# Self-Service Car Wash in Chicago?



## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

I do not trust anybody when washing my car, but I do not have nice big driveway either.
Does anybody know a good self-serve car wash place in Chicago?
I live in downtown area.

Thanks...


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

Elka said:


> I do not trust anybody when washing my car, but I do not have nice big driveway either.
> Does anybody know a good self-serve car wash place in Chicago?
> I live in downtown area.
> 
> Thanks...


There are a few members at http://www.detailcity.org that are in your area...they might have a leg up on that for you...its free to join and some great detail advice


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## 335i Driver (Nov 29, 2006)

I know exactly how you feel. Right after I got my Jag painted I took it to a hand wash place. Now I know the paint was immaculate because I looked at every part of the new paint under special lighting to make sure it was perfect. Then, right before I could yell stop, the guy runs a California blade over my trunk. Sure enough, when I can it under the lighitng again, I see microfine scratches. I'm convinced the only way to make sure anything done to my car si done right is to do it myself.

The only self serve wash even close to downtown Chi is now closed. They just don't seem to exist anywhere in the city anymore. You may have to drive out to the burbs, where they are pretty abundant. There's a good one at North Ave and Addison Rd.


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## JREIT (May 25, 2006)

There are a number of self serve car washes on the far Northside, but they are decently close to Lakeshore Drive. One is located at the corner of Ridge & Clark Street and another is located at Damen & Rascher (near Foster Avenue). Close to 94, there is rather popular self serve car wash near Western and Addison.

I understand your concerns about others washing your car, however based on the advice of some members of this board, I tried Simon's Shine Shop (next to the White Glove car wash) near Clybourn & Southport. A little pricey at $17 for inside and out (there is a $2 online coupon) but they use fresh towels and sponges on each car. Give it a try...I have OCD and I am quite happy with them. Check out the riviews on this site - http://www.yelp.com/biz/wYh4BKqCvuKDRlHhZ6sIMw


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

Thanks guys!

I will definitely check these places out.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

Have any of you city dwellers tried with Turtle Wax Car Wash on North Ave? I came across this one one along with couple others in the city like Simon's and White Glove. 

Honestly, I'd just like to use these guys once every few months for a complete job but $20-30 for weekly handwash and quick polish adds up a to a lot. So any luck with self-serve joints around?


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

I recently found a small self-wash place on Grand and Oakley on the west side. I live in River North, so it is only a 10 min drive. The neighborhood is fine during the day but it gets a bit deserted after sunset.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

Elka said:


> I recently found a small self-wash place on Grand and Oakley on the west side. I live in River North, so it is only a 10 min drive. The neighborhood is fine during the day but it gets a bit deserted after sunset.


I checked out the one on Western/ Addison today when coming back from work. Kind of a busy area... there will be enough dust/ pollutants to settle on your car right when you are on the second coat of wax. But I am in Gold Coast and would rather not driving 20-miles out to a self-serve station.

How big is the one you talk abt (Grand/ Oakley)? How much $$?


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

It has 5 (or 4) bays, so it is small. $1.75 for the first 4 min, I think. I use it to clean the wheels, wheel wells and rinse the car to get it prepped for an ONR wash. I can do all that with $2.

Most of the time (when it is cold or when it is dark) I take the car back to my parking space in my building and do the ONR wash/wax there. It is safer and easier I think.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

ONR wash/ wax?


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

Optimum No Rinse is a pretty neat no-rinse car wash product. You can wash the car with only 2-3 gallons of water in a bucket within 30 min and it works wonders. Since I do not have access to a hose and do not want to wash the car when it is snowing outside, this product works very well. I think it is better than a regular wash.

Look at autogeek.net or a quick search on this site (or on autopia.org) will give a lot of info on this. 

I use Klasse twins for wax.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

Elka said:


> Optimum No Rinse is a pretty neat no-rinse car wash product. You can wash the car with only 2-3 gallons of water in a bucket within 30 min and it works wonders. Since I do not have access to a hose and do not want to wash the car when it is snowing outside, this product works very well. I think it is better than a regular wash.
> 
> Look at autogeek.net or a quick search on this site (or on autopia.org) will give a lot of info on this.
> 
> I use Klasse twins for wax.


