Car wash with glass roof on the 3?

[golfpilot]

Took mine through the carwash yesterday. Its one of those places where you get a monthly pass and can cruise through real quick on your way home. Living in the central valley, the white paint was looking pretty spotty after its first 900 miles. I was concerned about 1. The bumper falling off 2. The aero rims falling off 3. water seeping in somewhere (first seal test) 4. the side mirros 5. windshield wipers going on 6. Getting the car into neutral.
One of my big concerns was the stupid conveyor belt thing scratching up the aero rims. Then I thought about it some more and my poor driving skills will probably be worse for those caps anyway and those can probably be replaced pretty cheap. Plus 1 to aero caps
Needless to say I was one nervous cat. When it was all done, I had a clean car and no issues. I'll probably have someone handwash and detail the inside every month or two, but I'm not there yet, inside still looks like the day I found it.

 

[Garlan Garner]

For car wash requiring you to exit and keep the car in Neutral to roll: How does everyone prevent the car from going into Park once you exit with the key (phone)?

Tow mode?

Valet Key Card?

Why do you need neutral? Drive is sufficient for a touchless car wash.

Once you stop a model 3 at 0mph....even without hold.....it won't go anywhere. At least mine doesn't.

Then when you get to the end....you just depress the accelerator and go.

 

[fnce_prof]

You probably should never wash the Tesla (or any high-end car for that matter) in a regular drive-thru car wash. Learned it the hard way when one put all kinds of swirls and scratches on my beautiful Mercedes. I wash all my cars with rinselsss ONR now with great results so far. Probably took me less time to wash them myself than driving to/from the car wash place. In the winter I use one of those coin-operated self-service places and hose down my cars (particularly the undercarriage) pretty good.

 

[Garlan Garner]

You probably should never wash the Tesla (or any high-end car for that matter) in a regular drive-thru car wash. Learned it the hard way when one put all kinds of swirls and scratches on my beautiful Mercedes. I wash all my cars with rinselsss ONR now with great results so far. Probably took me less time to wash them myself than driving to/from the car wash place. In the winter I use one of those coin-operated self-service places and hose down my cars (particularly the undercarriage) pretty good.

The car washes we are talking about are TOUCHLESS. No Brushes.

Don't EVER let a touchless car wash use people to dry your car with towels.

The only thing I don't quite care for in a touchless car wash around me is that they use harsh soaps to get dirt off of your car.....so I ALWAYS ask for water only.

 

[daniel]

I just use the place where you put quarters in and you use a power spray wand and a soap brush, and then drive out and dry it with your own towels. Only now you can use a credit card. No more need for quarters.

 

[forkee]

I go through automatic drive through one every 3 days to keep the wrap on mine looking brand new. just put it in neutral and let the small tire rollers push it through. been bringing my convertible to the same place for the past 3 years without any problems and that one has a cloth top.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I just use the place where you put quarters in and you use a power spray wand and a soap brush, and then drive out and dry it with your own towels. Only now you can use a credit card. No more need for quarters.

I also use a self-serve carwash with a credit card reader — I have no patience for quarters! I use a microfiber cloth to get rid of the bugs before the final rinsing. I especially like the "spot-free rinse" — works really well — since my water at home is very expensive and has high mineral content. For drying, I just drive the car.

However, my car is four years old and has 57k miles on it — it is a tool to be used, not a showpiece! Nevertheless, it looks pretty good for a four year old car in the snowbelt with no care other than occasional washing and touch-up paint in the rock chip holes.

 

[Electroman]

I just had my car washed, dried, waxed, and interior vacuumed and cleaned - all manual by hand with no automatic stuff. I told the guy that I want the car hand washed, and I will move it if it had to be moved and was watching them do it nearby. In all it took around 40 minutes.

 

[RScottyL]

The car washes we are talking about are TOUCHLESS. No Brushes.

Don't EVER let a touchless car wash use people to dry your car with towels.

The only thing I don't quite care for in a touchless car wash around me is that they use harsh soaps to get dirt off of your car.....so I ALWAYS ask for water only.

