Anyone else NOT baby their car? (cosmetically)

[jaime3]

FRS is life

[beatgenie]

I don't care whether I buy a car that's 26,000 or 5,000....I'm going to take care of it both cosmetically and mechanically. This is my first new car and I did not view it as a "cheap" car.

I wash it every week and wax once a month if I can. Washing and waxing isn't done because of any strange paranoia that your friend seems to have. YES I care about the cars appearance but the process of washing and waxing itself is therapeutic for me...almost meditative, I look forward to it.

As far as rock chips, door dings, etc go...do I like them? Of course not. But they are inevitable and out of my control so I don't let it get to me.

I believe how you treat your car reflects on how you treat everything else in life, from all the little things down to even the big things such as your house. It's more of a personality thing to me I guess.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by beatgenie

I wash it every week and wax once a month if I can. Washing and waxing isn't done because of any strange paranoia that your friend seems to have. YES I care about the cars appearance but the process of washing and waxing itself is therapeutic for me...almost meditative, I look forward to it.

^^^^ This^^^^
I wash every week (in the summer) because I like the process of washing and the satisfaction of how great it looks when it is done.
I also find that many people will approach and chat when you are washing a car that would otherwise never even say Boo to you so there is a social aspect to it as well.

[Ddreder]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

^^^^ This^^^^
I wash every week (in the summer) because I like the process of washing and the satisfaction of how great it looks when it is done.
I also find that many people will approach and chat when you are washing a car that would otherwise never even say Boo to you so there is a social aspect to it as well.

I wish I had the patience to do this. As soon as my arm starts getting tired from washing I just go into eff it mode and just quickly wash it which always leaves those really fine scratches.. Then I am upset about those even though I know its my own damn fault.. Idk I like washing my miata because it is so small lol and I could care less about that paint since it is fubar anyways. I think thats the real problem. I just dont have the patience to wash my car properly in order to preserve the paint. Thus I dont feel the need to wash it lol

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ddreder

I wish I had the patience to do this. As soon as my arm starts getting tired from washing I just go into eff it mode and just quickly wash it which always leaves those really fine scratches.. Then I am upset about those even though I know its my own damn fault.. Idk I like washing my miata because it is so small lol and I could care less about that paint since it is fubar anyways. I think thats the real problem. I just dont have the patience to wash my car properly in order to preserve the paint. Thus I dont feel the need to wash it lol

Not only do I wash once a week I use a spray detailing compound (not wax) each time so I go over the whole car twice!

[CAMBAM_6]

For myself I see this car as a vehicle I plan on keeping for a really long time, So yes I try and take care of it as much as possible. I don't go after every scratch and small dent (I have a small door scuff, front bumper is chipped and scratched to hell on the bottom) but I do keep up on my weekly washes.
I do plan on getting my front bumper resprayed and some kind of protective coating but im waiting until I have another car as a daily and my frs becomes my weekend warrior (I can dream) lol

[Ddreder]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not only do I wash once a week I use a spray detailing compound (not wax) each time so I go over the whole car twice!

Yea I used to do that with my prelude because it was black. But now that I have white paint I can ignore the crap out of it! lol

[NWFRS]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not only do I wash once a week I use a spray detailing compound (not wax) each time so I go over the whole car twice!

I do the same thing!

Meguire's Quick Detailer? I'm trying to switch to Griot's Garage Detailer but I have enough Meguire's to last me another year yet. Do you open the doors, hood and trunk and clean out all the sills? Our water was really hard when I started doing it, the city has since softened the water but it's a habit now. :-)

[Nevermore]

When I first got the car I told myself I was going to be obsessive about it since it's the first new car I've ever had and the best looking one too. But I'm lazy and quickly found out that I'm just not always motivated enough to keep it spotless. I'm also pretty bad at washing, so it's swirled to all hell, but that could also be the few car washes it's been through.


I have told myself that once I buy it out of the lease (if I do, which I think is likely) I will take it to a shop and have the paint corrected, rock chips fixed, and the whole thing opticoated, so I haven't really cared how it's looked for the better part of a year. I just keep telling myself eventually it'll all get fixed.

