Larry P

Sorry if this has been beat to death, but, I couldn't find it with search.
Just got 2015 and had to drive it with salt on the roads,
What is the consensus of automatic car washes?
I did it with my 1999 and 2005 with no problems.
I can hand wash, but, how do you get the salt off the bottom?
This is my daily driver and on occasion will need to be driven in bad weather.
Larry

0JUICED1

I always try to avoid them. If you have a good coat of wax or ceramic coating it helps a bit. I would try to go touchless if you can

LarryFL

Anther problem is that the Vette is not really an average size and shape of car, and the auto washes are not quite set up for it. Things may contact your car in weird ways. I would avoid them all and use touch less if possible, but hand wash is obviously preferable. Also of concern is what salt does to the metal parts of the chassis and under the hood. No auto wash will help with those.

cowboy casey

Once or twice a winter I will go through the touchless auto wash that has an undercarriage wash.. I have cQuart UK so I get the least expensive one so it does not apply crappy wax on it...

Marcho Polo

I believe the owners manual states to avoid them. I think the reason may be that many of them can't accommodate the wider tires and/or may damage ground effects. Each car wash is different and some may be fine.

Patman

The harsh detergents they often use can strip the protection off your paint pretty quickly, but I think it's a better alternative than to leave the salt on there. I wouldn't go through any automatic car wash that actually touches your paint or your wheels in any way, but there are automatic washes where you drive into the center of the wash bay and it's completely touch free, the unit moves around your car and sprays it with soap and water. That's the only kind I would consider using, and only if you've gotten some salt on your C7 and it's still too cold out to wash it properly by hand.

Zjoe6

^^^^^ Agree. No touch and no guide rails.

repo czar

NEVER!

Always adhere to the Corvette Owners Ten Commandments.
Commandment II
II. Thou shall not bring a Corvette in to an automatic car wash.
I have never had any of my Corvettes in an automatic car wash.

N875ED

The best thing to remove the salt from the underside is to drive it on a very rainy day, but liquid precipitation this time of year may be a non-starter in some parts of the country right now.

DGA3

I'm not sure if the rear tires of my Z06 will even fit in the guide rails!

1SG_Ret

I would hit a wash with the hand wand you use yourself. If you can find touchless/brushless wash, maybe....but always concerned with the guide rails messing up the rims.

I lived in the rust belt for years and would use the wand to get the salt off the body during the winter months and then hit the bottom hard w/ it in the spring. The conditions are going to be $#1tty as long as you live where you live. Try and keep it as clean as you can (w/o freezing your a$$) using the power wand and wait till spring for a serious undercarriage.wash.

pnsnkr

You aren't going to get a consensus. I've been using the local car wash (touchless and trackless) and it is quite convenient.

Tom E

I only used the touchless car wash and never had a problem.

wrecker3

Phanni

We have a local wash ht had no tracks and no brushes. It is hand washed as it is driven throughthe wash bay.

Dallas007

blkvet6

Just do not do it. The risks of various types of scratches and other potential damage is too great. The Corvette is just sized wrong for most car washes, both tire/wheel size and body height and width.

Rebel Yell

Steve Garrett

Larry, use the hand wand car washes....you should be OK.

eseibel67

This is by far the best answer. Its the steel and aluminum parts underneath that need to be de-salted. Long highway drive on a very wet road will rinse it properly.