Thanks I'll look into it. ONR seems a good option for city dwellers.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

I went to self wash on Addison/ Western this evening... gruelling/ cold/ tiring 2.5 hrs on a thorough wash and wax job. Two major complaints.... 

1. They had a "No Hand Wash" sign which I duefully ignored. I think they wanted me to use their disgusting soap and brush... Wash must have been like 30mins. Wheels and wax job took the most time. 

2. It was busy enough that by the time, I was done with wash, a thin layer of dust was setting down which I promptly cleaned. However, between the first and coat of wax, there was more dust settling on the car (also, it was a bit windy today) which irritated me even more.


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

Those are the same reasons why I switched to ONR. My parking spot is not 100% covered, but at least it provides some protection from wind and dust and there is light, so I can wash and wax the car whenever I want. The only time when i go to the self-serve is when I want to use a wheel cleaner, do undercarriage wash or when the car is so dirty that I do not want to risk anything with ONR and do a pre-rinse get the crud off the car.

And also when you have nice pair of water/weather proof gloves and warm water in your bucket with ONR, it is not too bad to wash the car in high 20s. Below 25 degrees, I just can't do anything.

Don't you think it would have been great if there was a covered self-detail place in Chicago, where we can pay a fee to use the facility to do whatever detail we want? It would be like renting your neighbors' garage for couple hours.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

Elka said:


> Those are the same reasons why I switched to ONR. My parking spot is not 100% covered, but at least it provides some protection from wind and dust and there is light, so I can wash and wax the car whenever I want. The only time when i go to the self-serve is when I want to use a wheel cleaner, do undercarriage wash or when the car is so dirty that I do not want to risk anything with ONR and do a pre-rinse get the crud off the car.
> 
> And also when you have nice pair of water/weather proof gloves and warm water in your bucket with ONR, it is not too bad to wash the car in high 20s. Below 25 degrees, I just can't do anything.
> 
> Don't you think it would have been great if there was a covered self-detail place in Chicago, where we can pay a fee to use the facility to do whatever detail we want? It would be like renting your neighbors' garage for couple hours.


How do you wash the undercarriage in a regular self-serve?

It would be freakin awesome if we could rent covered places in Chicago like a garage. Are you a member of BMWCCA's Chicago chapter? Those guys might know a thing or two...


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

Nothing too fancy. i just try to get as much water as possible under the car. You know the water sprays at an angle so you can get some of it under the car to wash away the salt and stuff. By the way, the hand wash places never do undercarriage, so that's the only option if you do not go to a touchless wash. 

I am a member, but don't how they can help us with this.


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## carsnoceans (Oct 13, 2007)

Elka said:


> Nothing too fancy. i just try to get as much water as possible under the car. You know the water sprays at an angle so you can get some of it under the car to wash away the salt and stuff. By the way, the hand wash places never do undercarriage, so that's the only option if you do not go to a touchless wash.
> 
> I am a member, but don't how they can help us with this.


They might know of a place or two... :dunno:

I am sure there are BMWCCA people living in apartments/ condos in the city who don't have access to garage but maintain their auto care standards. Do they have an active forum or message board?

Yea, I put some water under the car and on wheels (since I wasn't carrying a product for wheels). I am wondering how long before these "self-wash" people ask me not to use their place since I only use them for rinsing and not other services.


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## Elka (Oct 19, 2006)

I think when the place is not crowded they don't care much, but when it is and there are lines of people waiting then they might tell you to be quick or move aside.

I tend to use off-peak times, so never really had any problem. 

I will look into the forums of BMWCCA.


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## epbrown (Apr 12, 2005)

Elka said:


> I think when the place is not crowded they don't care much, but when it is and there are lines of people waiting then they might tell you to be quick or move aside.
> 
> I tend to use off-peak times, so never really had any problem.


