89 Car Wash Wars - How do you wash your motor?

[jno]

There are many ways to wash your car, but which is your preferred method (and why)? 

Option 1 (FREE): Do it yourself hand-wash, optional: garden hose to rinse.

Option 2 (PAY): Coin/token operated self-service 'jet wash': armed with a lance you get into every nook and cranny.

Option 3 (PAY): In-bay Automatic: washing machine and dryer that rolls back and forth over a stationary vehicle.

Option 4 (PAY): Tunnel Washes: conveyor belt ride thats shifts your vehicle through a series of fixed cleaning mechanisms.

Option 5 (PAY): Hand Car Wash: paying a group of hard-working (quite often foreign) gentleman for some serious elbow grease.

You may SELECT TWO!

[felixdeburgh]

Is number 3 from High Drains Pilferer? You're missing a trick if not

[ace5150]

No.5 for me.
We have a gang on our Sainsbury carpark, who are top lads. Car comes out to showroom standard. Costs £8, and I tip £2. Gleaming for days.
I think they are Romainian, but they are very polite and always say thanks when politely declined their services.

[jno]

Without wanting to turn this into a political discussion here I agree with ace5150's post above. Particularly regarding tips.

Now then, I have been visiting the UK two, three, four times a year over the past 17 and the 'Hand Car Wash' has appeared from nowhere, often occupying sites that have gone bankrupt for one reason or another.

It doesn't matter where this is located, in my experience it is 9 times out of 10 manned by foreign grafters based on what I've seen.

Now then, I really have no idea who runs these hand car wash places but anyone who does 'wax on, wax off' for 7 hours a day is clearly NOT work shy, happy to get up in the morning and is not sponging off the state if they are legally employed.

So when I'm in Wales how many of my Welsh brethren do I see or hear doing this sort of work? In the words of Terry McCann: 'not many' (sadly) ... it is of course wrong to generalise or make assumptions but certainly based on what I've seen/experienced the 99% of foreign guys at a hand car washes on the UK do manual work for a low wage. They get a well done from me for that and if it as ace suggests here, better than a machine that is testament to some seriously hard graft.

For sake of time I will often do in-bay or tunnel, purely as I'm lazy!

[daz]

Sorry to burst the bubble with your 'Hand Car Wash' but there are some very dubious goings on behind it. I am sure some are genuine enough and fair play if they are, but the below article, many others are available, gives you an idea of what is going on with a lot of these places. For the record I did this for a bit when I was a student and it was a horrible slog, the pay was sh*t and the grief from customers was relentless.

As above not wanting to start a political debate, just making folk aware that sometimes things aren't quite as straight forward as they seem.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2015/11/dirty-dealings-how-car-wash-became-hub-human-trafficking

For the record I don't clean the car, that is my Wifes job, you will very rarely catch me behind the wheel of the car, so I don't clean it. I did buy her a magic tree once though.

[ace5150]

To be honest, the BEST job I had was for 3 weeks in April 1989. My work permit to work and reside in Bermuda had been put back till May 9th, so I was spending savings, and had NO intention of working as a chef with busy Mothers Day in April, so I answered an ad for Citroen to wash their cars on the forecourt.
For 3 weeks, I washed and valeted their new models (AX 10 and BX 19) in the glorious sun. I did a cracking job and after a week, was asked to collect cars from other dealerships using trade plates, so I was driving top end models! Did it to clear my head and to get ready for the onslaught I was expecting in May. Fresh air, chatting up ladies, no targets to be met, just a easy gig, and the money was ok for its time.
Worse thing was, my first Sunday in Bermuda (14th May), they celebrate the U.S. Mothers Day, not the UK one. I got a baptism of fire!
Luckily, those 3 weeks in the Sun meant I went to Bermuda a nice tan, and not a typical white limey!

[Arch Stanton]

I don't wash my own car. How dare you...
I have the staff do it.

Tonkin can often be seen cleaning the different vehicles on the estate.

In fairness I clean my own motorbike. I cut open my knuckle only yesterday doing just that..
"Look, real blood...."
But anyway that doesn't count because that's a trust thing, she doesn't like other men touching her.

[jno]

I worked at a petrol station in the early 90s - the  place was shady too daz, even years before the hand car wash became more prominent. We had a jet wash there and on two occasions in 5 years I remember seeing customers cleaning the INSIDE of their car with a jet wash!

[barrythebook]

I ticked boxes one and five.
I have a little runaround which i use merely to travel between home and work that i wash myself but our main car goes to the hand carwash mainly because it's black and I can't be bothered to chamois it dry after washing.

For £6-50, it's washed properly and dried which leaves it shining like a dollar - Bargain 

[Portland Road]

In recent years I have used a jet wash - in a convenient location on my regular journeys.

In previous workplaces, I was able to hand-wash the car myself - they had hoses etc but this sort of thing is increasingly noticed and not allowed.

[Zimbo]

I used the jet wash at my Tesco last week for the first time because at work, I park under some trees and the birds like to do their business, so it was quite a state.
I was impressed with the wash. £1 for 2 and a half minutes.

[Arch Stanton]

Apr 15, 2017 17:46:23 GMT Zimbo said:

I used the jet wash at my Tesco last week for the first time because at work, I park under some trees and the birds like to do their business, so it was quite a state.
I was impressed with the wash. £1 for 2 and a half minutes.

You buy an air rifle and a tin of 500 pellets, that'll last longer than 2 and a half minutes and is more fun.
Shoot the birds, go on, make a statement.

[bensonrad]

A little off topic, but I was in Wales the other week and walking from the hotel to town, I passed 3 different car washing places, first one was £1.30! seemed too good to be true, the next one only 200m down the road was £3.50, the other one I think was £4.00. I've never used one myself so £1.30 seemed a bargain, considering the time it takes to do it by hand and a bucket (the method I've always done it), I would have thought that's money well spent.

How much is a car wash these days?

[jno]

Apr 19, 2017 12:26:58 GMT bensonrad said:

A little off topic, but I was in Wales the other week and walking from the hotel to town, I passed 3 different car washing places, first one was £1.30! seemed too good to be true

Most likely my Welsh brethren got the decimal place mixed up bensonrad, we 'en too good on rightin' down air see (barrythebook will confirm).



In fairness, 1.30 tells me how desperate those in poorer areas are to make an earner. Pretty tragic and shows how impoverished Wales is.

[Terry]

Everything except 3 is ridiculously expensive over here....15 Euros and above for a simple wash and wax.

No such thing as hand wash service here, and if so, they charge 39 Euros or sth.

Doing it myself would be the best value for money, but is too much hard graft for me with all that arthritis going on in my knees and shoulders

This is how I always do it, Rebecca always has fun staying in the car:

[mybodyguard]

Other: BIKINI CAR WASH

[chopper]

As little as often......I hate cleaning cars!

[Arch Stanton]

Apr 28, 2017 11:50:06 GMT mybodyguard said:

Other: BIKINI CAR WASH

We rather sensibly don't see these in the UK very often.
I put it down to the fact that it's usually pretty cold and I suspect the poor girls' hardened teets would scratch your paint work.

[thewoodster]

If got the time prefer to wash and wax myself.
If not or poor weather,pay hand car wash.