How the hell do you keep your car clean in winter?

I wash my 2002 V6 Daily driver Mustang by hand. I have owned the car for over 2 years now and only wash it when it gets really dirty. In the wintertime I spray it down at the carwash with only the spraygun to get all the salt off the exterior and under the car. I NEVER take my car thru the automatic car wash or use the brushes at the car wash. And I only wash my car a few times a year. I don't go crazy and wash it every month. So far, it's kept itself looking good. I am planning to get it detailed within the next month or so.
 
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I bought a club card at the local Turtlewax carwash so in the dead of winter I don't have to worry about freezing my ballz off. Plus the brushes have not did any swirl or damage to my paint and I have been going there well over a year.
 
mpcv2000 said:
There's not much you can do.Winter sucks and it's very hard on paint and metal.

I'll never drive my car in the winter..Oups..I lied ,I did last winter but I was living in Florida.. :p anyway you should consider a winter beater if you want to keep your stang clean and rust free but on the other hand if you're looking to trade it in soon don't waste your money on a beater.

I bought a cheap 1993 Dodge Shadow with 208,000 Km on it and so far so good.. :nice:

Got my self a 92 Mercury Topaz with 209000 km but i took the big engine, 3.0 liter V6. :rlaugh:
But i understand your concern. I drove trough winter the first year, and only time. Each week, i took the car to the local " do it your self car wash " and did a complete job without any concern for the fellow how was waiting outside. :D
But at that time, i thought i was keeping the car for 3 years and sell the car to someone else after. Changed my mind.
 
i hand-wash my car no less than every other weekend. usually every weekend. did today and it was like 35-40* out. throw on the gloves, a few plastic grocery bags and a wash mit. also cleaned rims/glossed tires/vacuumed.
just gotta tough it out. :nice:
 
2 choices ..

1) Hand wash it yourself
2) Take and have it washed at the car washin place for about 10 bucks.. inside and out :nice:

Or try one of these babys... Here

I use one of these things year round and it takes me about 10 mintues to wash my stang and it does awesome.. just hook the hose into it and get a soap bucket and run it full of soap and water and just wash away.. when ur ready to rinse flip the little button on the brush and it rinses.. this thing is awesome b/c it does a flawless job, no scratches, dont even have to get your hands wet in thw inter time and makes keeping your stang looking good yeard around during winter an easy task.. :hail2:
 
It is so cold here in Chicago and my car is soooo dirty. In the 17 months I've had my car, it has never seen a an automatic cloth car wash nor has anyone else waseh it for me.I always hand wash my car or take it through the touchless car wash. It is so damn cold outside and the touchless is not getting the car clean. I took my car to a hand car wash place for the first time yesterday. I waited in line for 20 mins. I noticed that they were repeatedly using dirty wash cloths, so I asked the manager if I could pay extra and have them use clean ones. He refused so I left. Tomarrow I am going to face the cold and wash my car. Here are pics if anyone wants to see how dirty the car is....Dirty Stang
 
jamathi said:
It is so cold here in Chicago and my car is soooo dirty. In the 17 months I've had my car, it has never seen a an automatic cloth car wash nor has anyone else waseh it for me.I always hand wash my car or take it through the touchless car wash. It is so damn cold outside and the touchless is not getting the car clean. I took my car to a hand car wash place for the first time yesterday. I waited in line for 20 mins. I noticed that they were repeatedly using dirty wash cloths, so I asked the manager if I could pay extra and have them use clean ones. He refused so I left. Tomarrow I am going to face the cold and wash my car. Here are pics if anyone wants to see how dirty the car is....Dirty Stang
Winter? Cold in Chicago? Naaaa! I lived in Naperville, IL, till two years ago. During the winter season, my cars would get so dirty! The best thing to do is to take them to a carwash and have them washed inside-out for $10. Now I live in Puerto Rico where the sun shines all the time. Today is sunny an the temp is in the low 80's...I'm think about going for a spin on my stang...Darn it, I just remembered that my car is at the mechanic getting the the KB S/C installed! :banana:
 
Milenko said:
How do you guys do it?

My GT is my only vehicle, and in the winter it gets COVERED in the salt from the roadways. Every time I want to wash it up here, its sub 30 degrees and the water freezes. How do you guys keep your stangs clean in the winter? (If they aren't garaged)

Real easy ... you don't! :D

I just take mine to the .25 carwash and spray all the salt off it really good. That's about all you can do in the winter if you aren't fortunate enough to have a garage. :(

The funny thing is some of my neighbors ask me how I still manage to keep it so clean. :rlaugh:
 
Last night my father brought our hoses in the basement to let them thaw. He wants to wash his G35 too, so we'll be doing two cars today.

Hopefully I can wash it before everything freezes..It's 29 degrees here now, so stuff is gonna freeze.
 
I dont drive it much right now. I have a daily beater that I drive until it breaks down. I leave the stang in the garage and only drive it on nice days. The winters are not bad here and they dont use salt. Rarely snows. Its still in th eupper fifties sometimes.
 
All clean now!

clean.JPG
 
Milenko said:
How do you guys do it?

My GT is my only vehicle, and in the winter it gets COVERED in the salt from the roadways. Every time I want to wash it up here, its sub 30 degrees and the water freezes. How do you guys keep your stangs clean in the winter? (If they aren't garaged)

Do like I do and dont take it out in the snow until all the snow and slush melt away. Stangs arent snow vehicles....4x4's are.
 
We have a car wash just down the road that lets you have a 4 month contract wash for $120. The guys take really good care of the car and the wash doesn't seem to hurt the car at least not too much (white car doesn't show that many swirl marks). I think thats a small price to pay for a clean car....

Now if i could just get rid of those damned black steel wheels. They are sooooooo ugly, but at least I can get traction....