NJRick

Does an R230 have enough ground clearance to go through an automatic car wash without hanging up on the track? Also would the low profile tires (30s on my car) be an issue?

metalica_23

I run through them with no problem. I probably shouldn't. The car gods are probably cringing as we speak. I need to find a touchless wash around here to use, and leave the real scrub downs to my detailer. Black paint is hard enough to keep clean without adding a bunch of swirls to it!

1985mb

+1

Nevada Jack

I am with you on this one... I had it washed on a rack after delivery and my drive from Colorado to Las Vegas. I was really leery of the "swirls" and the wheel clearance. I have since had it hand-washed and will continue in that mode.

bltserv

The Mercedes Gods will strike you down for not Hand Washing only.

It is a sin to save a couple bucks and risk damage.

Shame on you.

metalica_23

It's not the couple of bucks that matters. It's losing the car for a day. I don't have anywhere near work where I can get it hand washed. I have to leave it home and my detailer picks it up at my house in the morning. He brings it back in the evening. I just hate to lose the car for a day every week!

EX-BEEMER

I'm not a car wash snob, but right now I can't imagine running through an automatic car wash. Maybe once the newness wears off, the convienence factor will win out. My other concern regards the 3M clear protective film that covers the car, I hate to have one of those brushes peel up a corner.

For now at least it's hand washing with Zaino Car Wash and light dusting with my California Car Duster.

metalica_23

Yeah, the California Car Duster is KEY when owning a black car!

Scotsman

I hand-wash the SL but put the R-class through a car-wash which comes out fine. Haven't heard any horror stories about car-wash marks for a long time - maybe they're not so sore on cars now? Still can't put the SL through one though. I'm lucky in that a mobile valet comes to work every week and they make a great job.

metalica_23

Ah, I wish I could get a mobile company to come to our parking lot. A few of us have discussed bringing one in, but we just can't deal with the grief we'd get for it. Out of 100 people in our company, the most common car is a Prius (8 of them). I get enough grief for owning three cars, let alone having someone come wash them at the office.

Scotsman

LOL

The company which comes, does maybe a dozen or so each week. Got the R-class washed and waxed yesterday for £25 and looks great. Got the SL done a month or so ago for the full treatment inside and out for £80 and looked brand new.

I'd get onto your workmates! It's great to come out and see your car gleaming.

spnslc

I currently have a black 2009 SL63 (love it!), but my previous car was a black 2006 SL500. I have only ever hand washed my SLs, but in the final month of ownership of my SL500 I got lazy and took my SL500 through one of those car washes where you sit in the car while the car gets pulled through with one of those conveyer pulleys on a track. At that point in my car's life, I knew I was trading it in and I didn't care about getting swirls in the black paint anymore. It was a very busy day at the car wash and cars were lined up to go through the system. I was nervous about how close cars were to one another, as they were leading them into the car wash, but at that point I had no choice but to follow through the long line and go through the system. About a third of the way through the car wash tunnel, with only about a five foot space between the car in front and behind me, the lady in the car ahead of me started putting on her brakes. My car, and every other car behind me, was continually being pulled forward, but this lady kept stepping on her brakes. She finally stopped completely and her car started jumping over those conveyer rollers. It was a nightmare for me. I put on my brakes and my car jumped one of those rollers, but the next roller grabbed my car and pulled me even closer to her car. I am sure the guy behind me freaked out, as I was freaking out, too. Thankfully, a car wash employee happened to walk by just as this was happening and I rolled down my window (water and soap pouring in my SL) and I screamed at him that the lady ahead of me was braking. He ran up to her car and pounded on her window and screamed at her to keep moving. Disaster was averted and so was a heart attack for me.

I will NEVER go through a car wash of any kind with one of my SLs again, and I will never go through that type of car wash EVER with any of my cars. Apparently the lady ahead of me could not read/understand the car wash signs and didn't know how to proceed through the car wash. The manager of the car wash apologized profusely to me (said it happens quite frequently!) and told me if I ever have this problem again (like I will ever go through that again!), to lay on the car's horn and one of the employees will immediately shut the car wash system down. Live and learn. And "yes" NJRick, the SL does clear the car wash track and the rollers that pull you through.

Nevada Jack

Hairy tale... reinforces my hand wash routine...:-)

Guido1986

I have owned my sl for about 6 years now and I have never took it through a car wash and never will. People ask me all he time if the car is new because I wash it once a week (all day project) and after every winter when I take it out of the garage for the spring I have it detailed by a company...... My other cars like the G i put through the car wash bc its silver and not a darker color

metalica_23

All you people that have time to hand wash your cars every week have way too much time on your hands.

(Of course for 7 months a year I don't even have that option because it's too cold)

JackStraw

I held off running my car through the machine for the first two years of ownership, but have been doing so regularly for the past two years without incident or damage. Mine is silver though. I preferred black but opted for silver because I didn't want to be a slave to my car.

tomd

Odd. I live in MA as well. And find it warm enough to drive with the top down 7 months a year.

But I actually enjoy washing my car. Always have. Even had a heated garage, with a drain, desgned into my new house.

metalica_23

Wait, I said warm enough to wash the car, not have the top down. Two different things. I can drive with the top down when it's 50, but would have no interest in washing my car in that weather.

Now designing the heated garage with drain is something to consider! Of course with my rugrats, I'm too busy pushing swings, riding bikes, and fishing them out of the pool...

BTW, there's a sane part of MA?!?!?

gqmagic

The time it takes to drive to the hand car wash, wait in line, wait for the car to be washed and dried, you can do it yourself.

Of course it can't be to cold, as it will be in a few weeks, months.

daaz5

Rick,., Hand wash is the only way to go.. what part of jersey are you from? North Jersey is flooded with them..

metalica_23

There's "hand car wash" places you drive to? My "regular" car wash is a 15min. trip max. 5 minutes there, 5 back, and 5 to wash (I never hit more than 2 cars in front of me). If I could wash a car in 15 min, that'd be sweet. I bet it takes me an hour and half (partially because when I do it, I'm ****...)

Anyway, my big dilemma is I have nowhere to bring it for a hand wash (nor the time) and I don't have the time at home. That leaves me with having the car detailed and losing it one day a week. I think I'm stuck just using the drive-thru's...

SL2003driver

I've used the drive though, but I have a white car and it is well waxed. The problem is what it will do to the 3M film. It caused a couple of places at the edges down on the front bumper to look dirty. Most would not notice but I do. I now use the drivein with the wands and hand dry. Since my car has never been even driven in the rain it doesn't get very dirty so not a big deal, plus it is white so it doesn't show dirt like other colors.