[Dadhawk]

I pretty much follow the Daily Driver approach as others on here.


I average a little over 20K miles a year so there is no way to be obsessively clean about the car (or any of the other cars in my family). I do keep it clean and will touch up any really bad spots. If I keep it long enough I'll have the paint repaired as needed. About once a year I'll have a professional I trust go over the entire car and give it a complete detail.
The nice thing about red is that as long as you don't have mud on it, it never really looks dirty, just "dull". Then you wash it and pow.
I've definitely mellowed over the years on this. The first cars I owned in my teens and early 20's got the obsessive compulsive treatment. Some of them were cars I bought for under $500 but I worked on the paint to make it look better than new. Eventually I found other hobbies.

[BRZBlack]

I did all of the things you described in your first post.... for the first year. This is my DD and used in winter. Plus mine is black. Impossible to keep perfectly clean so I don't even try unless I know it will be nice out for at least a week. Mechanical reliability and performance takes a front seat now. After my fist ding in the right front fender i was all %&*(%#$#$&*&(^&^&!!!!! Now im all like eh, that sucks.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NWFRS

I do the same thing!

Meguire's Quick Detailer? I'm trying to switch to Griot's Garage Detailer but I have enough Meguire's to last me another year yet. Do you open the doors, hood and trunk and clean out all the sills? Our water was really hard when I started doing it, the city has since softened the water but it's a habit now. :-)

I use the Turtle Wax ICE (the polymer one not the wax one) and yes inside every opening and sill get it too.


Damn it! I do baby my car and was in denial!!!

[Nevermore]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

I pretty much follow the Daily Driver approach as others on here.


I average a little over 20K miles a year so there is no way to be obsessively clean about the car (or any of the other cars in my family). I do keep it clean and will touch up any really bad spots. If I keep it long enough I'll have the paint repaired as needed. About once a year I'll have a professional I trust go over the entire car and give it a complete detail.
The nice thing about red is that as long as you don't have mud on it, it never really looks dirty, just "dull". Then you wash it and pow.
I've definitely mellowed over the years on this. The first cars I owned in my teens and early 20's got the obsessive compulsive treatment. Some of them were cars I bought for under $500 but I worked on the paint to make it look better than new. Eventually I found other hobbies.

The orange is the same way. The brighter the sunlight, the better too. It's only when you get up close to it that you see the filth.

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by beatgenie

I don't care whether I buy a car that's 26,000 or 5,000....I'm going to take care of it both cosmetically and mechanically. This is my first new car and I did not view it as a "cheap" car.

I wash it every week and wax once a month if I can. Washing and waxing isn't done because of any strange paranoia that your friend seems to have. YES I care about the cars appearance but the process of washing and waxing itself is therapeutic for me...almost meditative, I look forward to it.

As far as rock chips, door dings, etc go...do I like them? Of course not. But they are inevitable and out of my control so I don't let it get to me.

I believe how you treat your car reflects on how you treat everything else in life, from all the little things down to even the big things such as your house. It's more of a personality thing to me I guess.

Well spoken, Grasshopper.

I'm the same way with an ulterior motive. I go through lots of cars, trucks and SUV's. Of the four stages of the lifecycle (acquistion, financing, maintenance, disposal), I take steps to help recover costs at every step. I won't get into the other steps but the last is important to the next buyer and the extra care invested in cosmetics almost always pays dividends.

My last sale, an FR-S, sold for well over retail, actually the highest sale price I saw locally or nationally on closed eBay listings in part due to showroom condition from staying on top of interior/exterior detailing. I do the same for the rest of the fleet and especially to the keepers in the hangar for the reasons you mentioned, therapy and satisfaction.

Strange I know since we're talking about an inanimate object, but I also consider it payback for the track and auto-x cars that keep me safe.

Of course the job is shortened and easier using Griot's products and a Porter-Cable random orbital buffer.

I'll leave it at detailing, my attention to mechanicals might be a disorder.