Recommendations for Car Wash? Esso, Petro, Shell?
 

Hey guys,

First winter with the BRZ and wanted to ask which touchless washes you would recommend from personal experience. I did an Esso touchless wash today and it barely cleaned the side panels or the back (pretty disappointed)...

I've got a SWP BRZ so Im wondering if I should just go soft-cloth at Petro and wax out swirls in the spring...

My mom owns and Esso so I get unlimited free touchless washes, so that's kind of a no brainer for me. I have noticed that it doesn't quite get the whole trunk area every time, but usually not bad considering its free. :thumbup:

I would stay away from Petro though, soft cloth will absolutely destroy your paint. Those cloths tend to trap a lot of dirt in them and imagine after being used all day by dirty cars, especially in the winter, all the dirt on the cloth is going to be rubbing up against your paint as those cloths spin against your car, plus they'll drag the dirt already on your car across your paint.

Stay away from cloth car washes. I've had the best results with Co-op touchless car washes but I continue to go to Esso. The reason it doesn't get the back is because any dirt near on the trunk doesn't run off the car quite that easily and it just sits there on the bottom part of the trunk, and the water evaporates, leaving the dirt behind. The easy way to deal with that is by just wiping off the water from your trunk with a micro fiber towel right after you get the car washed before the water has a chance to evaporate.

Find a coin-op near your house.

You can wash and spray down problem areas easily.

Bring your own micro fibre cloths too if you can.

Right, that will be a laugh riot when it's -5 C out. :bellyroll:

Except that most coin-ops are heated and sheltered to an extent.

Coin-op are perfect for winter... You're not gonna be washing your car on the coldest days any way, and in winter your car will be filthy before you get home, all you want is to get most of the salt off when you can. You can do that for $3 at the coin-op or $9 at the station, I'd pick the cheaper. Just make sure that if you're using the brush on your car (I don't) that you spray it off first, for the same reason I don't use cloth car washes.

As far as the best gas station wash, they really differ from station to station, been to some great Esso, and some bad ones in the same city. Shell is usually really good, but I use Petro because I get a 5% employee discount and they have a great deal on a 90 day car wash pass... $170 (I think) for 90 days of washes, that's all I use in the summer

I don't worry about winter washes; my 2005 Saturn doesn't get washed until April when I put it away. And that's just to protect my garage so it's clean for the Scion come November. ;)

Same as above, don't worry so much about aesthetics, it's going to get dirty again on the drive home. Spend most of your 3~4 minutes at the coin op focused on wheel wells and under-body to get as much of the salt off as possible.

Heater water and building, did I mention Indoors? off of 401 and Kennedy in Toronto.

http://www.midlandcarwash.ca/
1566 Midland Ave, Toronto, ON M1P 3C2
(416) 800-9274

Just don't get their "detailing" that is BS. I sometimes serve my customers from that building as well.

Please like my facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eleva...12413625501707

To answer your question good sir, go to a touchless whether i'd be Essor or Petro-can. Usually people with multiple cars or friends that live near by purchase the 90 car wash bundle at $200 from Petro-Can. If you get 4-5 people that keep handing off to each other then it becomes like $3 a wash. Just make sure the're close by.

so..how does this place work? Can you just use their facilities for a fee and do your own wash? (noticed self serve section on site but not much detail). Would it be possible to go there and take a long time and do a self wash and wax?

Well it's like a standard coin op, they'll let you fill up buckets and do a basic detail if they're not busy. I'll be there next Friday (6th) and I'll give you a good deal on a wash and wax if you want. My paint sealant lasts 5 months and doesn't cripple in the face of salt, brine or anything else winter throws at you.

Edit: they're not busy on weekdays morning, they open at 9.

Why do you need 4-5 people? Considering how often I wash my car in the summer, I probably only pay $3-4 per wash. ;)

Thanks for this info! This place is literally 2 minutes from my apartment.

So if I just want to do a self serve all I do is show up? Also can you PM me what time you will be there next Friday and how much it would cost for that paint sealant deal you mentioned.

Thanks

Yeah if you wash your car washed every day then yes you can purchase it yourself but you guys have the power of numbers so you can even make it more cheaper ;)

Exactly, just bring your buckets, soap etc. and you can fill up your for like $3 and then hand wash in a heated environment then $3 to rinse or you can buy tokens where you save even more money.

I'll PM you about the paint sealant deal.