Jet wash vs car wash

thexav

Pro Tuner
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Car
2002 Clio 172
I thought a jet wash would be better than the scratchy automatic car washes.

Unfortunately the car interior was soaked. Unless you have a newish car with good window/door seals you should avoid jet washes. Plus it didn't get off a lot of the dirt.:sad2:

Anyone else had bad experiences with a car wash?
 
I once went through an automatic car wash an it ripped one of my mirrors off. I use my jet wash now although I may as well use a hose cause I still end up scrubbing it down even when I use the wash stuff for the jet wash. Unless I go over the car afterwards with a cloth its rubbish. You'd think with the strength of the spray it would removed everything but it doesn't at all. May as well use a bucket and a hose. 100% better than a jetwash......
 
i think DIY car washes are better for a couple of reasons

they dont scratch the paintwork like an auto would
you can get a better clean, if you put some elbow grease into it
its cheaper, example an auto car wash costs 8 euro
1 garage you pay a 5er and you get as much use out of it as you want
another garage that i use has a machine that has 4 settings
shampoo, water suds and wax

it takes a euro a minute which is plenty of time to get the job done
in total i put 3 euros in between settings and my car is gleaming

sorry to hear your car got soaked interior, but an auto wash would do the same
if anything a normal wash would suit you better as you can control, and in the prosses, avoid the leaky spots
 
I once went through an automatic car wash an it ripped one of my mirrors off. I use my jet wash now although I may as well use a hose cause I still end up scrubbing it down even when I use the wash stuff for the jet wash. Unless I go over the car afterwards with a cloth its rubbish. You'd think with the strength of the spray it would removed everything but it doesn't at all. May as well use a bucket and a hose. 100% better than a jetwash......
the trick is to soak the dirt first, then sudsy sponge it and power hose it off
 
I dislike the car wash. I have hated them over since I was sat in my dads van when it broke the back window. Everything got soaked including me. I tend to wash my own car so not had much experience with jet washers.
 
My Audi has never and will never go through a car wash. I stick to doing it myself with a wool mitt and the proper tools.

Craggle - it broke the back window. That must have been scary. I heard of a woman whos roof got crunched and the fire brigade had to cut her out:eek: She was a nervous wreck after that.
 
definetly do it by hand, least then if you scratch it its your own fault.
used to work in a filling station that had a jet wash and auto one.
the nylon brushes were sharp at the edges and would likly scratch the paintwork.
the jet wash wasnt bad, but it depends on the pressure thats going through them.
 
I thoroughly detest washing my cars but there's no way i'm paying someone else to do it [except the apprentice] or putting them through the car wash [not the apprentice :)].
It's strange, i used to enjoy the wash and polish process, i guess it's one of those things that as you get older, the novelty wears off.
I still like them to be clean and shiney though.
 
If I had to choose, I'd go for the jet wash.

Top tip.
Use the Jet wash lance on the soapy brush before using the brush on your pride & joy. :bigsmile:

Personally I'd go for washing the car by hand, anyway my little car is the same as Xaviers & won't stand up to a jet wash :lol:
I've not had any really bad moments in autowashes, a couple tense ones when I just remembered that I've not took the aerial off the roof & the door is closing!
 
hand wash with the old two bucket technique. one for washin the car, one for washin your sponge! that way all bits of dirt etc are left in the 2nd bucket and not put back on your car!
 
Thats a good idea I'll try that next time I get my wife to wash the car :lol:. I normally use 1 bucket and go from the top to the bottom of the car and wheels last. The car gets dirtier the lower down you go.
 
I like Esso's Tiger Wash, it's always given me a fairly good finish. Just need to polish it afterwards.

Didn't like BP's one though. The man gave me a plastic sock to put over the rear windscreen wiper - what's the point of that? It'll still rip the thing off if it wants to.

With the Land Rover I used the jet wash to clean the underside, wheel arches and wheels, and then go through the machine.
 
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I've lost ariels, wing mirrors and side trim in carwashes plus all those little scratches. I just don't bother with them now.

DIY or the local hand wash for me.
 
I finally found a hand car wash that do a fantastic job, they use a wool wash mitt, do inside the alloy wheels and dry the car off thoroughly at the end.

They also use tyre shine, which I do not like but you can't have everything and I just have to ask them not to next time.
 
My car has no idea what the inside of a motorised car wash looks like. It is hand washed and cosseted by only a few people who I trust to do the job properly.
 
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