Is it safe to run my convertible through an automated car wash?
:dubious:
Vinyl tops are easily damaged. The canvas type are a little sturdier. But I’ve never put any of my convertibles through a carwash. Usually they disclaim liability for convertible tops. We have the DIY places around with a pressure hose and vacuums. I usually do that or pay someone for a full detail.
Yes. I operate two such washes in the Midwest and convertibles are just fine. The soaps we use are safe for the cloth top, and we actually have a “convertible top” feature on our system that cycles down the blowers as the “roof” of the vehicle passes beneath them so they don’t get overly buffeted by the strong blast of air generated by the driers.
But are those features universal?
No. Car washes use a variety of system controls. We use computer software/hardware that’s proprietary in nature but is manufactured by an industry leader. Your little gas station tunnels aren’t going to have this feature and neither are your in-bay automatics (car is stationary, the wash machine goes back and forth over the car).
Longer tunnel washes like ours are more likely to have this more specialized stuff. I would never run my Mustang through a gas station car wash unless it was touchless because I know that many of them are poorly maintained.
Ok, could you tell us how to identify carwashes with this type of machinery.
Also, would you cover the cost of replacement if the top was damaged in your car wash?
The best advice I can give on that would be to only use tunnel washes, and to ask an employee/manager if they feature a way to cycle down their overhead blowers for convertibles or not. This feature also is employed (by us) on pickup trucks with open beds, as it keeps the trapped water in the bed from getting blown all over the truck you just cleaned. I would do that before I get in line.
As to your other question, yes, we would pay to repair damages to a convertible top, although its never happened. If the top was really old, with frayed stitching, obvious wear and tear, etc…then probably not.
The only damages that occur in our wash that I have seen that I personally think are legit are the occasional side mirror getting knocked off (especially 1997-2002 Pontiac Grand Ams and Grand Prixes…terribly weak mirror mount design) or when one of my dumb high school kids forgets to put the plastic sleeve on the rear wiper of an SUV or minivan, which can cause the wiper arm to get bent or broken in the contour wrap cloth that sweeps across the back of vehicles in order to clean them there. In that case the employee pays for the customer’s damage.