Do You Wash Your Car Or Pay To Have It Done?

Discussion in Auto & Moto started by Diane Lane • Dec 18, 2015.

  1. Diane Lane

    Diane LaneWell-Known Member

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    When I was working full time, I would tend to have my car washed every couple of weeks. Usually, I'd get a discount coupon when I filled up, and would save money that way. My vehicle's a lot older now, and I don't drive nearly as much as I used to. Since I'm not seeing clients, it's not as important to have a shiny clean vehicle. I also don't have a lot of money, so when I do wash it, I do it myself. I just finished washing it, and it does make me happy that it's shiny clean and I feel a sense of accomplishment, as well.

    Do you wash your own vehicle, or do you pay to have it washed? If you pay to have it washed, do you use the drive through car washes, or have it hand washed? I prefer the hand washing, because it's gentler, but have occasionally used the drive through washes.
     
  2. steph7h

    steph7hActive Member

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    When I was in high school and college, I liked to hand wash my cars myself. Sometimes at home with the hose & a bucket, or if it was winter, I would take it and use the hand-held hose at a car wash. Like you, I don't drive as much now, and having a shiny car isn't quite as important, but it also doesn't get driven to get dirty as much either since I stay home with the kids. I think washing them is very important to prevent rust, especially if you live in cold winter climates, but it's not something I get around to as often as I'd like. When I do, I go to the drive-through washes. They're fast and do a decent job for our older vehicles. The last time I hand-washed a car was when I wanted it to look really nice when I thought maybe we would sell it. That was about 6 years ago now, and we actually still drive the car=)

    Washing cars makes it into my routine occasionally because it's easier, but what about vacuuming? How do you get that done? My husband usually changes the oil himself in our vehicles, so we don't get that service like some oil change places offer. We had to get our windshield replaced last year when a rock cracked it, so the guy who came to do that also vacuumed it. Other than that I might do it once a year. I know it needs done more often, I just hate dragging the vacuum out and trying to get all those little crumbs.
     
  3. Diane Lane

    Diane LaneWell-Known Member

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    I have a smallish portable vacuum I use to clean my staircase, and that's what I use to clean the inside of the car. I have to make sure it's fully charged, though, because otherwise it doesn't last long enough, assuming I've been to the beach recently, or have made some other sort of big mess in the car. I try to keep a bag in there for loose trash, so it tends to be leaf remnants, sand, and other dirt particles that I end up vacuuming up. I do that a couple of times a year also, unless I've made a trip to the beach and tracked a bunch of sand back in with me.
     
  4. Jasmine2015

    Jasmine2015Active Member

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    I don't have a car but my mom has a van. We usually have a couple of quaters for one of those vacuums you get at the gas station and my brother gets all the crumbs off the floor. We have a $3 car wash here but we usually don't go there. I guess you can say we the kids are the car wash, hehe. There is nothing like a clean shiny car though.
     
  5. Corzhens

    CorzhensWell-Known Member

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    We taught our housemaid to wash the car although we do not let her wash the car alone. Aside from saving money, we have peace of mind because one time I saw in a car wash how the washer stepped on the seat so he could reach the roof of the SUV. In my mind, any car washer can do that and I hate to think they would do that to our car. We bought a turtle wax that is easy to apply and easy to make it shine. I guess we have saved a lot on car wash expenses.
     
  6. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    I don't have a car just yet, but have plans to buy one hopefully this year as the public transport here's rubbish. I've noticed that some of my friends aren't very car proud and have some of the filthiest cars I've ever seen! When I do get my car, I intend to keep it clean and will almost always hand wash it myself. I'll probably take it to be hand washed once in a while. I too don't really like the drive-through method, as it does seem a little harsh on the paint job.
     
  7. thenextGeek

    thenextGeekActive Member

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    Well it depends. Sometimes when I really can't find the time to wash my car on my own, I visit my local car wash because they do a better job than me plus I get to see other cars which is a big plus since I'm a big petrol head. However, I try to make sure that I'm the one who washes my car because I get to see if their are problems in the exterior that didn't notice before.
     
