How important is it to keep it clean?

[chaimo]

I was just wondering how important are car washes? I really honestly only drive once a week, 200 miles round trip up to the mountains and back, and always am covered in dirt and salt and what not. How important is it for me to wash the crud off? I don't have access to a hose or anything so I'd need to go spend the money on a car wash to keep it cleaned. Is it worth it?

[getITdirty]

usually you just wanna clean off the brakes and the vitals under the hood
but if the salt sits to long it will start to eat at the paint and the finish on your wheels (granted thats over time, not in a week or so)
and see if theres a power wash place around you or your paths
usually a few bucks for 5 mins of hot pressure washin usually does the trick for me and my wj

[Marcus86GLHS]

"....Is it worth it?......"


not easy to answer....if you spend $50/week to keep it detailed then maybe not. the modern manufacturing methods and materials in the newer cars (including the Jeep line up) makes them, in general, almost bulletproof to severe rust-thru corrosion.

i'm lot a lot of folks and i take pride in my vehicles and always keep them clean no matter what. i can wash my jeep inside my heated garage but if i had to use one of those car-wash facilities? oof. many of those do more harm than good.

[Dr. Internet]

My last Jeep was an 05 Wrangler and I did the same thing. It was always a little dirty, but it was a Jeep, so what? After owning it for about 6 months I washed it and discovered hundreds of water spots on the hood, except they weren't just water spots, they had eaten into the clear coat and into the paint.
I went to the body shop and a paint shop and they both said the same thing: acid rain. The water is slightly acidic and will eat into the paint if not promptly washed and dried.
The cure is a new paint job! I tried buffing, waxing, polishing, and even used polishing compound. No luck.

For my new Jeep, 07 WK, I opted for the dealer applied PolyCoat. I don't know or care what it is; it comes with a guarantee that nothing short of a collision will damage my paint, or I get a new paint job free. I just have to take it back every 6 months and they wash it and buff it, and reapply at no additional cost. I've had it a year and no water marks yet.

[DavidinHartford]

You definately want to wash it regularly. My neighbor had a white Suzuki Samuri and never washed it for 5 years. When he finally tried it wouldn't wash or wax clean. He had to get it painted. 6 months later the engine blew. Apparently he hadn't changed the oil in 5 years either. LOL

[CRD Dawg]

Clean from road dirt and dust? Not that critical as long as it is not excessive. Road salt? Critically important. I work in the automotive industry and have seen what salt corrosion can do to ALL makes of automobiles in just 1 Year and 15k miles. Exhaust, brake lines, ladder frame and unibody frame rails. Salt destroys all components of the braking system. It even works it way into wheel bearings, bearings in drive belt pulleys and tensioners, cv joints, etc. It can destroy a car quicker than one might think. Keep that salt rinsed off. Just be careful when cleaning under the hood. The tough part is that you are only supposed to rinse engine components when the engine is cold.

[TonyVideo]

If you go to a car wash don't get the most expensive wash that they try and sell you. Just get the basic wash to get the crud off. Save your money. Just wax it a couple times a year, (spring and fall for me) should do the trick. You can even go to the self serve handle wash to get all the crud off. It is the cheapest and you can concentrate on the worse areas yourself.