Good car wash in toronto?
 

Where do you guys wash your cars in the GTA area? Washing it myself is out of the question. I live in an apartment building. No time or space. I tried an automated one so far and my car is already full of tiny scratches. Is there a wash where they do it by hand and not these ridiculous unnecessary bristles and such designed to scrape barnacles off old ships.

I'm not from the GTA so I can't help with anything specific but I'll give some general advice.

There should be professional detailing shops near you but expect to pay out the nose even for a basic wash. The most basic wash at my local detailer is $60 which includes a basic hand wash and interior vacuum and cleaning and packages go up from there. Taking your car to a professional detailer at least once or twice a year is a good idea to get a proper cleaning and wax if you can't do that yourself.

Besides that, I recommend finding a coin-op car wash near you for regular cleanings. Don't bother with the brushes, they are filthy, just use the pressure washer. I don't know what the going rates are in the GTA but in Kingston, it's 2 dollars for 2 minutes. I can do a basic wash and rinse for $4. I put in my coins, do a quick high pressure wash over the entire car then switch to high pressure rinse and go over the entire car so it's mostly clean and finally, hit the car with a quick spotless rinse in the last 40 seconds to avoid water spots. When done, drive around for at least 10 minutes to let the car dry off. I purposely go to a farther coin-op so I just drive home and the car is dry by the time I get back.

If the car is especially dirty or you are new at the coin-op, take more change with you. You might need more time and there is nothing worse than getting halfway through a cleaning and then not being able to finish because you ran out of money. Ask me how I know >_>

Find touchless washes. That's what I do.

I have a touchless one nearby and spent $9 and the car wasn't totally clean. I was really lost trying to figure out what does what. There was one with mildly soapy water so I used that and rinsed it off. Maybe next time I should try the thick foam first.

Also, could it be that the scratches are caused by stones on the highway? I tend to not drive behind people to avoid them so maybe that's why the scratches are on the sides? They look deep, I'm seeing white through the red.

Well, if you drive on the highway, you're bound to get paint damage. My advice is to either not worry about it, or get all of your paint corrected ASAP and wrap the entire car in paint protection film.

That's really expensive though. Eh I won't worry about it

I used to be in the position you are in, where i would baby the heck out of my car... but you come to realize there are so many factors that you cant even help that might damage your car/paint.

I have 3 cars in the household that are driven daily. Most economical and practical for me during these rough winter seasons is to buy one of those Petrocan wash cards and go touchless wash daily between the 3. Or if I dont have time, I even share with friends. I save up around 500 in the bank so that at the end of the season, I go in for a complete exterior/interior detail with paint correction and my soul is happy. Multiply that by three and haggle a bit with the guy I always go to and I think its worth it...

Look at waterless wash products that can be sprayed on and wiped off. Optimum no rinse isn't cheap, but I've heard nothing but fantastic things about it.

I used to take my car to the coin-op car washes as well when I lived in a condo.
Like Lynxis said, don't use the brush.
Instead I would bring a bucket, a wash mitt, soap and a chamois.

1) Drop in some coins to pre-wash and fill the bucket (usually about $2)
2) Wash by bucket and mitt (use grit-guard if possible)
3) Drop in $2 to rinse
4) Then dry with chamois

Scratch free wash for about $4, but it also helps to have Opticoat.
I still do this sometimes when I'm too lazy to unravel the hose :)

Thanks for the tips guys! Much appreciated

I try to only use the pay and spray if possible, and as mentioned, I avoid using the brushes that are provided there as they are usually dirty and probably full of grit or other fine particles that will scratch your paint.

If I'm in a rush, and just want a quick wash, I will simply give the car a rinse with the high pressure setting, spray the whole car with the spray soap setting, and then rinse it off with the high pressure setting again. If I feel like really getting into it, and if there isn't a line-up at the wash (the employees at the one in my town really don't like it when people bring their own brushes, mitts etc. because it holds up the line), I'll go through the same steps, but will bring my own brush from home and spray it with the soap after soaping the car, then will go over the whole car with the brush before rinsing both the car and the brush off.

Failing that, the ONLY automated car wash I would ever take my car through is the Petro Canada GLIDE. It has the option for touch, or touchLESS. Naturally I always choose touchless, but it's neat that it has options. The other nice part is that is employs a giant conveyor belt instead of the rails, or the machine that moves around your car, so there is much much less risk of damage to rims/tires/lowered vehicles.

I also have a pressure washer at home and use that whenever possible.

Thank you, I didn't know they existed. Looked up a couple of locations. They're kinda far but I'll check them out

Yeah that's the only downside, is there's only a select few of them installed so far.

I know of one in Georgetown (where I used to work), and one at Mississauga Road and Steeles (on my way to where I currently work).

Other than those 2, I have no idea where any of the other ones are LOL.

This^ in conjunction with a touch less wash if you want it really really clean.
During the winter I figure the touch less wash is a good enough scenario since it is just going to get dirty a few minutes after I am done anyway. If it is a really nice day I will run it through the wash to get the worst off and then go over it with a detailing spray to actually clean it. CTC seems to have some pretty good touch less wash systems to spray all that nasty 401 salt and sand off.