Car Wash Recommendations in El Lay???

I'm an east side guy, but you may consider washing yourself with Optimum No Rinse. Great way to wash a car and doesn't require a hose. Just a bucket, a cloth, and a towel. They make a nice spray on wax as well...you can do it cheaper and better by yourself.

 

I don't know how to find them, but you could look for those guys that handwash and detail at certain locations each day, usually around some business. I worked a job in Santa Monica last year and these guys would come by every Friday and wash cars. It only ends up costing $3-5 more than an automated carwash. And when my mom worked downtown there was a guy there everyday in the underground parking who washed cars for people in that high rise.

Or if you're ever in Studio City I know there's a guy who washes cars under the Chin Chin plaza on Ventura Blvd., I think Tues.-Sat. until around 3-4pm. My friend used him and I just got that info from her.

Maybe you can google or check yellow pages and find something like that in your area. Or just go check at some of the bigger business buildings near by, those with underground parking and see if someone comes by and does it there.

 

Optimum No Rinse is the way to go. Stay away from carwashes unless they are hand washes by professional detailers.

 

Agreed...and hand wash car washes aren't the way to go either...hire a single guy to do it, those big car washes will scratch the heck out of your paint...

 

Blue Wave Car Wash in Santa Monica is fantastic. I took my corvette there for years and with their hand wash option they never once scratched my car.

 

Just up the hill from you in Westchester. Did you buy at MDR Toyota? Richard their gave me a pretty good deal. I have to agree with others about ONR (Optimum No Rinse). I used to have a 4Runner that unlike most people ventured offroad a couple times a year (Baja). That and my wife's older Honda Civic used to go to El Segundo 5 minute car wash. It was REALLY convenient but those mop head hit the cars pretty hard. Once I got my new Prius I had to give up the convienience because I didn't want to mark up the paint. I started using one of those stall car washes where you wash your own car. I would take my own soap and bucket and man was that a PITA. I then read about ONR here on the forums and it has completely changed my mind about car washing. It is so easy and quick. I wash my car every week INSIDE MY GARAGE and I don't get much water on the ground.

If your not sure about it then buy a small bottle to test it out. There is a guy in the Valley that is an Optimum Dealer and he's always having specials on it. The website is SoCalShopGuy.com . His name is Abe (tell him I sent you and he might throw in some goodies). His customer service is A+.

 

And I remember you being dubious about the ONR at the beginning too right?

 

And then if you have any left over you can wash your car!

 

I was, and I am now a complete convert. I can't imagine washing my car any other way.

 

Washed mine with ONR again today....a pleasure to use. I used Optimum's spray wax too...and clay barred it myself as well. Once you get into washing your car yourself with some of the great products on the market you likely won't ever want someone else to wash your car...you save a lot of money and take a lot better car of your car. Its fun too!

 

What color is your car?

My car is Winter Gray. I used OSW (Optimum Spray Wax) for about a month. I REALLY liked how easy it is to use and I would give the car a quick wax every week when I washed it. It leaves a great smooth finish. My problem with it was "the look". Previous to using OSW I was using Zaino Z-5. A couple days ago when I was walking to my car I thought to myself "the car doesn't look that impressive". It dawned on me that when I was using Z-5 the car looked darker and had a very, very slight color to the gray. When I switched over to OSW the car looked MUCH lighter gray and absolutely no color cast. Last weekend I stripped off the OSW and started Layering the Z-5 I don't use the ZFX additive to the Z-5 so I can only do one coat a day. After the first coat I noticed the color difference immediately! My personal taste is the darker gray with the slight color to it. Today was the first day I had a chance to drive it around for some errands and when I was walking back to the car I thought to myself "wow, now the car sure does look impressive".

 

Mine is Winter Gray too...I'm in LA, lets park next to each other some time and compare! :-D

 

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