[dregsfan]

Hi,

For the last 10 days to two weeks, the weather here has been sub-freezing. This past Sunday it snowed and my car has salt on the grill, hood and a few other spots.

The building where I live has no room in the auto courtyard for me to wash the car (also no spiggot), not to mention it's just too damn cold. Can someone please suggest a car wash in the city (North side) or northern suburbs? I'm not looking for detail work, just a place that won't leave swirls, scratches, etc. on my jet black 328i. Thanks!

Andy

[jrbmw]

I just washed mine today.

I would try
Clybourn Express (Clybourn just north of Fullerton)
Good guys and a good price ($10)
or
Dont remember the name but it is at 5454 N. Damen and it is a good hand wash ($10).
or
W'ell Clean (multiple locations on the near north side) - they pride themselves as the ultimate wash for highend cars but it is super expensive $22 or so (but there is a $8 coupon somewhere) and I dont think that the job is commensurate with the price. The good news is that they use lots of fresh towels so maybe that help reduce swirls.

Unfortunatley I have accepted that without my own private heated place I will get swirls thus I have decided to visit the self serve pressure wash place to keep the salt off the car and have it hand washed every other week. If you are OCD, I dont think that you will find a place that will meet your standards, but if you do please let me know because I am still looking for perfection.

[dregsfan]

I found a place called "Simon's Shine" (or something similar) at Clybourn/Southport/Shakespeare. I read a positive review online. The website looked good as did the description of services (fresh towels for each car) so I'm giving it a shot after work tonight. I'll report back tomorrow.

BTW, I'm doing this because my sister-in-law left the car in gear over the weekend after moving it on her driveway (I don't do that). When I started the car, it "burped" forward and hit the house. I havent' gotten a good look yet, but the red brick did leave a mark on the bumper. I need the car cleaned before I go to Field's this weekend so they can check it out.

Andy

[dmboone25]

Yes I would like to know about this place--it would make winter washing a lot easier....

In the meantime, I have been going to the self-service places, using a couple of bucks to get the car wet, then bringing my own mitt and Z-7 to wash the car. Add in a few more bucks--rinse it off w/the spot-free, and then dry. It is not very practical when very cold--but it has been ok to this point. Just another idea....

[shadowcoder]

Oh man I've been doing that same routine here in California, and I dread
the fact that in 2 months I'm moving back with my car to Chicago. I guess
the thing to make money from would be to have either a self service or
a touch free car wash with doors (to avoid cold and water freezing on the
doors) and WARM water where crazy people like us can wash their cars

[dregsfan]

Well, I took the car to Simon's last night and was very pleased. The place looks to be housed in an old body shop. There's one bay door through which you drive, then three areas where the exterior of the car is cleaned. I watched most of the work and was very pleased to see that the attendants used fresh(!) towels repeatedly. In fact, that's one of Simon's big claims; the towels are washed after being used on only one car. Depending on the wash option (I believe there are 4), the car is moved to the "drying" area where the attendants (at least two per car) dry/clean the inside/etc. The wheels were cleaned, tires dressed, inside of windshields cleaned, etc. (check out the website for a full list of options/prices). For $10.99, it's a much better deal than gas station machine washes that go for 6$ to 8$. I'll definitely go back. Oh, they have a very nice waiting area, too.

Andy

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by dregsfan

Well, I took the car to Simon's last night and was very pleased. The place looks to be housed in an old body shop. There's one bay door through which you drive, then three areas where the exterior of the car is cleaned. I watched most of the work and was very pleased to see that the attendants used fresh(!) towels repeatedly. In fact, that's one of Simon's big claims; the towels are washed after being used on only one car. Depending on the wash option (I believe there are 4), the car is moved to the "drying" area where the attendants (at least two per car) dry/clean the inside/etc. The wheels were cleaned, tires dressed, inside of windshields cleaned, etc. (check out the website for a full list of options/prices). For $10.99, it's a much better deal than gas station machine washes that go for 6$ to 8$. I'll definitely go back. Oh, they have a very nice waiting area, too.

Andy

Good to know--thanks for the info...

When it is washed, is it done by hand or does it go through a machine? By having Jet Black--you have to be VERY careful or swirls result quickly.

[dregsfan]

The washing is all done by hand, no machines.

[dmboone25]

Thanks again for the info!

[Ucan]

Normally, I was using Clybourn Express but the last couple of times I've been there, I realized they do not really care how they wash the car. Last time, when I arrived home, there was shampoo residue under both mirrors and doors and lines between bumpers. The I-drive screen was pretty dusty (apparently they have missed it). You can see cloth fibers all over the car. And windshield was full of water spots. Then, I decided to not to go to Clybourn Express anymore.

I used Gold Coast Auto Wash several times. They provide good service but pretty expensive though - $22. So, I'm looking for a cost-effective alternative. I will check out Simons tomorrow.

[DrDomer]

I'm in Iowa. No forum members live in my town (that I know of). I can't risk taking my Jet Black 335 coupe to the wash places here (which are $14-$30 PER WASH!!!). I've heard they can ruin a Jet Black car in 2-3 washes. So I'm stuck going to the do-it-yourself wash. Spraying the car down and carefully drying it after clean. It's 4 degrees F today. Car needs washed (it's grey). Any other ideas? How often do you think you need to wash a car to protect the finish, etc?

