Miata Mailing List: April 1993, Message #12
sponsored by



     


   From: (none)
Subject: Re: "Brushless" Car Washes Safe?
   Date: (none)

> 
> I have a car wash I used with my previous car and they do a very good job.
> It is brushless etc. Is it safe for my Miata? I live in the Washington DC,
> so washing the car myself is not always possible. The Miata manual says to
> wash the car by hand.
> 
> I am not clear on what bad things can happen? Will the carwash
> damage/scratch the rear window or the vinyl top? 
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Joe
> 
>
I've never run mine through an automatic wash.  There are several good
reasons for this:

	1) Automatic washes never do a really good job.
	2) The rear window *is* soft plastic.
	3) If you use a hardtop, it too is plastic.
	4) During heavy windblown rain, I get splashes of water that enter
	   through the small space between the door and the door jamb that
	   doesn't have any weatherstripping.  (Anyone else notice this?)
	   Since automatic washes have side shooting water, that's asking
	   for trouble.
	5) It doesn't take me more than 45 minutes to do the car by hand if
	   I forget about the wheels.  How much time would I really save if
	   I went to an automatic?
	6) The Miata paint job is less than stellar and scratches if you
	   look at it wrong.
	7) The manual says not to.

Will it cause damage?  I dunno.  Is it worth it to find out?  Not to me.

	Gary J. Fischman
	NYNEX Science & Technology
	fischman@nynexst.com