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So I’ve had the CGTS 2 days now so decided to give it a bit of a clean
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First wash
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I am on a 10 to 14 day wash cycle but even though my cars are brand new after I clean the Porsches they are always cleaner and look better than they did in the showroom. NEVER accept the courtesy wash it's frightening how little the car dealerships know or care about cleaning a car properly. No one cleans my cars but me.........
Agreed! Never let them wash it. While I've not seen how my Porsche dealer washes cars I know I do a better job. My boxster looked better after my first wash by hand than the day i picked up at the dealer. That was before a polish and film. And the couple times my infiniti was washed at that dealer it looked worse when they were done than when I went in. I've chewed them out a couples times for it. Especially when they have washed it a couple times when I've directed not to wash it.
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I always hand-wash my Cayman.
But when I went for my first "free" oil change, the dealer washed it, which I didn't actually expect. But no big deal as far as I'm concerned; that may actually be the last time I'll bring it a dealer anyway ($450 for an oil change...no thanks).
Anyway, it's worth mentioning that these cars are German cars. And in Germany, the laws overwhelmingly direct car owners to get their cars washed in a commercial car wash. So in theory, these cars aren't too delicate for a car wash.
Living here in the northeast USA, with liberal use of road salt, I have been pretty good at washing underneath my car with a power-wash wand. I realize Porsche chassis are galvanized, but some of the fasteners and attachments underneath are not and may rust. My local car wash includes an area where they "up wash" under the car to clear out any debris or salt. I take my van and Honda there all the time mostly for the benefit of the up wash. And I may do this with the Porsche if I do any Winter drives and it's too cold to wash at home.
If I lived in a non-salt climate, this wouldn't be an issue.
But when I went for my first "free" oil change, the dealer washed it, which I didn't actually expect. But no big deal as far as I'm concerned; that may actually be the last time I'll bring it a dealer anyway ($450 for an oil change...no thanks).
Anyway, it's worth mentioning that these cars are German cars. And in Germany, the laws overwhelmingly direct car owners to get their cars washed in a commercial car wash. So in theory, these cars aren't too delicate for a car wash.
Living here in the northeast USA, with liberal use of road salt, I have been pretty good at washing underneath my car with a power-wash wand. I realize Porsche chassis are galvanized, but some of the fasteners and attachments underneath are not and may rust. My local car wash includes an area where they "up wash" under the car to clear out any debris or salt. I take my van and Honda there all the time mostly for the benefit of the up wash. And I may do this with the Porsche if I do any Winter drives and it's too cold to wash at home.
If I lived in a non-salt climate, this wouldn't be an issue.
Where are you getting this from?
It's actually a very long standing eco rule that was originally introduced to reduce the amount of detergents entering the waste water system. Then at a later date additional goals were added to reduce water usage, oil contamination etc. The upshot is that they are only allowed to wash vehicles at designated places which have the facility to remove oil & detergents from the water & also re-cycle that water. You can still wash the car yourself, you just can't do it at home. :|
True. Designated wash areas, not commercial washes.
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I have German friends who still have family there and return on a regular basis. And I have several friends who visit Germany for work. All of these friends are "car friends" so we have talked about the issues of washing a car in Germany from time to time.
You are correct when you say designated areas. These are area where soap, oil and other residue can be caught and kept out of the water supply. And these washing area are typically commercial. You must pay to use them. I guess this is where many Germans would hand wash their cars.
But my friends have noted to me that if you must leave your home to wash your car and you are already going to have to pay something anyway, it's not a big leap to just bring the car to an automated car wash.
As I said, I typically hand wash my car in my driveway here in the US. And in the process of using the hose and pressure washer plus kneeling down to clean the lower parts of the car, my clothes usually get pretty wet. The last thing I would want to do is to hop in my car with those wet clothes. So hand washing away from home would tend to dissuade me for just that reason. Maybe at the designated areas for car washing in Germany they have a place to change your clothes if they are wet? I have no idea. But to me it would seem like a headache, especially if I was just washing my Honda or my truck. So I would probably just use the automated car wash. My German friends tell me that unless you own a classic or specialty car, the automated car wash is what many German tend to choose.
I'm also told that Sunday noise laws in Germany tend to close down even the automated car washes, so you may be limited to six days a week for car washing.
I don't know it things are as fussy in the rural areas of Germany.
I don't think the rest of the EU is as strict. I lived in Kilkenny until I was six and I don't recall my Irish relatives mentioning any difficulty washing cars at home.
It's all due to the way water supply works in Germany. Their water sources tend to come from wells, whereas ours (In the UK and Ireland) come from reservoirs, mainly. Run off from car washes will eventually work its way down into the well sources and therefore they are fairly easily contaminated, whereas ours runs off into sewer pipes where the effluent is treated before being re-introduced to the mains water systems.
They have, as you say, lots and lots of strange laws in Germany.
You must have some detail in your wash schedule if you get that wet. I can snowfoam two cars, a 718 and Macan, rinse them off, wash them and dry them while only getting my shoes slightly damp.
They have, as you say, lots and lots of strange laws in Germany.
You must have some detail in your wash schedule if you get that wet. I can snowfoam two cars, a 718 and Macan, rinse them off, wash them and dry them while only getting my shoes slightly damp.
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True, True ...
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My dealer only hand washes for courtesy wash, but I still skip it (thanks but no thanks)
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I think it because of the ceramic coating
Ive been using autoglym polar blast
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California imposes temporary ban on home car washing during our frequent drought seasons. You can still hand-wash at the do-it-yourself car washes as they recycle the water. Not an unreasonable green move. As with many things started in Ca. (public smoking ban, stiffer emissions testing, 91-octane, legal pot...) year-round climate-independent water conservation legislation will likely become normal across the U.S. in time I think.
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How much water does hand washing your car in your driveway actually use? When I do mine I fill up a bucket of water once or maybe twice, and then rinse off the car twice. It is not like I have the hose pipe going the entire time.
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When we (South Australia) were on severe water restrictions you could only wash your car at home if you did so on a garden that would otherwise require watering.
I have my own rain-water collection facilities so that didn't apply to me. They thought about telling people how they could use the water that was collected off the roof but were told in no uncertain terms what to do with that thought.
I have my own rain-water collection facilities so that didn't apply to me. They thought about telling people how they could use the water that was collected off the roof but were told in no uncertain terms what to do with that thought.
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