[horatiub]

yes, Simon's is great, I washed my car there 2 weeks ago

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by DrDomer

I'm in Iowa. No forum members live in my town (that I know of). I can't risk taking my Jet Black 335 coupe to the wash places here (which are $14-$30 PER WASH!!!). I've heard they can ruin a Jet Black car in 2-3 washes. So I'm stuck going to the do-it-yourself wash. Spraying the car down and carefully drying it after clean. It's 4 degrees F today. Car needs washed (it's grey). Any other ideas? How often do you think you need to wash a car to protect the finish, etc?

How is your car's finish protected? I have Zaino on mine, and I try to wash it once a week --I like doing it anyway, and with all the snow, salt, and other crap on the road, I think it is a good idea if you can work it into your schedule.

As far as how to wash it--I have never, and would never, use an automated car wash place to clean my jet black E92. The only place I would use when i cant do it myself is one of the "touchless" places--you can usually find one connected to the do it yourself places--this can get the major crap off your car, but you must remember that the car is not truly "clean". Since nothing ever touched your car--there is still a film of dirt and other crap on your paint, even if it looks like it is clean. NEVER dry your car off after using one of these touchless jobs--you will just rub the film around on your car and scratch the shit out of your car.

What i like to do is this--i take my E92 to one of the self-serve bays. I put in the minimum amount of money--like $2--I take a bucket of my own and a wash mitt and fill it with water and Z-7--then I use my remaining time to spray my car down with the spot free finish water. I don't like to use the high pressure water--the spot free comes out much softer and gets the car really wet.

When the car is wet, and the time is over--I then wash the car with my mitt and the Z-7. Now I know this is prohibited or frowned upon at some of these self-service bays, but I have never had a problem. With the temps being cold, you do have to wash the car pretty quickly.

I then put in another $2 and simply spray the car off with the spot free rinse for a couple of minutes. I am not going to lie--it is cold, you need gloves, and it does suck a little. But it is the best way that I have been able to come up with, having a JB car myself

NOW you can dry the car off--due to the fact that it was washed properly and should no longer have any dirt or film on the paint. Using one of those straight -edge rubber devices, you can get most of the water off quickly, before it freezes. I then take a chammy and kind of get the places that are hard to get to with the rubber thing.

For the record--the methods that are described in the wax/detailing section on this forum are much better than this method--but this works for this time of year, when it is too cold to actually take care of your car. Hope this helps!

[FirstClass]

My car hasn't been washed in 3 weeks due to temp. And it has been salty and grimy the whole time.

[chicagolab]

90% of the time I wash the car myself here,

Do it yourself wash, no wait good facilities and some bays take credit cards
5450(approx) N. Damen (close to where Damen ends)


(other 10% )
for a Great full service hand wash in Wrigleyville
Motor City
939 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60613

[jrbmw]

[QUOTE=chicagolab;678201]90% of the time I wash the car myself here,

Do it yourself wash, no wait good facilities and some bays take credit cards
5450(approx) N. Damen (close to where Damen ends)


I use that place all the time. i will have to look for you.

With the very cold weather we have been having in Chicago, i think that it is dangerous (to the finish) to have your car washed - even inside. The water will freeze on the cold metal, thus drying it could be hazardous.

I will wait until temps go 15+. Thankfully my car was relatively clean prior to the cold snap.

[DrDomer]

-9 degrees F today. Car still unwashed. The self-service idea with your own bucket is a good idea. I'm afraid my hand might freeze into the mit right now though. I have sprayed the car down and blotted (no $hit), blotted the car with about 10 dry towels (no rubbing). I had to go fast though. It was about 30 degrees F that day. No way I'm washing my car till it gets warmer than -9. Gonna have to invest in a PC and polish the $hit out of my car when it gets nice. Go figure, it hasn't been this cold here in 10 years.

[sblument]

going to try Simons this week or next. Need to get ride of swirl marks from "bad carwash decisions" this winter

[jrbmw]

I tried Simons yesterday.
Overall a very good experience. The people who own/operate the place seem like the are generally passionate about the correct car washing method. I really liked that they use new wash mitts and towels on every car. That is my biggest gripe with other places.

With mild OCD, I felt that they could have done a better job on the interior and rims, but it was 10 degrees outside and the place was very busy. With the winter weather I cant wash it myself, thus for $15.95 (with $2 dollar online coupon) I dont think that I will find better place.

Thanks for the recommendation.

[Ucan]

Today I tried a new place: As far as I remember the name is Zipps Car Wash, or something like that. It's on Racine and Ogden. Didn't like the service at all - very crowded, long wait, washing is not even adequate. I had soap residue, hand prints, etc. all over the car after the wash.

Simon's is still the best car wash I've been to in Chicago - even better than the more expensive ones (e.g., Gold Coast Car wash)

[BLUE LABEL]

gonna give simons a try..my 335 has been sitting covered so far this winter.

[chicagolab]

with the increase in salt over the past few weeks I have used the touchless wash when I get gas at the Citgo on Peterson/Ravenswood, then I head a few blocks over to the DIY wash at Peterson/Ashland to get out and dry the car myself. This is only if your looking for a quick touchless between regular washes.


I still DIY at Damen and Bryn Mar as much as possible and for a full service wash I use Motor City (Irving/Sheridan). But the last few weeks have been brutal in terms of salt, etc.