The Chicago chapter is Windy City, and there's a Yahoo board for them: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/WindyCityBMW/?yguid=1103135. It's fairly active.

I use the same wash - we're talking about just north of Lane Tech, next to the bowling alley? I've used the place for years and have a nodding acquaintance with most of the staff as they've seen me washing all manner of cars there (1966 Rolls-Royce, 1983 Porsche 911, 1983 Porsche 944, 1983 Porsche 928S, 2003 325i, 2003 Z4 2.5i, now the M Coupe). If you ever see a red/black E36 sedan parked there, it belongs to one of the kids working there - I let him check out my 325i once and he was hooked.

They're okay about hand washing if there's no line. My work-around when there is a line is to offer the person already using the bay 50 cents to fill my wash bucket (I bring my own soap anyway), then do my hand-washing and wheels while I wait. I've actually had people give me the 50 cents back, partly because it was overkill, partly because they seem to get a kick out of seeing someone washing his own Rolls-Royce, Porsche, or BMW. The impression I get from the staff is that they think I'm some sort of D-list celebrity - someone famous they don't recognize. 

The wash at Ashland and Ridge (across from White Castle) is closer to me, but poorly supervised and maintained (often bays don't work, the change machines are empty, the bays steal quarters), and after the wash the spaces for drying and vacuuming put you right up against Clark, next to a bus stop and you you gusts of water from the bays. The area behind it is better - there's shade in the afternoon - but frequently crowded.

For a decent cheap hand-wash, there's Ruby's on Califronia, just south of Montrose. It's $12 and they do the under-carriage and use one of those mat-cleaning machines that does a good job. My biggest gripe is the exit puts you out into a grimey alley.

Mostly, I use a portable pressure washer made by Dirt Devil that plugs into the lighter. I bucket-wash the car, then use the pressure washer to rinse. It only does about 100psi and holds 3.5 gallons, but Z4s are small. Cost me $150 on eBay.


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## Zahnarzt (May 9, 2006)

Elka,

Same boat, same car even. I live in the West Loop and have two condo parking garage spaces at an incline. I've tried about every "hand wash" within a few miles multiple times, and they're all hit or miss. DIY washes within the locale are, well, not places where I want to get all OCD on my BMW. Equally OCD myself, it took me about two years to find a system that I'm OK with.

Start-to-finish:

Once or twice a year:
Find a friend in the burbs and give him a 12-pack and his wife a few bottles of Pinot to let you use his garage for a Saturday and maybe even 'till Sunday AM. Better yet, if he's a car friend, sucker him into doing his car, too. My parents live outside of Peoria, so that's an option for me and is worth the drive (aside from the company). Complete Sal Zaino's system or whatever system you like best (Dawn, claybar, wash, Mr. Clean spotfree, wax or sealer product, etc.)

Maintenance (weekly or more for me):
Get the deluxe wash at one of the hand wash places around town. All of them are hit or miss, but I do notice that I'm recognized at "Strictly By Hand Too" at 1125 W. Van Buren and might get a little better consistency. Take the car home use your favorite QD or shine enhancer (I do a once-over with Zaino Z6 and then another with Z8). When I get home from my 56 mile round trip commute, I wipe the car down with a California Duster (takes less than 2 minutes). This satisfies my OCD, especially considering my Black Sapphire Metallic paint. 

As far as products, I've used the "real" Zymol products, some 3M, and Zaino, and for me, time is probably the biggest factor when considering initial preparation and maintenance. While I think all these products work great, I feel Zaino is the best bang for time spent. I also feel it's easier to keep the car clean with Zaino. I think Zymol might look a little deeper and richer, but it requires more upkeep. I could go on and on and on about this, but you get the picture.

As far as BMW CCA forums, while the Chicago chapter is very active, the forums seem pretty limp to me. Most of the members live in the burbs, but you should definitely go to a meeting or event sometime. You could probably make a few detailing friends there.

I'm interested in hearing what you come up with.

:str8pimpi Rick


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