Being a first time BMW owner I'm inclined to want to hand wash and wax my car but sometimes lack of time is a factor so I'm curious to know if anyone out there runs their 3 series through a "Mister Car Wash" type of establishment. I imagine some of these places are geared toward "high end" vehicles but I'm not sure. My brother-in-law said to make sure they have "soft bristles"...any suggestions or feedback?

many times. You will be prone to scratches, but then sometimes washing by hand is not an option (such as when it is near or below freezing). Make sure it is soft cloth not bristle stuff, and that they don't use recycled water. The one I take it to, they even dry it for you and then put the towels in the wash, so they don't reuse dirty towels and thus less likely to scratch. Don't use the touchless ones, aside from what I heard that the high pressure of the water may hurt your finish/clearcoat, they don't clean $#%^. I tried that once on my old car and figure I could have done as good just spraying it with my garden hose.

touchless only (imho) but i have found these are not very good at getting the 18's clean but they are dirty a day later so that's a moot point. if not then go to the cloth type usually found at the car wash with workers that will dry it and clean the wheels.

touchless only (imho) but i have found these are not very good at getting the 18's clean but they are dirty a day later so that's a moot point. if not then go to the cloth type usually found at the car wash with workers that will dry it and clean the wheels.
Did you ever try to dry a really dirty car after going through a touchless carwash? The rag was dirtier than if I wiped the floor with it. It may clean dusty cars, but not winter salt and grime will. Heck when I tried it, it wasn't even winter, just hadn't washed the car in a few weeks back then! YMMV, but I already passed my judgement on touchless.

touchless only (imho) but i have found these are not very good at getting the 18's clean but they are dirty a day later so that's a moot point. if not then go to the cloth type usually found at the car wash with workers that will dry it and clean the wheels.
Agreed. If you can't hand wash it, touchless only. I learned my lesson the hard way. They cycle way too many cars through these brush systems and inevitably, the brushes retain dirt and mark the car up considerably. My car's black, I have to be even more careful.

sometimes washing by hand is not an option (such as when it is near or below freezing).


Uhhh, I beg to differ. Remember, fingers grow back, but your BMW is forever! :eyecrazy

Seriously though, if you have a semi-heated garage you can fill a huge bucket with water, keep the bucket inside for a day, then wash it -- the water has a pretty high heat capacity and will stay warm as you wash the car. It's not that bad (yet), believe me.

Uhhh, I beg to differ. Remember, fingers grow back, but your BMW is forever! :eyecrazy

Seriously though, if you have a semi-heated garage you can fill a huge bucket with water, keep the bucket inside for a day, then wash it -- the water has a pretty high heat capacity and will stay warm as you wash the car. It's not that bad (yet), believe me.
Garage not heated, too small and no drain. Remember, you don't live close enough to the North pole. It is 0F (-16C) here outside and my garage is below freezing. I don't even leave my iPod in the car anymore of fear it wil be destroyed (hard disk freezing and shattering or something). Last time I forgot it, the battery was fully charged but the damn thing will not run, says no battery charge. And believe me, when I take the car to the car wash, any water that is not dried off by the air blowers freezes instantaneously when I get out of the carwash, I don't even get a chance to wipe it out. There is cold, then there is piss freezing cold, then there is Canada :D.

I used a touchless car wash for my Evo,s during the winter months.The one i use works great.I used it to get salt and dirt off and it was great everytime. I took the 335 there once last week because my back was hurting so bad i couldnt wash it by hand.I was a little hesitant at first,but it came out really nice after just a quick wipe with a microfiber towel after the wash.It wasnt really that cold out but from experience using a touchless with my last 4 cars in winter,(including a black 01 camaro SS)i definetely recommend them.Well at least the one i use anyway.

I use a touchless during the winter on my Audi (black paint). I don't trust the bristles or even the 'soft' ones to not pick up dirt and swirl/ruin my clearcoat. I agree it barely does anything, but at least it gets some of the salt and crap off. They have the high pressure jets on the underbody too, which I figure in winter probalby helps with the salt and such.

I use a touchless pretty regularly but I agree with mryaken if the car is too dirty you don't want to take a towel to it. In the winter when it is too cold, I don't dry with a towel, the wash has blowers that kind of dry it but I just let it go after that. It is a 90% wash in the winter but better than nothing. I will occasionally use a soft cloth car wash but not often. I have silver which I think hides the swirls and small scratches the best.

I just googled weather and Houston and saw the 5 day forecast. Not bad for winter, not bad at all. Heck, those temps are like summer here on the west coast of Canada.
With those mild temps, I'd be tempted to stay away from all car wash places for my 07 335i. Those cars are gorgeous and really expensive here in Canada and I'd want to protect the finish as long as possible.
A great looking car deserves a great looking finish, so I'd stick with a quality car wash shampoo and a sheepskin mitt and a two bucket washing method.
An added concern for me would be damaging/scraping the wheels on some of those tracks they have on some of the washing places.
-John C.