In YOUR case, it sounds like you might be better getting a pressure washer and doing it at home......or you could go to one of those car washes that is a pressure washer where you do it yourself. That way, you can either use your own choice of milder soap, or chose not to use soap at all!

 

[Garlan Garner]

In YOUR case, it sounds like you might be better getting a pressure washer and doing it at home......or you could go to one of those car washes that is a pressure washer where you do it yourself. That way, you can either use your own choice of milder soap, or chose not to use soap at all!

Here in Chicago. There are a number of "Sonic" car washes. That's the name of them - "Sonic". There are NO brushes or anything that touches my car. I ask for pressured water only - no soap....and they oblige.

CAR WASH | Delta Sonic

 

[Nocturnal]

Good points raised. I have used that sort of car wash before where you have to leave the vehicle. I had not considered how I would go into "neutral".

 

[Uncle Paul]

In the car washes around here they have an employee ride inside the car through the tunnel. They are used to Teslas by now and have it all figured out.

 

[Romand]

Here in Chicago. There are a number of "Sonic" car washes. That's the name of them - "Sonic". There are NO brushes or anything that touches my car. I ask for pressured water only - no soap....and they oblige.

CAR WASH | Delta Sonic

Why no soap?

 

[Tezlaowner]

Why no soap?

Some soaps are aggressive and can damage the car paint.

 

[linux-works]

dont forget to lock the wipers (take them OUT of auto!).

there really should be a one button 'car wash mode'. if dogs and campers get modes, washers should get one, too!

 

[joebruin77]

Why no soap?

Because touchless car washes do not make contact with the paint, they have to use extra strong soaps to compensate. The problem is that these extra strong soaps will strip any waxes and sealants that are on your paint. So your car comes out of the touchless wash and it may be stripped of any wax, sealant, or paint protection.

Think of it this way. What if you took a shower but you did not use a washcloth or your hand to rub the soap over your body? What if you only sprayed water on your body without touching it? You are not going to get nearly as clean as by making contact as you wash.

Here is an interesting video on the subject:

 

[Romand]

Because touchless car washes do not make contact with the paint, they have to use extra strong soaps to compensate. The problem is that these extra strong soaps will strip any waxes and sealants that are on your paint. So your car comes out of the touchless wash and it may be stripped of any wax, sealant, or paint protection.

Think of it this way. What if you took a shower but you did not use a washcloth or your hand to rub the soap over your body? What if you only sprayed water on your body without touching it? You are not going to get nearly as clean as by making contact as you wash.

Here is an interesting video on the subject:

So what do you recommend I still go there but tell them to not use soap?

 

[joebruin77]

So what do you recommend I still go there but tell them to not use soap?

It's all a personal preference. If you don't mind getting some small scratches and swirls induced into your paint, you can take it to a regular car wash. I took my previous cars to car washes and just didn't care if I got some scratches and swirls.

If you don't want to run that risk, then you can take it to a touchless car wash and tell them not to use soap. The problem with that option is that your car won't be nearly as clean.

The other option, and the one I would personally choose, is to wash the car yourself. If you have a garage, you can do a rinseless or even waterless wash at home. If the car is really dirty, you could first "pretreat" by covering the car in foam soap with a foam gun or cannon and then rinse off, all without touching the paint. If foam soap is not an option, even just hosing off the car really well would help. Then you could proceed with the rinseless or waterless car wash.

BTW, if you do a full PPF, you can safely take the car to a regular car wash. Any scratches or swirls induced will disappear due to the PPF's self-healing properties.

 

[joebruin77]

And for those of you who would like help choosing a waterless wash from a reputable source:

Best Waterless Car Washes – 6 Best Products to Clean a Car without Water

I have personally used the McKees37 Waterless Wash on the Go (#2 on the list) and love it. It comes in a concentrate so it is very economical. I have also used a Meguiars Waterless Wash similar to #3 on their list. I say similar because the one they list is a consumer product which can be a bit pricey per wash. I prefer this similar Meguiar's product, which is from their professional line. Even though it is nearly $70 for a gallon, the price per wash is very economical:

Meguiar's® D115 Detailer Rinse Free Express Wash & Wax, 1 Gallon