| 1. Regardless of the service, Automatic
Car Washes cannot clean a vehicle properly - a Hand
Wash (budget or professional) will always provide better
results, but the limited time spent on your vehicle
with a Budget Hand Wash service does not allow the cleaner
to pay the required attention to ensure a good clean
(with most budget car wash attendants relying on the
pressure washer to do most of the work)!
2. When not dried properly (by an automatic service
or hand wash), you will end up with lots of spotting
& water stains - we've never seen a good result
from an automatic car wash, whilst most budget hand
wash services do the minimum needed (often using inferior
chamois).
3. Automatic and Budget Car Wash Services will typically
leave your car with scratches (however small), and
almost always with swirl marks. Whilst these are not
necessarily noticeable from a distance, when up close
it is always apparent, and potentially causing hundreds
of pounds worth of damage - the brushes used in the
automatic washes will almost always contain debris
from previous washes, whilst the pure haste of the
budget hand wash almost guarantees a failing in the
precautionary process that is designed to prevent
debris contamination and damage (if they even have
such a process). If you ever see a hand wash attendant
using the 'rubber squeegee', drive away as quick as
you can!!
4. The cheap Shampoos and Cleaning agents used by
both the Automatic Car Wash machines and the Budget
Hand Wash Services are often damaging to a cars bodywork
- if not the paint, then any existing coating or wax.
Additionally, the cleaning solutions will often be
of an acidic variety, which can damage the metals,
wheels and the body work. The damage is often not
noticeable until some time later!
5. Do you know who is washing your car? When visiting
a pop-up or budget car wash outlet, you never quite
know who is going to be washing your car, what they
are using in those big barrels or bottles, whether
they'll be there in a weeks time and whether they'll
be accountable for any poor services or damage etc.
Whilst many (if not most) budget car wash companies
suffer the above failings, it is often a result of
the paid for service rather than the technicians or
company doing the work - in reality, it is unfeasible
for a company to charge £10, £8 or even
£6 to clean a car thoroughly, and whilst some
car wash attendants genuinely do care about your car,
a good percentage of them do not! We would always
advise, when visiting these establishments, you take
a look at their high end Valet services. The prices
are typically a lot higher (and comparable to the
prices charged by Mobile Valet Professionals), and
we would hope that the extra attention required to
ensure a good clean is carried out so hopefully providing
a much better result (you'll still not know what is
in those big barrels though). |