The one i use also has powerful blower dryers. But theres always a little water left. So after i pull it out of the bay i just give it a once over real quick.

Touchless for me. I'd rather the car be dirty that scratched. :)

but then sometimes washing by hand is not an option (such as when it is near or below freezing).

Well aghem...I had my buddy call me a lunatic today beacuse it was below freezing and I was outside washing my car. I mean sure...I had frozen bubbles at one point on the roof but the rinse took care of that. I have never in my life used an automatic car wash on one of my vehicles and I don't intend to start any time soon.

NOO!!! DONT GIVE IN!!!

honestly.. id rather keep my car dirty than put it through another car wash

What about going to one of those 'do it yourself' ones? That way, you can bring your own mitt too..

I'm in the same boat -- I'll try to do it myself in my driveway when I'm going to wax, etc.... but living in NH, I know my black sapphire will be looking nasty in the winter, often. I was thinking of washing it once a week or so.

I was thinking of bringing it to one of those do it yourself places where you add the quarters, and have the gun that shoots rinse or soap or whatever.... bringing my own freshly washed mitt, and then bringing microfiber towels plus a finishing/detailing spray. Is this is a good idea?

Great idea only if the bay doors close and its heated.

What about going to one of those 'do it yourself' ones? That way, you can bring your own mitt too..

I'm in the same boat -- I'll try to do it myself in my driveway when I'm going to wax, etc.... but living in NH, I know my black sapphire will be looking nasty in the winter, often. I was thinking of washing it once a week or so.

I was thinking of bringing it to one of those do it yourself places where you add the quarters, and have the gun that shoots rinse or soap or whatever.... bringing my own freshly washed mitt, and then bringing microfiber towels plus a finishing/detailing spray. Is this is a good idea?

How would you rinse the mitt out after it gets dirty?

I'd just spray it down and live with the dirt that remains.

I was my car weekly, doesnt matter what the conditions are. Only thing that delays it really is rain, everything else I just tough it out.

If its cold, get some rubber gloves and a big jacket and some hot coffee.

I was my car weekly, doesnt matter what the conditions are. Only thing that delays it really is rain, everything else I just tough it out.

If its cold, get some rubber gloves and a big jacket and some hot coffee.

easy for you to say mr. california.

DON'T DO IT just yesterday I took my car through an automated car wash for the first and last time. I knew how harsh all the high powered water and brushes were on your paint but I was being lazy and thought what the hell, well to make a long story short the dam thing ripped a piece of trim off the rear end of my car :(

Wow....great comments! I had my car washed at the dealership...they do a courtesy wash and did a fantastic job! Since all they do all day is wash BMWs they are very careful with this service..

Those automated brush washers leave scratches. Look close and you will see.

I always use a bucket and water from a hose without pressure. Then a coat of cheap Turtle Wax. The real damage is done with excess salt, sun and lack of wax.

Car washing, drying, claying, polishing and waxing seems like a rather expensive process to me that I don't plan to adopt due to the fact that there is not enough time in our lives to do it consistently. That money and time can be used for maintenance of mechanical moving parts, or just staring into space.

My recent goal is to see how little water I can use. I can wash my car better than a business, and with less than 10 gallons of water, every 2 weeks. That includes an interior wipe-down. No crappy/gooey Armor All grease. 5 gallons is the next challenge.

Water is what we should actually be concerned about because a typical grass lawn takes 20,000 gallons of water per year or more. A typical car wash is 50-80 gallons.

F%$%&^ touchless actually blew a 2 inch spot of paint off my M3s bumper, I just got it, previous owner told me what happened., hand wash only for me.

I personally do not like putting my car through car washes unless it's a handwash.

i tired taking my vert to a carwash cuz i went through some mud and knew id never get it all off before freezing my ball** off.

in the end it leaked like a bitch but it did come clean

in my town they have a place where they completely handwash it, buff it and wax it.

A body man told me once to extend paint life never even use soap, just a sponge and a running hose. Sponge in one hand, hose in the other keeping the rubing area very wet. He said alot of soaps have small detergent crystals that are just an extra chance to scrape, even microscopically... I have been doing this to my cars for years and working fine, wax regurlarly and spray detailer after every wash... Anyone agree?

Never go through an automated car wash. They will always do more harm than good. Too many dirt particles get trapped in those strips of cloth that beat the hell out of your car. Causing scratches in your paint. If you must, go to a touchless. I personally dont care for them, but they are better than the non-touchless. Those manual ones arent so bad. Just dont use the brushes. I used to just do the high pressure wash and rinse and be on my way.

No matter how you wash your car, its nearly impossible to not get some scratches or swirls. I dont care if you use the best microfiber towels or the skin off of an angels butt. You will get swirls. I try to minimize it by using several mitts and clothes. Lately Ive found myself using a leaf blower to dry. You just need to pick the lesser of the evils. Its always helpful to be anal as possible. That way your car stays as swirl free as can be.