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I have a touchless automatic car wash down the street from me. I have an unlimited membership that I pay $35/month for. I have been taking my Corvettes through it literally 3-4 times a week since 2008.
2 different C6s
2 C7s
3 C8s
ZERO problems whatsoever. the car won't melt like some people here think. I don't even get water spots. People here need to realize this is a CAR not a Banzai Tree, it will be OK.
I would never use one with a brush, however, or one that you have to guide along a track. This one you just drive in and stop, The machines moves around you with the soap and water and dries you, and then you drive out.
Perhaps that pretty much sums it. Yes, your C8 finish will be ok, using a carwash, however I believe many of us aren't satisfied with our C8s just looking OK.
Perhaps that pretty much sums it. Yes, your C8 finish will be ok, using a carwash, however I believe many of us aren't satisfied with our C8s just looking OK.
lol ok. Yours will look just fine sitting in your garage
everyone here is scared to drive theirs in a drizzle. Wash it. Etc. no wonder corvette owners are usually the butt of car people jokes. Driving the car is like 5th on the list of importance
nobody has EVER came up to me and said my car didnt look handwashed or anything. You guys need to actually get out and drive your cars sometime, who knows, you might actually enjoy that, too!
Last edited by chrisM916vette; Aug 4, 2024 at 05:53 PM.
lol ok. Yours will look just fine sitting in your garage
everyone here is scared to drive theirs in a drizzle. Wash it. Etc. no wonder corvette owners are usually the butt of car people jokes. Driving the car is like 5th on the list of importance
nobody has EVER came up to me and said my car didnt look handwashed or anything. You guys need to actually get out and drive your cars sometime, who knows, you might actually enjoy that, too!
When did this turn into a thread about how much we drive our Corvettes? As far as butt of jokes go, I think you are pretty funny.
I once took my wife’s car through a brush type car wash because we were in a hurry. The rotating brush tore off the drivers door mirror and continued to beat on the car all down the side. They ignored any attempts to contact them after they took the report. I filed a BBB report and a “manager” called me and said they had been trying to contact me. I told him it looked like I would have to contact a lawyer after he told me that “the pictures they took with the initial report are fuzzy but it looks like the paint was in bad shape on the car”. He told me “they have a room full of lawyers at their corporate office”. I turned it in to State Farm and they paid $4800 plus my $500 to have it repaired. It has been assigned for arbitration for 15 months. If you have any WATERWAY CAR WASH locations near you stay away. They are unethical. BBB dismissed the case by saying I never responded to WATERWAYS response which is an outright lie. What a joke the BBB is. If you are a business and pay them to be a member you will maintain your A+ rating. Sam
Since you don't mention where this car wash is, are you speaking of the "Waterway Car Wash" which is a 5-city chain? They are located in St. Louis and Kansas City, MO, Denver, CO, Cleveland, OH, and Chicago, IL.
I'm assuming (but you can confirm) you are near, or live in one of the above locations. It'd be informative to note if you mentioned which one of those in the above cities you have had this problem with since all of them may not be bad, or as bad as the one you visited.
Since you don't mention where this car wash is, are you speaking of the "Waterway Car Wash" which is a 5-city chain? They are located in St. Louis and Kansas City, MO, Denver, CO, Cleveland, OH, and Chicago, IL.
I'm assuming (but you can confirm) you are near, or live in one of the above locations. It'd be informative to note if you mentioned which one of those in the above cities you have had this problem with since all of them may not be bad, or as bad as the one you visited.
Samuel Clemens experience is enough for me to avoid ALL locations.
You may call Bull, however I bet you can line up 10 C8s (including yours) in appropriate lighting and I will be able to pick the 2 out of the 10 that have regularly used touchless carwashes over time. Touchless carwashes are anything but touchless.
I do agree with Big Lebowski in that some are better than others.
Could you please tell me what details to look for from taking my car to a Touchless car wash. I would like to compare my car to others to see the damage I have done to it.
Could you please tell me what details to look for from taking my car to a Touchless car wash. I would like to compare my car to others to see the damage I have done to it.
Look INTO the paint with a single point source light. The sun works great, but you can't direct it to the sides very well. Look for "starburst" around the reflection. If you see a bunch of lines forming arches of circles around the reflection, your paint (or the clear coat) is scratched.
Look INTO the paint with a single point source light. The sun works great, but you can't direct it to the sides very well. Look for "starburst" around the reflection. If you see a bunch of lines forming arches of circles around the reflection, your paint (or the clear coat) is scratched.
How does the water and soap scratch the clearcoat when that is all that is contacting it? Seems like hand washing with a mitt does more damage to the paint.
I had my C7 for 7 years, only washed with a Touchless car wash and there was no lines forming arches of circles in bright sunlight or scratches in the paint.
C8 HTC I have full PPF and use Laser Wash about one a week. Also use Griots Spray and Shine. I do have a very small leak in the roof and I will have the dealer look at that while still under warranty. Would have not known about the leak if I hadn't started using the Laser Wash this year.
How does the water and soap scratch the clearcoat when that is all that is contacting it? Seems like hand washing with a mitt does more damage to the paint.
I had my C7 for 7 years, only washed with a Touchless car wash and there was no lines forming arches of circles in bright sunlight or scratches in the paint.
The question --as I interpreted it-- was not HOW the paint can be damaged, but rather what to look for to see if it HAS been damaged.
How does the water and soap scratch the clearcoat when that is all that is contacting it? Seems like hand washing with a mitt does more damage to the paint.
I had my C7 for 7 years, only washed with a Touchless car wash and there was no lines forming arches of circles in bright sunlight or scratches in the paint.
Because you were looking through the film left behind from the touchless wash. It obscures the finish.
What's the harm in water getting into the rear deck?
Originally Posted by Glen e
I don’t think there’s anything directly wrong with the touchless that has a flat floor that you just drive into, but you have to realize that the way of touchless works is they use a rather strong detergent to loosen debris since it can’t be directly agitated. Besides that , the touchless is going to completely send water forcefully through the rear deck… Making a mess… I’ll continue to rinseless hand wash mine. Although on my other cars, I use the touchless frequently.
It's a free country. Everyone is free to wash their own car however they want. For my cars, it's wash by hand only and has been for a long time, even before I purchased a Corvettte.
Yea I can see it now putting my 13.4 inch wide rear tires through any car wash. Heck would not consider for my 1st of 7 Vettes my 1988. At 81 still wash my own! Tire rails for it would have been close!
Yea, that's it! Those 13.4 inch wide tread rear ties will fit the tire rails in automatic car wases- NOT! Left new $650 rear tires at 1500 miles to replace one on right! FREE to me as have Discount Tire insurance.
The 13 inch wide wheel rims won't come close. Even the standard C8 rear wheels too wide!
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
