car wash vs hand wash / cost benefit analysis question

[abirozy]

Good afternoon everyone

Now that i have had my R1T for a while and been using it in daily life, I have an opinion question.

I live in Southern California. When i got my Tesla 6 years ago, i got PPF and ceramic coating and hand washed it for almost 4 years. I kept the car in the garage and it stayed looking nice for quite a while. When i first got my R1T I got PPF and Ceramic coat put on and washed it every week by hand. That has now turned to every other week.

The problem is with keeping my Rivian outside, it begins to show dust and bee poop spots after about 4 days. We currently have three of our cars on an unlimited plan at the local car wash and wash the cars at least once a week, even if we dont dry afterwards and they stay shiny most of the time. The car wash is not brushless, but the place keeps the equipment in good order and i have not really seen any scratches on the car.

My question is if i should put the Rivian on the plan to keep it cleaner, or just buckle down and wash it by hand every week? The car wash is easier and i know I would do it more often, but I also know it would ruin the ceramic coating. But with it being kept outside and getting all the dust and bee poop (the little yellow dots) often, how much does the ceramic coating matter?

Any opinions and help would greatly appreciated.

Best

Adam

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[CommodoreAmiga]

I’m sure this will make some people cringe, but I just drive through a local car wash when I feel the truck needs it. Maybe once or twice a month. I used to wash vehicles myself but I don’t really enjoy it.

 

[EVerywhere]

I’m going through the same decision. Got the front ppf and the ceramic on the R1T. We have nasty winters in Michigan with buckets of salt on the roads. I’m going to get an unlimited pass for the winter, washing it at least once a week. Come spring I’ll decide if I want to hand wash it — this is a big vehicle and that hand washing is quite a time sync. I think I may do one detail hand wash every 6 weeks or so.

 

[abirozy]

I’m going through the same decision. Got the front ppf and the ceramic on the R1T. We have nasty winters in Michigan with buckets of salt on the roads. I’m going to get an unlimited pass for the winter, washing it at least once a week. Come spring I’ll decide if I want to hand wash it — this is a big vehicle and that hand washing is quite a time sync. I think I may do one detail hand wash every 6 weeks or so.

yeah.... With using the detailing spray during the drying, it takes me about 1 1/2 hours on average.

 

[COdogman]

Car wash all the way. If yours is a good one it’s worth it. Also those car washes usually recycle nearly all of the water so it’s much more efficient than doing it at home.

The only caveat is if you have a black vehicle. Then you have to use the no touch car washes because they show scratches if you look at them wrong.

 

[connoisseurr]

If you have a good ceramic coat, do a maintenance wash every other week or once a month. I recommend Gyeon Foam and a foam cannon. It does great wonders.

Alternatively, you could go the rinseless/waterless wash route - P&S absolute, a pump sprayer and microfiber towels. You could do a rinseless/waterless wash in about 30 minutes, every week or every other week.

 

[Count Orlok]

I try to never use water on my classic cars. On the modern cars I own a touchless wash is fine.

 

[PappaBolt]

it begins to show dust and bee poop spots after about 4 days.

I hate it when bees poop on my car. I expect the paint to outlast the battery anyway so car wash seems fine.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I think going to a touchless wash on a regular basis, when it gets dirty, works better than hand washing it yourself less often. The argument against a touchless wash vs hand washing is that the hand washing gets it much cleaner but if you stay on top of it a touchless will keep a car clean enough.

I refuse to go to a touch wash. All it takes is one jerk in front of you with a sandy muddy car to turn those brushes into wire wheels. Might be a slight exaggeration but they are bad for the paint.

 

[abirozy]

I think going to a touchless wash on a regular basis, when it gets dirty, works better than hand washing it yourself less often. The argument against a touchless wash vs hand washing is that the hand washing gets it much cleaner but if you stay on top of it a touchless will keep a car clean enough.

I refuse to go to a touch wash. All it takes is one jerk in front of you with a sandy muddy car to turn those brushes into wire wheels. Might be a slight exaggeration but they are bad for the paint.

yeah... i think my problem is finding a touchless wash near me.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

There's only one anywhere around by me too. Unfortunately there are a ton of car washes and they all are touch ones.

 

[TXR1S]

This is the same problem in my area. HUNDREDS of touch washes and 0 touchless.

 

[mabowden]

Good afternoon everyone

Now that i have had my R1T for a while and been using it in daily life, I have an opinion question.

I live in Southern California. When i got my Tesla 6 years ago, i got PPF and ceramic coating and hand washed it for almost 4 years. I kept the car in the garage and it stayed looking nice for quite a while. When i first got my R1T I got PPF and Ceramic coat put on and washed it every week by hand. That has now turned to every other week.

The problem is with keeping my Rivian outside, it begins to show dust and bee poop spots after about 4 days. We currently have three of our cars on an unlimited plan at the local car wash and wash the cars at least once a week, even if we dont dry afterwards and they stay shiny most of the time. The car wash is not brushless, but the place keeps the equipment in good order and i have not really seen any scratches on the car.

My question is if i should put the Rivian on the plan to keep it cleaner, or just buckle down and wash it by hand every week? The car wash is easier and i know I would do it more often, but I also know it would ruin the ceramic coating. But with it being kept outside and getting all the dust and bee poop (the little yellow dots) often, how much does the ceramic coating matter?

Any opinions and help would greatly appreciated.

Best

Adam

Hmmm... I've noticed that if I do a "quick wash" at home, it usually has just as good results as the unlimited place up the street and honestly about the same time.

I think your issue is, you're okay with a mediocre wash at the unlimited place, but I bet when you do it at home you are taking every possible step.

Next time you wash your rivian at home, focus on speed to see how fast you can do it will still good results. Your paint will thank you. See what happens. If it still takes a while, do the unlimited plan.

 

[abirozy]

Hmmm... I've noticed that if I do a "quick wash" at home, it usually has just as good results as the unlimited place up the street and honestly about the same time.

I think your issue is, you're okay with a mediocre wash at the unlimited place, but I bet when you do it at home you are taking every possible step.

Next time you wash your rivian at home, focus on speed to see how fast you can do it will still good results. Your paint will thank you. See what happens. If it still takes a while, do the unlimited plan.

that is a good observation. i will have to try that.

 

[MoreTrout]

I hate it when bees poop on my car. I expect the paint to outlast the battery anyway so car wash seems fine.

Wow. You must have had some killer paint or high price bullet proof paint protection on your vehicles. I'm coming from some pretty run of the mill vehicles over the years (Fords, Honda, Saturn). The most miles I ever kept one was around 120k, and the paint on all of them had tons of chips, scratches, fading etc way before that. I'm probably not going to do any PPF/ceramic on my truck, but do plan to keep it cleaner with actual products meant for washing vehicles than my prior ones. But with a battery warranty good for 7 yr/185k miles I absolutely expect the paint to show some typical wear and tear and probably to need some major rework multiple times long before I have any concerns about the battery with typical use. Even if I do have one of the rare failures, if it occurs sooner than the paint would need any work it would absolutely be in the warranty period.

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