At the Car Wash...

[SSher]

For those of you in the northern Chicago suburbs, Splash Car Wash on Dundee and Skokie Valley in Northbrook did a great job with my first hand car wash.

 

[giants2001]

Took a road trip last weekend to LA using the SCs. It was a great experience and met some really nice Model S owners along the way. The only downside was how dirty the car got. I live in a Townhome and there are HOA rules against washing you car in the street. I use some waterless products in the garage to keep the car clean in between major washes, but after this road trip my baby blue needed some real lovin.

I was fortunate enough to find a local detailer in the South Bay that did an incredible job. Christine from My Messed Up Manicure spent over 5 hours detailing the car inside and out. Fabulous work and at a great price. If anyone is looking for a local detailer who knows what they're doing (ehem, I'm looking at you AJs), then I highly recommend you contact her. She even went to TeslaMotorsClub to get some information on any trouble spots to look out for without me even mentioning this site. Can you say proactive and attention to detail :biggrin: . Sorry if this turned into an advertisement, but just wanted to share how thrilled I was with the end result.

Here is a link to her FB Page and Yelp if interested. She took a lot of before and after pictures, so I wont post any here. Just look at all that sap...ewwwww :scared: - so happy to have the car looking like I did when I picked it up from the factory!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Messed-Up-Manicure/124141380999405
My Messed Up Manicure/ Automotive Detailing - San Jose, CA

 

[pilotSteve]

Drive to Bend Oregon (again) this weekend from Portland. Up and over Mount Hood (4000'+ elevation gain) and there was considerable wet road grime as well as about 15 minutes of light snow.

upon arrival the car's lovely rear was covered in road grime and cinder dust. Uggh. So I took it thru a touch-less car wash (machine moves around the car). I have to admit, the end result was pretty darn good!

I've tried to use high pressure wand washes in rise only mode (to avoid scratches) and the car just doesn't get close to clean. The 'touch less' does use chemicals but they do an 80% job of removing road grime while not scratching the car. I was pretty impressed.

 

[Kaivball]

Good to know.

What's her hourly rate?

 

[giants2001]

Good to know.

What's her hourly rate?

She quoted me $175 for a complete detail inside and out. She had estimated 3-4 hours, but it took about 5 hours. Next time I come back it will be $50 and shouldn't take more the 2 hours.

So I would talk with her and settle on a price that fits the job, not necessarily how long it will take. Also, you can use her Audi to run errands if you don't have a spare vehicle or if you drop off the car like I did. It's no Tesla, but allowed me to get around town ...and definitely makes you appreciate how fortunate we are not to be driving an ICE :wink:

 

[Kaivball]

She quoted me $175 for a complete detail inside and out. She had estimated 3-4 hours, but it took about 5 hours. Next time I come back it will be $50 and shouldn't take more the 2 hours.

So I would talk with her and settle on a price that fits the job, not necessarily how long it will take. Also, you can use her Audi to run errands if you don't have a spare vehicle or if you drop off the car like I did. It's no Tesla, but allowed me to get around town ...and definitely makes you appreciate how fortunate we are not to be driving an ICE :wink:

That's very low. My normal detail guy charges $50 an hour but then you car is concourse level when he is done (15 hours later... )

Even regular detailers charge about $350 for a solid inside and out job.

 

[Al Sherman]

My quote is 255 for a 4 hour interior/exterior detail. This includes: Degrease & hand clean entire engine area. So, I guess some negotiation is in order?

 

[vfx]

http://www.carwash.com/articles/88191-attention-be-aware-of-the-tesla-model-s-electric-vehicle

Tesla Motors representative Patrick Jones explained via email that this is a safety feature in the event that the vehicle operator forgets to put the car in park. Tesla had been aware of this issue as it not only affects taking the car to the carwash, but also makes it impossible to tow the car without someone in the driver seat. The company recently deployed 5.0 software for the vehicle’s computer system which includes a “tow mode” override feature.

 

[texex91]

http://www.carwash.com/articles/88191-attention-be-aware-of-the-tesla-model-s-electric-vehicle

And the part that he is spot on about (no pun intended) is:

"Jones also indicated that Tesla does not recommend using automated car washes to clean the Model S."

 

[gnelson]

Pretty common out here in No. CA. Attendants vacuum the car, spray down and wash off any large debris, wash the inside windows, and remove any external antenna or tape down rear wipers - then they drive it to the auto-wash and get out. On the other side, they dry it and inspect it for missed spots. The good ones use fresh towels for every car.

Hand washing is discouraged here and in some places can actually get you a ticket. The autowashes recycle all of the water and are environmentally monitored while hand washing tends to send all kinds of nasty stuff into sewer drains and into the creeks and the Bay. Plenty of people do it - but you can get dirty looks from neighbors (or your own teenagers).

I use 2 gal of water when I hand wash my Model S

 

[hughconn]

Car Wash - The Final Word?

So in the end, is the car wash with the rollers that move the car through the car wash - a bad idea for the Model S? But touchless ones are OK? Tried Tow mode for a car wash but it took a few tries to get tow mode off. Car doesn't like to stay in Neutral for long, thinks it should shift to park instead. Made me think I better just go back to hand wash.

 

[dsm363]

Hand washing is better for any car I believe. Touch less better than roller car washes.

 

[EdA]

Car wash visit goes terribly wrong; Porsche destroyed - Massachusetts news - Boston.com

 

[WillAustin]

I was told by Tesla when I picked up my 85D, hand wash only. No touchless either.

 

[rickgt]

will not let this car through a car wash... I hand wash. use very little water, finish with sprays and soft cloths... works fine.

 

[wayner]

I was told by Tesla when I picked up my 85D, hand wash only. No touchless either.

What's wrong with a touchless? I have only had mine hand washed but one thing I have noticed after it is washed is that water seems to get down into the door. When you roll down the window and then toll it back up it is covered with water.

 

[Thud]

I was told by Tesla when I picked up my 85D, hand wash only. No touchless either.

That's because Tesla uses paint that conforms to California environmental restrictions, which is only slightly tougher than the paint in your kid's watercolor set. A high power water jet will just expose the bare aluminum underneath.
Don't use an automatic car wash, or brush, or any sort of sponge, or even look at it the wrong way, because it'll scratch!

In fact, before you even drive the car, might as well just go ahead and plop down another couple grand on paint protection films and sealants.

 

[Skotty]

Where are you all finding car washes where the car is sent through with no one in it? That's crazy. I've been through plenty of automatic car washes (mostly in Missouri), and you always stay seated in your car while either a conveyor pulls you through or you drive through following stop/go lights. There's no getting out.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

The first battery swap station is a repurposed car wash facility; just saying

 

[Nitram]

I go to a regular (but nice quality) car wash regularly with my S. I have 19' wheels and would not do it with the 21's because they would rub against the side rails.
But I noticed that even when sitting in the car during the process, after a while the car switches to P. To work around this, I now turn creep mode on, then set it to N. For some reason it does not switch to P when creep is on.