[Mosaud1998]

I want to see if someone else is OCD when it comes to keeping their car/cars clean. I clean mine every week almost. Even if it doesn't rain. All that pollen and stuff gets on my nerves

It takes me about an hour and 30 min to wash/dry and wipe the interior of the G30. Ceramic coating helps the drying process. I use a leaf blower, spray some spray wax, and call it a day.

Took me an hour to do the same on the E90. That car wasn't ceramic coated but I waxed it 2 times a year

Washed it today after it rained. It was about 46 degrees out. All the neighbors were looking at me like I was crazy. One asked me when it was his cars turn

[M_Six]

Once or twice a year whether it needs it or not.

Usually when it shows dirt or pollen, etc. Having a silver car helps. My bugaboo is a clean windshield. That I do several times a week. Then a quick wipe down of the dash and center console. Now that I'm retired and put less than 5k miles/year on the car, it doesn't really get too dirty or bug covered as often as it did when I was commuting 2 hours a day.

[3.0L]

I generally take each of our two cars to the local car wash once every 90 days for a thorough inside and outside cleaning. In between that, I usually give each car a wipe down with a clean, soft terry cloth rag using Meguiar's Quick Detailer every week or two. Next, I wipe down the wheels with nasty rag, followed by Meguiar's Hot Shine on the tires.

I haven't washed my cars in the driveway in years.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Once or twice a year whether it needs it or not.

Usually when it shows dirt or pollen, etc. Having a silver car helps. My bugaboo is a clean windshield. That I do several times a week. Then a quick wipe down of the dash and center console. Now that I'm retired and put less than 5k miles/year on the car, it doesn't really get too dirty or bug covered as often as it did when I was commuting 2 hours a day.

Yeah, having a silver car definitely helps. My E90 was silver. I wouldn't really notice dust or pollen unless I let the dust/pollen collect for weeks.

I still babied that thing. Washed it every week or two. Thing was mint. Still miss it.

[///MPhatic]

It depends.

Back when I was driving it to work 3 days a week it was once a week. Now that I only drive it for pleasure it's probably once every 2 weeks. I like to keep it clean always not just for how it looks, but because I'm a photographer and want to take advantage of anything cool mother nature throws at me.

Some sunsets hit harder than others. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Skywalker. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Sign of the storm. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Atlas Eyes. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Legends of the Fall. (Explore) by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

[TboneS54]

Weekly. Black car.

[5.M0NSTER]

Before winter. After winter. 2 times in the summer.

[wtwo3]

I wish I was rich and had someone detail my cars everyday

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I wish I was rich and had someone detail my cars everyday

I'd still probably clean/detail my cars myself. There's a different satisfaction of doing it yourself. But, when it comes to buffing and stuff, count me out. I'm scared I'll burn the paint.

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I'd still probably clean/detail my cars myself. There's a different satisfaction of doing it yourself. But, when it comes to buffing and stuff, count me out. I'm scared I'll burn the paint.

My Mercedes Benz GLK 350 4-Matic is almost 12 years old and my BM@ 235i is 8.5 years old. Neither have ever been waxed and buffed and the paint on both still looks like new.

Of course, we bought both cars after we retired, so they don't sit in a parking lot 5 days a week, frying.

The Meguiar's Detailer I previously mentioned gives the paint a wax-like slickness and is very easy to apply by hand with a soft terry cloth rag. Take about 10 minutes per car.

[deltavid]

Not much, maybe once every couple months. Too much rain here makes it almost pointless over the fall/winter

[dreamingat30fps]

Depends on the car, depends on location, season etc. My truck I keep in NC and I rarely wash it. It's a very light gold almost silver color and really never looks dirty and I don't use it much, plus it's huge and a pita to wash. In NC we primarily use the cayenne but I don't tend to wash it that often since when it doesn't rain it's not too bad and when it rains I tend to leave it in the garage and take the truck. Maybe every 2-3 weeks.

The tesla I keep in FL and it's white and gets dirty quickly so when in FL I probably wash that one weekly or every 2 weeks if it doesn't rain. In FL I typically wash the cayenne less than the tesla because we primarily use the tesla and if it's clean I tend to leave it in the garage as the tesla is way easier and quicker to wash.

All but the truck are ceramic coated (DIY) so washing them is pretty easy and I enjoy doing it (except the truck).

[Germanauto]

When I lived in the Midwest probably weekly depending on time of year. My car was black too.

Now maybe 1-2 times/month, usually with Meguiar's waterless wash and a proper water wash every other month.

