[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil]
The evolution of modern carwashes is quite different than “your father’s Oldsmobile”. Most automatic washes today NEVER employ what most folks refer to as “brushes” (ye olde bristle brushes from the 1980’s that certainly WOULD scratch your car) but use what are called “wraps” and “high side washers” and such that are made entirely of a fabric that is microfiber in nature and specifically designed to not retain grit and rely instead on retaining many times their weight in water as well as lubricating, low-Ph soaps to do their job.
My carwash emphatically does NOT scratch cars, as I willfully run both my 2006 vehicles through them daily on what are called “test washes”, which is a way to ensure the equipment is operating properly, but is more likely a “free wash” that the manager enjoys…
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I’m sure the modern ones are better, but wouldn’t you say that a properly maintained modern carwash will not scratch your car? I can’t trust them 100% to be properly maintained. I hand wash my vehicles with a hose, bucket, and clean wash mitt, and hand dry it with a chamois. I’ll occasionally go to the do-it-yourself spray carwash too, it doesn’t get all the dirt off but it helps when I don’t or can’t do a hand wash.