My sister recently got her 2024 330i in white. She loves it to death, her friends purchased a car wash pass at Petro Canada here in Canada, and they split the cost. 1 wash per day for a year and is split among the 3 of them. She gets a wash like every 2 days or something. But the thing is some of the car washes are not touch less. They are touch with bristles, and she showed me a video and I just cringed.
Then some are touchless, but regardless, aren’t the soaps in touchless washes bad for the vehicles clear coat? I am thinking of just cleaning it for her by hand and such. I’m mad at her because she isn’t taking care of this car she spent lots of money on.
This is the way.
I think my E Class has been properly hand washed maybe 5 times in the 16 years we’ve had it, the rest of the time it’s been through the brushes. The paint still looks really good to me and to pretty much everybody who sets their eyes on it. Whatever damage is on the car wasn’t done by the car washes.
As you said, it’s not showroom condition, neither is it gonna win any contests if I bring it to a show, but I’m just not really seeing what everybody’s on about when they say automated car washes “destroy the paint”. The car doesn’t look any better or worse than my own, which I hand wash on a monthly basis in the summer.