I am the proud new owner of an SLK 320 in sapphire blue with marlin blue/charcoal dual-tone interior. I have traditionally not taken very good care of my cars, but I'd like to change that with this beautiful automobile. The thing is, I don't trust myself to take wash/polish/shine/wax/treat/etc. all the time but I'm willing to pay professionals to do it for me. There is a hand car wash place here in Houston called (How lame is this?) Bubbles Car Wash. They did a great job with my Honda Accord right before I traded it in, so I wanted to run their services by you guys and see if you thought there was anything in here that I should look out for. I.e., does any of this sound like it would harm the car? Do any of you all take your cars to places like this? Thanks!!!


Bubbles Hand Wash
Includes our safe and gentle Hand Wash with lamb's wool mitts, interior vacuuming, glass cleaning and detailed hand drying.

Rainbow wax conditioner
A rainbow spray wax that last 7-10 days.

Wheel Magic Treatment
Our safe, non-acid PH balanced cleanser eliminates harmful brake dust from your wheels.

Rust Sheild
Prevents premature rusting of your chassis from road chemicals, salt, solvents and pollutants.

Tire Dressing
A thick, creamy protectant that prevents tires from cracking and fading. Gives a beautiful wet look.

Exterior Dressing Package
Protects all vinyl trim and tires form ultra-violet ray deterioration and gives a clean, wet look.

Interior Dressing Package
Our lustrous crème conditioner protects vinyl and leather from harmful ultra-violet rays and daily wear and tear.
Contains no solvents which promote cracking and fading. Choose from either Doors and Dash treatment or a Complete Interior Treatment.

Saddle Soap Leather Cleaning
We use specially formulated liquid saddle soap with glycerin to clean and condition all your interior leather.

 

guido23,

I have experience with the Bubbles you're talking about. In general, they do a decent job and are probably the best of the "commercial" car washes.

That said, they never get the car as clean as you do because they don't have time to pay attention to all the crevices around mouldings, where the panels meet, around wheel lips, etc. I have always had a black car and they have defenitely left some fine scratches in the paint that required buffing to remove. I recently got a new CL and have sworn to wash it myself no matter how bad it looks dirung the winter!

P.S. Never, never, never let anyone near your car with Armor-All(sp?).. It turns into a sticky, shiny goo that is almost impossible to remove and actually winds up attracting dirt to the wheels and interior!

 

Thanks, corgiman, I appreciate your advice. I know that I'm probably attracting all sorts of dirty looks as I say that I'm not prepared to wash this beautiful car myself, but *sigh* I'll just have to deal with that. :-P

So you do think that Bubbles is kind of the lesser of the evils of commercial carwashing? Someone on another message board told me that he had heard that Shammy's did a better job. Do you know anything about this? I'd like to find one place that is my "go-to" place to take the car once a week for a wash and once a month for the full treatment.

Thanks for your help! :-)

 

Hi All,

My coupe will arrive in a few weeks and my S.F. bay area dealer is suggesting that I get the paintguard and leatherguard sealant protection provided by Perma-plate. The cost, I believe is $998.00. Has anyone tried Perma-plate products? Is it worth the price? I did a forum search on Perma-plate with no hits..pehaps its just a local bay area firm. They also advertise a fiberguard cloth protection product.

TIA.

-Donn

 

Dont waste your money. You can buy a bottle of meguiars #20 polymer sealant and seal the paint on your car with that for 14 dollars. Dealer protection packages are the biggest waste of money. All profit for them, that is why they push it so much. I work for a toyota dealer, and those protection packages are crap. They spend maybe 20 mintues more on the car then a regular car applying the specific products. You must treat your leather and wash your car with the 2 bucket method to keep it looking new. Our dealer offers free car washes and vacuuming but I always refuse their numerous offers to let them wash it. If you have any question please post them.

 

Guido23, never never, never use saddle soap on your leather. It will cause it to dry out and crack. Lexol is one of several brands of good quality leather cleaners and conditioners.

 

guido 23,

My Mom has tried both Shammy's and Bubbles and thinks that Bubbles does a better job.