  8. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    We pay to have our cars cleaned because it's not that expensive and it's just more practical for us since the space for us to wash our cars is a bit limited. I actually would prefer to just wash it myself since it provides a lot of benefits such as exercise and I find that it even calms me to some degree, but unfortunately it just would take too much time and like I said the space is just not there. We don't pay that much for car cleaning though so thankfully there's that as a trade off.
     
  9. jneanz

    jneanzActive Member

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    I've been using the drive-thru recently but I love washing cars myself. Maybe because the weather is warm in my area. If I were a dude, I'd have my own detailing business
     
  10. Briannagodess

    BriannagodessActive Member

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    We usually just have the car had washed by a car wash shop near our house. It just seems more efficient within our situation because we're very busy people and always have something to do. So we leave the car there (we know the car wash owner) and they even deliver it to us if we want to. They are able to clean even the inside of the car which we cannot unfortunately do. So even if we would love to save money on car washes, our time just doesn't permit us to wash it ourselves.:(
     
  11. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I usually prefer to wash my pick up truck myself. Once a week and I usually gets lots of help. My neighbors kids love to help or rather spray each other as they help. While yes the water bill could go quite high if you let kids mess around with the water but water here doesn't cost much so it doesn't make a huge difference how much water is used washing the truck.
     
  12. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    I live in an apartment, and as such I cannot use the building common water to wash my car in my parking lot, so I have to pay for washing. Which is fine by me, since they also vacuum clean inside and leave it looking new. I don't mind paying 25 or 30 bucks every month to have it cleaned.
    I have not had it washed for a couple months now, so that is something I need to have done soon!
     
  13. explorerx7

    explorerx7Active Member

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    I both sometimes wash and other times pay to wash the car. Doing the job myself allows to me save a few bucks and be able to generate a bit of sweat. There is the time however when the car is due for some advanced cleaning, then I resort to the experts whom will wash, engine wash, undercarriage wash, wax, and detail. The vehicle deserves this type of treatment at certain intervals to keep it good shape, however, I am not that capable of doing this kind of job on my own.
     
  14. purplepen88

    purplepen88Active Member

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    My husband always washes our car by hand. It's a labour of love for him. He enjoys taking care of the cars and the weekend and it saves us a few dollars rather than having to spend money on a car wash. I find that car washes at the gas station are getting extremely expensive for what you get. My husband will detail the car inside and out and wax and even do the tires. All it takes is a little elbow grease and the right supplies. My kids are starting to help out too so it really doesn't take that long to make the cars look nice and clean.
     
  15. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    We just wash our car on our own, rather my brother does, so we get to save money that way. I think that if you can take time and effort to wash your own car then it's not necessary to hire another person to do it.
     
  16. Jason76

    Jason76Active Member

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    I know this might sound silly - but the rain washes my truck. I simply don't bother with a car wash - even though it's cheap. Anyway, note, I did say a car wash is cheap. In that case, you might save money doing it on your own, but you don't save much probably.
     
  17. Krissttina Isobe

    Krissttina IsobeWell-Known Member

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    When I was driving many service stations had fill up and get a free car wash, so it was good. I tried washing it myself and polish it myself and was very tired afterwards. I was so glad when they had the fill up gas and free car wash! :D Now I bus, so I don't have a car any longer.
     
  18. derf

    derfNew Member

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    While I do like to save money by having it done I would usually just go to a car wash to get it done. It is more time and saves energy by going to a car wash to get it done by someone else or through an automated machine. It is better to get it done by someone else as it will get deep cleaning on it rather than some cleaning but not cleaning the entire car. It also really saves time so I can do other things in the day. while you spend more money you are also getting a better service than if you were to do it for yourself.
     
  19. littlewitch66

    littlewitch66Active Member

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    I rarely use a car wash as I see it as an unnecessary expense. There is a supermarket where I live where some Polish guys have set up a small car washing business and they will ask if we would like our car washed or polished. I have taken advantage of it a couple of times and it is nice to see it gleaming when I get back from my shopping but I often feel I should have saved the money and done it myself.
     
  20. morgoodie

    morgoodieActive Member

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    I used to use a car wash a long time ago but now I just wash it myself whenever I feel the need. I am bad about washing my car though as it does not really matter to me if it is clean or not. My children love to get out there in summer time and wash the car for me since they love playing in the water. They can get a little crazy with it though so I may not save any money doing it myself.