krshultz

Agreed completely.

Washing a car is a lot like washing dishes. Even with all the soap in the world, chances are, you're going to have to agitate with a brush/sponge/whatever if you want that plate to be really clean. Since touchless places don't have any agitation, they try and make up for it by using aggressive chemicals.

The places that use brushes / ribbons / whatever other media that contacts the car directly, that's an even bigger risk. For all you know, the last vehicle through there could have been a concrete mixer.

Anyway, the rest of TheOtherHalf's suggestions are good ones. I'd like to offer a further suggestion - carry a couple microfiber drying towels with you on your trip to the car wash. Once you're done in the bay, drive over to a parking spot and dry the car off. Drying the car is important - if you don't, you'll probably get water spots, and that's a whole new problem to deal with.

Here's a clip from the UK television show Fifth Gear where they look at various car washes.

Dreaming_S2k

O yeah I always keep microfiber towels with me. In fact, I usually keep a kit with some QD, a few towels, paper towels, and wheel cleaner in my trunk. That way I can do some touch up as I feel necessary