfortunately, my Cobra is lowered too much for it.

 

I do agree that automated washes are better for the paint but they should not be used on cloth convertable tops. I have to say you did have swirl marks or light scratches it is impossible not to have them even with the most perfect washing. They just appear with dust and wind and road debre.