Car Washes in South Bay?
 

Where have you guys been going to get your cars washed, especially now that drought restrictions have essentially banned washing your cars in your driveways? Any good touchless washes in the South Bay/San Jose area?

And on a side note, any recommended places to get your car detailed/Opti-Coated? Not sure if I want to splurge on that stuff yet though...

If you want a self-service place, I would recommend E-Z Carwash on Snell Rd. I go there quite frequently --they accept card and have the colorful soap!

If you're willing to travel a few miles, there's also Chevron's Premeir Carwash on Montague Expressway in Milpitas. They charge ~$35 for a VIP hand wash that includes interior vacuuming

What are the new restrictions? From what I understand you could still wash your car as long as it's after a certain hour and with a nozzle that stops the water, as long as your water isn't running it's fine.

This is what I thought too. Cuz I just washed my car a few nights ago in my driveway. I did it at night around 8.

I haven't been very happy with the performance of Opti-Coat. I have the consumer grade version (Opti-Coat 2.0) on my car and though it works... I was really expecting more.

If you want to stick with Opti-Coat, make sure to ask the installer which version of Opti-Coat they are using. They should be using Opti-Coat Pro (or just Opti-Coat now). OPT discontinued the consumer line Opti-Coat products and renamed it to Gloss-Coat. Opti-Coat is now only available through installers only.

I would also look into the CQuartz coating line. That is a very popular coating also.

In regards to who can install a coating, a few options:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/auto-salon-works-belmont-2

http://www.yelp.com/biz/immaculate-reflections-antioch

http://www.yelp.com/biz/orinda-auto-detail-orinda

http://www.yelp.com/biz/auto-concier...te+reflections

The last one I listed, Bob/Auto Concierge is as high level as you can get. And charges accordingly.

Last thing: If I were you, I would only go to someone who is well established. For whatever reason, I feel like everyone and their mom is a "detailer." Just be careful. It is cheaper to do it right the first time than having someone hack up your car and then have it fixed.

Thanks for the recommendations. The name seems to have gotten scrambled though; what's the self-service place you're talking about?

Here's a quick run-down. Specifically:
Interesting, thanks for the detailed suggestions. I'll have to think about whether it's worth it after all.

I'll let my work speak for itself. If you have any questions just PM. Oh and check out Eco quartz coating by igreenlover thats what I use.

I'm located in Alameda
Find me on yelp at Makas Detail

And instagram @MAKasdetail & @Kamakanani0keanuenue

Facebook is makas detail
http://www.yelp.com/biz/makas-detail-alameda-4

I guess it varies by county because I just looked in my area and it's still ok, just not between 11 AM and 6 PM. Personally though I don't see why they're restricting you washing your car even with a nozzle, people will go to car washes which will end up using just as much water.

Paint coatings are absolutely worth it. I just wouldn't go with Opti-Coat. Just my personal opinion. Opti-Coat is the gold standard, but I think there are better products out there. If I were to go with a coating, I would go with CQuartz or Americoat. I had 22PLE on my last car, and that was great. But it was a first generation paint-coating. It can't compete with newer coatings as they are more glossy and more durable now.

I have had Opti-Coat on my car for 3 years. Excellent product and no issues. Bird droppings, sap, etc. easily clean off the car and I have only spray waxed my car. Looks flawless every single wash. That being said, after 42,000 miles I am thinking I will need to have some paint correction and opti-coast reapplied at the 60K mark.

I also wash my car every other weekend in my driveway, with a karcher electric pressure washer. No issues in San Mateo...

LOL! I'm sorry, my phone was acting up when I was typing. It's called E-Z Carwash

I had Cquartz finest applied on my SWP BRZ by Joe at OCDetailing. He used to be the owner of Orinda detail, but branched out and works at a shop in Walnut Creek now.

He is only 1 of 2 people in Norcal who is authorized to install Cquartz Finest. Kinda on the pricey side as I paid over 1K to get it done, but he's been coating cars for years.

-J

1 of 3 actually. Jeff@Immaculate Reflections and Man@Detail Maniac are also Finest installers.

any good self service car washes around fremont/union city area?