Best Automatic Car Wash for the Winter?

[amorak]

Hey guys,

What automatic car washes do you guys use in the winter that you find do the best job of removing the gross winter road grime we get on our cars here in Calgary in the winter?

I find the new Co-Op touchless ones are pretty powerful. I would never go to a touch/soft touch carwash (touchless only), but in the winter that unfortunately usually means a good layer of grime remains...

Interested to hear which ones you guys think are the best!

[flipstah]

Co-op is the best for a reason.

What I usually do is this:

- Go to a coin wash
- High-pressure wash the foam brush
- Hit the wheels with the foam brush
- High-pressure wash the foam brush
- Hit the sides and bumpers with the foam brush
- Rinse
- Spot free rinse
- Spray wax
- Drive to the Co-op wash
- Regular wash
- ???
- Profit

[Tik-Tok]

Co-op as well, but I don't bother going to a coin wash first.

- Get gas, purchase wash
- Go through car wash
- come out of car wash discover car isn't clean
- complain to gas attendant, get another free car-wash
- Go through again, this time it's clean.


Any auto-wash with a dryer though. Need a dryer.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Co-op as well, but I don't bother going to a coin wash first.

- Get gas, purchase wash
- Go through car wash
- come out of car wash discover car isn't clean
- complain to gas attendant, get another free car-wash
- Go through again, this time it's clean.


Any auto-wash with a dryer though. Need a dryer.

That's boring. With the coin wash, it's a time trial. Like LeMans-style start!

Fastest process in the cheapest amount.

I treat it as a game and see if I can beat my time of $3.

I'm trying to reach the $2 mark. $1 is just untouchable right now.

[gpomp]

I get the season pass from petro Canada. One wash a day for 90 days. Costs about $200.

[StreetRacerX]

$2 for the car, $4 for the truck usually.

[JAYMEZ]

CO OP as well for me .

[Cooked Rice]

Co-op if I'm a lazy sob. Automatic just gets the outer panels clean. I still stick to a wand wash, place I go to sells wash keys, I buy a $50 wash key, and they put $75 worth on it. Easily lasts me all winter. I spend more time washing the wheel wells, undercarriage, suspension more than the body . Lifted SUV makes it easy though. Bit harder to get under a car obviously. Also, I stopped with the whole pre-soak, soap thing in the winter. I just use the high pressure rinse to power off the salt. No use getting it super clean to have it dirty in a few hours anyways.

On the other hand i've been to some poor automatics where the arms whack into the vehicle then proceed to slide along the body. Imagine if it was dirty and had debris on it, or if the foam pads were damaged.

[saiyajin]

is this any Co-op that has touchless washes?? hmmm should give them a try...

[Maxt]

Tried the Coop one last night.. Not very good, wheels are still dirty, back tailgate/hatch pretty much unwashed, completely missed lower rockers...

[rage2]

If you 3M the whole car you can easily do $2. I might even have a post about that here somewhere detailing how to do it haha. $1 for soap. $0 for sponge, $1 for wax as rinse.

Nowadays I take my time and its easily 3-4 bucks.

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by rage2
If you 3M the whole car you can easily do $2. I might even have a post about that here somewhere detailing how to do it haha. $1 for soap. $0 for sponge, $1 for wax as rinse.

Nowadays I take my time and its easily 3-4 bucks.

If you can afford to 3M an entire car, I highly doubt any car wash is breaking your budget.

[rage2]

Originally posted by CanmoreOrLess
If you can afford to 3M an entire car, I highly doubt any car wash is breaking your budget.

It wasn't about the money. It's about the challenge.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Maxt
Tried the Coop one last night.. Not very good, wheels are still dirty, back tailgate/hatch pretty much unwashed, completely missed lower rockers...

That's why you gotta pre-game at the coin wash.

Frankly, I only pay the extra dollars at Co-op for the undercarriage rinse and the dryer.

If the coin wash has lifts and a dryer, I'd be in heaven.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Maxt
Tried the Coop one last night.. Not very good, wheels are still dirty, back tailgate/hatch pretty much unwashed, completely missed lower rockers...

Like I said, go back in, tell them your cars still dirty. They'll give you another one for free.

Originally posted by flipstah

If the coin wash has lifts and a dryer, I'd be in heaven.

That's the ONLY reason I use Auto-washes, the dryer. I don't know why coin washes don't fit these in.

In Victoria I was at one Co-op that had a dryer that moved over you (just like the wash cycle), which was even better than the ones you have to drive through yourself here.

[Maxt]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Like I said, go back in, tell them your cars still dirty. They'll give you another one for free.

I thought about it, but I grew a beard while the airhead behind the counter figured out how to sell me the first one.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by Cooked Rice
place I go to sells wash keys, I buy a $50 wash key, and they put $75 worth on it.

Where is this?

[CRXguy]

Originally posted by gpomp
I get the season pass from petro Canada. One wash a day for 90 days. Costs about $200.

I like the Glide wash, but it's only up at Cross Iron and way over by Aspen. Are the other ones touchless, or do they still use that spinning brush?

I think it's $180. At least that's what my co-worker said.

[lauphman]

I agree with the season pass from petro, not touchless but gets the job done and you can go everyday. Then Polish the car in the spring time.

[sxtasy]

does the glide wash dry sufficiently enough to use them in below freezing temps, or do you guys park in a heated garage right after?