[Markr]

Like the OP, I have all the gear and OCD in this regard, but have a dedicated forced air car dryer rather than a leaf blower.

The car is ceramic coated, and used to get washed every week pre covid when I was doing 12,000 miles or so a year. Other than a few runs out to keep things ok, the car has spent the last 2 years under a cover, so got washed about 6 times over that period - it did 413 miles June21 to June22. In Sep, I started going back to the office 1 day per week, so about 50 miles a week, and have washed it twice so far, so my new regime is monthly. Takes about 2 hours, as it is quite a beast, and it takes a good 10 mins to get all the gear out and put away at the end.

[ShopVac]

Daily was not an option...odd. Guess I can select weekly.

Will state that I'll glance at the weather forecast. I may avoid driving in the rain one day if the rest of the week is sunny. Few days of rain I'll just drive it and give it a squirt down with water when I get home. Washing becomes more frequent in the winter.

[2000cs]

I bought my current car in Feb; have washed it once. It needs it again. 2006 750Li in Ti silver. I bought it to be a year-round long distance beater, with no intention of fixing dings and scratches or being anal about the paint. I strongly prefer hand washing, because the car washes charge a lot and miss a lot. Rain also is a good wash.

There are two issues washing my car at home. First is my driveway is only shaded until about 10AM, and washing in the sun leaves water spots no matter how fast I am. Second is the humidity is highest in the morning and with the cold water the car becomes a condenser, so it is nearly impossible to dry properly.

[billnchristy]

I try to wash every sunday. If rain is in the forecast before wednesday I'll skip it.

[Maynard]

I'm in the 'neighbors think I'm crazy' club as well. I only do hand-wash, and the all-season car (the 228) gets washed at least once a month, snow or not. I find that a pair of exam gloves work like a wetsuit to keep my hands tolerable in the sub-40 degree weather; I use them for the wheels, and just keep them on all wash during the winter months. The tinfoil hat I made is just theatrics for the neighbors.

In warmer weather I wash the M2 as often as I have time because it is a recreational activity; only thing better is driving it.

[wtwo3]

Somehow I've never gotten pleasure from washing my own car. I know many people love doing it... to me it's just a chore. I don't mind rinsing it with the hose... that's fine. It's the scrubbing that just kills me. Getting down and cleaning the wheels... then hand drying ooof it's torture.

Am I doing something wrong? I love cars but I just hate washing them myself. I'd rather spend that time relaxing.

How long does it take some of you to hand wash your car? If it was like a 20 minute thing I could tolerate that but whenever I have done it myself I end up getting OCD and spend over an hour out there.

[ASAP]

Every 2 weeks is a fair estimate for me.

[floridaorange]

Great time of year to go ahead and chemically(Ironx) & manually (clay bar) decontaminate your car, then wash, wax. I just did my wifes white volvo xc90 and was amazed at how much iron fallout was on her car.

[ntg44]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Somehow I've never gotten pleasure from washing my own car. I know many people love doing it... to me it's just a chore. I don't mind rinsing it with the hose... that's fine. It's the scrubbing that just kills me. Getting down and cleaning the wheels... then hand drying ooof it's torture.

Am I doing something wrong? I love cars but I just hate washing them myself. I'd rather spend that time relaxing.

How long does it take some of you to hand wash your car? If it was like a 20 minute thing I could tolerate that but whenever I have done it myself I end up getting OCD and spend over an hour out there.

Including equipment set up and clean up, it takes me 75-90 minutes on the R8, and 90-120 min on the STI. But I am super anal about water spots so I'm cleaning every crevice and door jam. I'm definitely moving quickly. Half the time I'm soaked from my own sweat afterwards, so it's not an issue of speed. But for the life of me, I can't figure out how people pull it off in 45 min. Leaf blower? LMAO. I'd be out there all day. What do they have, a commercial turbine?

I used to wash every 1-2 weeks, then kids happened. Now, the R8 gets about 4-5 washes per year, and the STI about 6-8. I just don't have time for it anymore. The R8 is garaged, so I can get away with a quick detailer/microfiber cloth wipedown once in a while.

I enjoy the time to myself and sense of accomplishment afterwards, but now that I have competing priorities, I'm starting to lean more towards chore than hobby. One of these days I'll build a garage with an interior wash bay so I can wash whenever the hell I want, rain or shine, day or night. Then I think I'll start getting back into it. Right now it's hard for me to justify a wash when I can't get more than 3 days of no rain in the forecast.